The written production of argumentative and dissertation text: a didactic project based on Bakhtin's philosophy

This article is characterized as a theoretical and practical research related to a project developed during the year 2015 in two schools - one public, the other private- , in the city of Birigui, State of São Paulo, Brazil. The main goal of the study was to analyze: the pedagogical project and the teachers’ activities oriented towards teaching and learning of argumentative and dissertation texts. The methodology used in this research comprised: (i) visiting both schools, (ii) producing a description of ongoing school practices, with focus on the teaching of argumentative and dissertation texts, (iii) suggesting a teacher’s activity to improve this apprenticeship, (iv) putting this activity into practice and (v) analyzing obtained results. The theoretical framework used for this study was the Bakhtinian philosophy (BAKHTIN, 2013; 2006a; 2006b; 2006c; 2006d; 2010; 2013; VOLOSHINOV, 1986). This theoretical approach was chosen due to the importance of comprehension of the text not just as an amalgamated set of words, phrases and paragraphs; other than that, we understand it as a structure of meaning, in which we encounter linguistic forms, ideologies and discursive stance. At last, we can say the results show that the argumentative texts render assistance to the development of the students’ argumentative competence and skill, that is, in their ability to argue and organize ideas in a communicative situation

Teaching academic writing to Iraqi undergraduate students: An investigation into the effectiveness of a genre-process approach

A modified integrated process-genre approach (MIM) was implemented with EFL undergraduate students in Iraq. Some students subject to the MIM were better able to construct structurally complex and reasonably-grounded arguments and to employ a wider range of informal reasoning patterns group.Combining the merits of both the process and genre approaches has the potential to develop a more coherent model of writing by taking into account cognitive and social demands

Using Discussion Board as the Medium to Improve the Skill in Writing a Recount Text

This study is aimed to improve the students\u27 skill in writing a recount text through the use of discussion board. The subject consists of twenty seven eighth graders. This study was carried out in one cycle. The cycle consisted of five meetings including the registration process on discussion board, prewriting and drafting in face to face classroom environment, and the process of revising, editing and publishing stage on discussion board. The data of the study were taken from the observation checklist, field notes, questionnaire and the students\u27 final product. The findings of the study revealed that the discussion board was successful in improving the skill in writing a recount text of the eighth graders. The improvement was indicated by the increase of the students\u27 writing scores, the students\u27 participation in writing activities and the students\u27 positive responses after the implementation of discussion board

AN EXPERIMENT OF AUDIENCE AWARENESS EFFECTS ON COLLEGE STUDENTS’ ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING

This experimental study explored the effects of different levels (imagined audience vs. interactive audience) and timing of audience interaction (during planning vs. revision) on undergraduate students’ self-efficacy and quality of argumentative writing. A total of 138 students from four undergraduate educational psychology courses participated in this study. Three conditions were compared: imagined audience, interactive audience during planning and interactive audience during revision. Results showed that students interacting with audience during revision produced significantly more argumentative elements (below level 1 reasons of opposing view) and had higher self-efficacy for audience awareness than the other two conditions. Students’ cognitive load and audience-related strategies utilized during the writing task were also explored. Findings generally showed that audience-related strategies and distribution of cognitive resources during different stages of writing are likely to be associated with differences in writing performance. Advisor: Roger Brunin

AN EXPERIMENT OF AUDIENCE AWARENESS EFFECTS ON COLLEGE STUDENTS’ ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING

This experimental study explored the effects of different levels (imagined audience vs. interactive audience) and timing of audience interaction (during planning vs. revision) on undergraduate students’ self-efficacy and quality of argumentative writing. A total of 138 students from four undergraduate educational psychology courses participated in this study. Three conditions were compared: imagined audience, interactive audience during planning and interactive audience during revision. Results showed that students interacting with audience during revision produced significantly more argumentative elements (below level 1 reasons of opposing view) and had higher self-efficacy for audience awareness than the other two conditions. Students’ cognitive load and audience-related strategies utilized during the writing task were also explored. Findings generally showed that audience-related strategies and distribution of cognitive resources during different stages of writing are likely to be associated with differences in writing performance. Advisor: Roger Brunin

Teaching argumentative synthesis writing through deliberative dialogues: instructional practices in secondary education

Dialogical argumentation practice contributes positively to argumentative writing skills. Specifically, deliberative dialogues are effective in promoting argument and counterargument integration in students' essays. However, the potential of dialogic activities may be increased if they are combined with instructional practices. The primary objective of this research is to compare the impact of four intervention programs, aimed at improving argumentative synthesis writing from conflicting sources. The four programs resulted from the combination of two instructional components (Explicit Instruction through video modelling—EI, or a Procedural Guideline—G), while Deliberative Dialogues—DD—were a constant element. We conducted a pre-post quasi-experimental study in which 186 Spanish third grade secondary school students (aged 14–15) participated. We evaluated the quality of the syntheses by examining the level of argumentative coverage (the total number of arguments included in the synthesis) and the level of integration (the type and frequency of the argumentative strategies used in the syntheses). The results showed that the effectiveness of the instructional methods varies according to the synthesis quality indicator. Explicit instruction, in combination with deliberative dialogues, was especially helpful in improving the level of integration of syntheses. The procedural guideline, in combination with deliberative dialogues, contributed significantly to the coverage of arguments. The combination of these two elements did not favor the writing of synthesis as expected, probably due to the conditions in which the intervention was carried out. The findings of this study revealed that the coverage of arguments and integration processes are of different nature, follow different learning paths and require different instructional processes.pre-print875 K

