The Effects of Planning Time Conditions and Writing Type on the Writing Quality of Iranian EFL Writers
Subject Areas : Research in English Language Pedagogy
Hossein
Pourghasemian
1
(English language Center, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Qom University of Technology, Qom, Iran)
Mohammad
Baqerzadeh Hosseini
2
(English Language Department, Islamic Azad University, Naragh Branch, Iran)
Keywords: expository writing, Argumentative Writing, Writing Quality, Planning Time Condition,
Abstract :
In the present study, the effects of four planning time conditions (pre-task, extended task, freewriting, and control) were investigated over the quality of expository and argumentative writings of 108 undergraduate EFL writers. The maximum time limit was 30 minutes for all the four groups of the study. The results revealed significantly higher writing quality in the freewriting condition in both argumentative and expository writings. The results also showed that compared with the effects of the writing mode those of the planning time conditions were more decisive on the writing quality. Moreover, argumentative writings were of higher quality than expository writings. Being placed in different writing modes was not decisive in the choice of planning time conditions. The results may have pedagogical implications for EFL writing instructors and theoretical implications for EFL writing researchers.
Breetvelt, I., Van den Bergh, H., &Rijlaarsdam, G. (1994). Relations between writing processes and text quality: When and how? Cognition and Instruction, 12(2), 103-123.
Butterfield, E. C., Hacker, D. J., & Albertson, L. R. (1996). Environmental, cognitive, and metacognitive influences on text revision: Assessing the evidence. Educational Psychology Review, 8(3), 239-297.
Collins, A., &Gentner, D. (1980). A framework for a cognitive theory of writing. In L. W. Gregg, & E. R. Steinberg (Eds.), Cognitive processes in writing (pp. 51-72). Hillsdale, New Jersey: Erlbaum.
Elbow, P. (1973).Writing without teachers. London, UK: Oxford University Press.
Elbow, P. (1981).Writing with power: Techniques for mastering writing process. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Ellis, R. (1987).Interlanguage variability in narrative discourse: Styles shifting in the use of past tense. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 9(1), 1-19.
Ellis, R. (2005). Planning and task-based performance: Theory and research. In R., Ellis (Ed.),Planning and task performance in a second language (pp. 3-34). Amsterdam, Netherlands: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Ellis, R., & Yuan, F. (2004). The effects of planning on fluency, complexity, and accuracy in second language narrative writing. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 26(1), 59-84.
Flower, L. S., & Hayes, J. R. (1980). The dynamic of composing: Making plans and juggling
constraints. In L. W. Gregg & E. R. Steinberg (Eds.),Cognitive processes in writing(pp. 31-50). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Flower, L. S., & Hayes, J. R. (1981).A cognitive process theory of writing.College Composition and Communication, 32(4), 365-387.
Galbraith, D. (1999). Writing as a knowledge-constituting process. In M. Torrance & D. Galbraith (Eds.),Studies in writing: Knowing what to write: Conceptual processes in text production(pp.139-160). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Amsterdam University Press.
Galbraith, D. (2009). Cognitive models of writing. German-as-a-foreign language (GFL) Journal,2(3), 6-22.
Gould, J. D. (1980). Experiments on composing letters: Some facts, some myths, and some observations. In L. W. Gregg & E. R. Steinberg (Eds.), Cognitive processes in writing (pp. 97-128). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Hashemi L., & Thomas, B. (2010). Objective PET. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hayes, J. R. (2006). New directions in writing theory. In C. A. MacArthur, S. Graham, & J. Fitzgerald (Eds.), Handbook of writing research (pp. 28-40). New York, NY: Guilford.
Hayes, J. & J. Gradwohl Nash. (1996). On the nature of planning in writing. In C. Levy & S. Ransdell (Eds.), The science of writing (pp. 116-147).Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Jacobs, H. L., Zinkgraf, S. A., Wormuth, D. R., Hartfiel, V. F., &Hughey, J. B. (1981). Testing ESL composition; A practical approach. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Kellogg, R. T. (1987). Effects of topic knowledge on the allocation of processing time and cognitive effort to writing processes. Memory and Cognition, 15(3), 256-266.
Kellogg, R. T. (1988). Attentional overload and writing performance: Effects of rough draft and outline strategies. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 14(2), 355-365.
Kellogg, R. T. (1990). Effectiveness of prewriting strategies as a function of task demands. American Journal of Psychology, 103(3), 327-342.
