Writing style and the narrative essay

Background. Writing styles reflect the ways that writers think about themselves and about writing, as well as the pattern of strategies that writers consistently use to achieve their goals (Lavelle, 1993). Generally, writing styles may be considered along the deep/surface continuum with deep styles geared toward making a complex meaning beyond the given words, and surface writing reflecting a listing approach based on the reproduction of information. However, some students have adopted an Elaborative style reflecting a high degree of personal expression in writing. The Elaborative style employs a self-referencing strategy - 'Writing makes me feel good', 'I put a lot of myself in writing' represents an affective dimension in writing - one geared toward personal meaning. Unfortunately, Elaborative writing is usually encouraged only in the composition class where it is considered a precursor to academic or objective composition.Aims. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among writing styles as measured by the Inventory of Processes in College Composition (Lavelle, 1993), writing apprehension, and writing performance on a personal narrative writing task. Given the self-referencing strategy associated with the Elaborative style, it was hypothesised that Elaborative scale scores would predict narrative essay outcomes in terms of the degree of personal investment and complexity.Sample. The sample consisted of 74 college students enrolled in freshman composition, a general studies course at a medium size midwestem university in the United States.Methods. The Inventory of Processes in College Composition and the Daly Miller Writing Apprehension Test were administered to students during a regular, 50-minute class period. Students also responded in essay format to a personal writing prompt: 'My Most Unforgettable Character'.Results. Results support the Elaborative writing style as predictive of the degree of personal involvement in writing a narrative essay but not as predictive of the complexity of writing outcome. Writing apprehension in conjunction with Procedural scale score were predictive of the complexity of essay outcomes and Elaborative and Low self-efficacy writing styles were predictive of writing apprehension.Conclusions. The Elaborative construct represents a highly personal and emotive approach to writing and learning and is useful in understanding writers' strengths and deficits. Elaborative writers were confident and highly invested in writing a brief narrative essay, but might be encouraged to be more planful in order to achieve a greater level of complexity. Writing apprehension has been supported as a multidimensional construct related to writing self-efficacy. Implications for instruction include offering a wide range of writing assignments, emphasis on reflection and planning, and consideration of narrative writing as an educational tool in content areas

Apprehension · Cognitive psychology · Composition (language) · Linguistics · Literature · Mathematics education · Meaning (existential) · Narrative · Style (visual arts) · Writing style · Creativity in Education and Neuroscience · Innovative Teaching and Learning Methods · Psychology · Social Psychology · Writing and Handwriting Education

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