Learning Effect in a Multilingual Web-Based Argumentative Writing Instruction Model, Called ECM, on Metacognition, Rhetorical Moves, and Self-Efficacy for Scientific Purposes

This research was developed within the framework of ED.INVEST (HUM356) Research Groups financed by the Junta de Andalucia (Spain), with the project "Multilingual Communication and Citizenship Technologies" and the project "Accessible scientific writing course in Moodle to be taught in Spanish, German, English, Italian, and Catalan", financed by the Department of Planning Quality and Evaluation at the University of Granada. Reference PID14-05/Code 14-05.The purpose of this study is to assess the learning effect of a multilingual web-based argumentative writing instruction model called the Ensayo Científico Multilingüe (ECM, Multilingual Scientific Essay) adapting the didactic model called Genre-based Writing Instruction (GBWI) in an experiment conducted over three months. For this purpose, a quasi-experimental research model was applied to 150 students in the experimental group and 150 in the control group, with two measurements, pre and post-test, for three dependent variables: (a) writing metacognition and its dimensions; (b) written argumentative self-efficacy; and (c) rhetorical moves and steps of an argumentative essay. The latter variable was measured by the content analysis method. Variables (a) and (b) were both measured with instruments validated in a population of 518 university students using structural equations. The findings demonstrate the positive effect of the ECM, which combines WBWI and GBWI in argumentative written learning in the students’ mother tongue in all variables measured, applying statistics such as the Shapiro–Wilk statistic, parametric contrast, and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. In relation to the findings, with respect to the evaluated variables, it was discovered, specifically, that the rhetorical steps in which the students showed a significant improvement were innovations, quotes/research, definitions of concepts, refutations, definitive reasons, and bibliographical references. Likewise, the rhetorical steps that did not present significant differences following the application of the ECM were discovered, and they were: reason summary, formulation of premise, and reasons for. Furthermore, it can be stated that for the ECM there was an increase, above all, in awareness of the following metacognitive dimensions: (a) writing selfregulation; (b) writing planning; and (c) writing revision, as well as argumentative self-efficacy. The novelties of this research with respect to the precedents reside in that it offers valid and concrete results on the effect of a multilingual web design integrated into a well-defined didactic model of argumentative writing on writing metacognition and its dimensions, argumentative structuring and its rhetorical steps, and argumentative self-efficacy. The related studies consider only some of these variables, but not all of them together or their complexity. These results have allowed us to establish specific didactic–technological proposals for improving the ECM that are transferable to didactic designs to guide written argumentation at higher academic levels using multilingual web technologies and integrating the metacognitive, behavioral, and motivational dimensions of writing.Junta de Andalucia European Commission HUM356Department of Planning Quality and Evaluation at the University of Granada PID14-05/Code 14-0

Ipsative assessment of essay writing to foster reflection and self-awareness of progress

114 Páginas.La evaluación Ipsativa para mejorar la redacción de textos argumentativos tuvo como objetivo analizar cómo un tipo alternativo de evaluación influyó en la habilidad de escritura de 14 adultos jóvenes y 10 adultos de dos universidades colombianas, una con un programa de idiomas para los estudiantes de pregrado de diversas carreras, y la otra en un programa de licenciatura . Ambos contextos, el presencial y en línea correspondientemente, fueron sometidos al mismo proceso de intervención e investigación. Debido a la naturaleza propia de la evaluación ipsativa, este estudio también se interesó en sus efectos sobre el aprendizaje auto-dirigido y a largo plazo. Las preguntas de la investigación se enfocaron en analizar como los estudiantes estructuraban sus ensayos por medio de la retroalimentación ipsativa y como este enfoque de evaluación influenció a los estudiantes a nivel individual. Para este estudio de investigación se reunieron datos cualitativos y cuantitativos de los 24 estudiantes a través de cuatro tipos de instrumentos: pre y post-cuestionarios, un formato ipsativo, ensayos de los estudiantes y sus calificaciones. Estos datos se analizaron por medio de muestreo teórico y estadística descriptiva. El primero permitió a los profesores-investigadores identificar patrones en las reflexiones de los estudiantes y la última describe el desempeño de los estudiantes en la escritura del ensayo. Los resultados revelaron que por medio de la evaluación ipsativa los estudiantes mejoraron la escritura de un ensayo argumentativo ya que comprendieron la importancia de la estructura retórica y el carácter reflexivo de la escritura. La comparación de diversos borradores le permitió a los estudiantes reflexionar sobre cómo mejorar su trabajo al mismo tiempo que les llevo a tomar conciencia de su progreso

Pre-university academic literacy: promoting 12th graders’ mastery of academic argumentative essays

This study examines the effectiveness of and students’ attitude towards Genre-Based pedagogy as an approach for developing 12th graders’ control of argumentative essays of the analytical exposition type. The study was carried out with a class of 12th grade students at Colegio Hebreo Unión, a private school located in Barranquilla, Colombia. The study follows an action research methodology oriented towards the improvement of 12th graders' academic writing skills, a goal set after diagnosing their difficulties through prior class work and writing tests. Data were collected through observations, interviews, surveys, diaries, class recording, worksheet and text output. Results pointed to students’ positive perception of Genre-Based pedagogy as an approach to the development of argumentative writing skills, since students perceived it to meet their expectations and needs as learners. A positive effect was found for implementing Genre-Based pedagogy since students demonstrated an enhanced ability to improve their language, structure their arguments and to integrate academic voices into the discourse at the end of the implementation period.MaestríaMagister en la Enseñanza del Ingle