Kormos, J. (2011). Task complexity and linguistics and discourse features of narrative writing performance. Journal of Second Language Writing, 20(2), 148-161.
Mancho´n, R. M., & Roca de Larios, J. (2007). On the temporal nature of planning in L1 and L2composing. Language Learning, 57(4), 549-593.
McCutchen, D. (1996). A capacity theory of writing: Working memory in composition. Educational Psychology Review, 8(3), 299-325.
Newell, A., & Simon, H. (1972). Human problem solving. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Olive, T., & Kellogg, R. T. (2002). Concurrent activation of high- and low-level writing processes. Memory & Cognition, 30(4), 594-600.
Ong, J. (2014). How do planning time and task conditions affect metacognitive processes of L2 writers?Journal of Second Language Writing, 23, 17-30.
Ong, J., & Zhang, L. J. (2013).Effects of the manipulation of cognitive processes on EFL writers' text quality. TESOL Quarterly, 47(2), 375-398.
Ortega, L. (2005). What do learners plan? Learner-driven attention to form during pre-task planning. In R. Ellis (Ed.). Planning and task performance in a second language (pp.77-109). Amsterdam, Netherlands: John Benjamins Publishing Co.
Piolat, A., Kellogg, R. T., &Farioli, F. (2001). The triple task technique for studying writing processes: On which task is attention focused? Current Psychology Letters: Brain, Behavior and Cognition,4(1), 67-83.
Rau, P. S., &Sebrechts, M. M. (1996). How initial plans mediate the expansion and resolution of options in writing. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 49(3), 616-638.
Robinson, P. (2007). Task complexity, theory of mind, and intentional reasoning: Effects on L2 speech production, interaction, uptake and perceptions of task difficulty. IRAL,45(3) 193-213.
Roca de Larios, J., Marı´n, J., & Murphy, L. (2001). A temporal analysis of formulation processes in L1 and L2 writing. Language Learning, 51(3), 497-538.
Roca de Larios, J., Mancho´n, R., Murphy, L., &Marı´n, J. (2008). The foreign language writer’s strategic behavior in the allocation of time to writing processes. Journal of Second Language Writing, 17(1), 30-47.
Roca de Larios, J., Mancho´n, R. M., & Murphy, L. (2006). Generating text in native and foreign language writing: A temporal analysis of problem-solving formulation processes. The Modern Language Journal, 90(1), 100-114.
Silva, T. & Matsuda, P. K. (2002).Writing. In Schmitt, N. (Ed.),An introduction to applied linguistics (pp.251-266). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Singer, B.D.,& Bashir, A.S. (2004). Developmental variations in writing composition skills. In C.A. Stone, E.R. Silliman, B.J. Ehren& K. Apel (Eds.), Handbook of language and literacy. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Skehan, P. (1996). A framework for the implementation of task-based instruction. Applied Linguistics, 17(1), 38-62.
Skehan, P. (1998). A cognitive approach to language learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Skehan, P. (2003). Task-based instruction. Language Teaching, 36(1), 1-14.
Torrance, M., & Jeffery, G. (1999). Writing processes and cognitive demands. In M. Torrance & G. Jeffery (Eds.), The cognitive demands of writing: processing capacity and working memory in text production (pp. 1-11). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Amsterdam University Press.
Tsiriotakis, I. K., Vassilaki, E., Spantidakis, I., &Stavrou, N. A. (2017).The examination of the effects of writing strategy-based procedural facilitative environments on students' English foreign language writing anxiety levels. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 2074.
Van den Bergh, H., &Rijlaarsdam, G. (2007). The dynamics of idea generation during writing: An online study. In G. Rijlaarsdam (Series Ed.), M. Torrance, L. van Waes, & D. Galbraith (Eds.), Writing and cognition: Research and applications (pp. 125-150). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier.
Van der Hoeven, J. (1999). Differences in writing performance: Generating as indicator. In G. Rijlaarsdam& E. Espe´ret (Series Eds.), M. Torrance & D. Galbraith (Eds.), Knowing whatto write: Conceptual processes in text production (pp. 65-77). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Amsterdam University Press.
Wason, P. C. (1980). Specific thoughts on the writing process. In L. W. Gregg, &E. R. Steinberg (Eds.), Cognitive processes in writing (pp. 129-137). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Whalen, J. & Menard, N. (1995). L1 and L2 writers' strategic and linguistic knowledge: A model of multiple-level discourse processing. Language Learning, 45(3), 381-418.