ERIC Number: EJ922227
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0040-0912
EISSN: N/A
What a Difference a Writing Centre Makes: A Small Scale Study
Yeats, Rowena; Reddy, Peter; Wheeler, Anne; Senior, Carl; Murray, John
Education & Training, v52 n6-7 p499-507 2010
Purpose: Academic writing is often considered to be a weakness in contemporary students, while good reporting and writing skills are highly valued by graduate employers. A number of universities have introduced writing centres aimed at addressing this problem; however, the evaluation of such centres is usually qualitative. The paper seeks to consider the efficacy of a writing centre by looking at the impact of attendance on two "real world" quantitative outcomes--achievement and progression. Design/methodology/approach: Data mining was used to obtain records of 806 first-year students, of whom 45 had attended the writing centre and 761 had not. Findings: A highly significant association between writing centre attendance and achievement was found. Progression to year two was also significantly associated with writing centre attendance. Originality/value: Further, quantitative evaluation of writing centres is advocated using random allocation to a comparison condition to control for potential confounds such as motivation.
Descriptors: Writing Skills, Literacy, Literacy Education, Education Work Relationship, Employer Attitudes, Writing (Composition), Laboratories, College Freshmen, Data Analysis, Universities, Comparative Analysis, Foreign Countries
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A