Determining Change in Students’ WritingApprehension Scores in a Writing Intensive Course: APre-Test, Post-Test Design

摘要

Writing skills are one of the most important skills college graduates need to possess; however,college graduates struggle to complete written communications proficiently in the workforce.Previous researchers have explained that college instructors must understand the students’ fearswith writing in order to create effective writing curriculum. Writing apprehension has beendescribed as one of the main factors hindering students’ motivation to write and confidence tocomplete writing responsibilities. In the college setting, negative views toward writing cause lowmotivation to enroll in writing courses or take the course seriously; ultimately, writingapprehension causes students to not make writing a priority. Using the theoretical framework ofself-efficacy, this paper sought to explore how a writing intensive course changed a student’sconfidence or belief in their writing skills, and in turn, how the intensive writing course improvedtheir writing apprehension. A two-phase, convergent parallel design mixed methods study was usedto determine what change, if any, occurred during the writing intensive course. The findingsshowed writing apprehension, or avoidance-like attitudes, may be diminished in undergraduatestudents throughout the duration of a writing intensive course. Recommendations for practitionersand future research are also provided.