ERIC Number: EJ1126572
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-0973
EISSN: N/A
The Effects of Rhetorical and Content Subgoals on Writing and Learning
Klein, Perry D.; Haug, Katrina N.; Arcon, Nina
Journal of Experimental Education, v85 n2 p291-308 2017
Argument writing is challenging for elementary students. Previous experimental research has focused on scaffolding rhetorical goals, leaving content goals relatively unexplored. In a randomized experiment, 73 students in grades 5, 6, and 7 wrote persuasive texts about difficult-to-classify vertebrates. Each student received one of three sets of writing prompts: a persuasive goal only (control); a persuasive goal + rhetorical-subgoal prompts; or a persuasive goal + content-subgoal prompts. Rhetorical subgoals increased text quality, variety of rhetorical moves, number of complex propositions, and classification knowledge. Content subgoals increased the number of simple propositions in text. A path analysis indicated that content-subgoal prompts and rhetorical-subgoal prompts elicited different paths to writing and learning.
Descriptors: Writing (Composition), Persuasive Discourse, Cues, Content Area Writing, Grade 5, Grade 6, Grade 7, Control Groups, Path Analysis, Learning Processes, Science Instruction, Classification, Scaffolding (Teaching Technique), Biodiversity, Foreign Countries, Pretests Posttests, Statistical Analysis, Multigraded Classes, Multivariate Analysis, Likert Scales
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Grade 5; Intermediate Grades; Middle Schools; Elementary Education; Grade 6; Grade 7; Junior High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A