Developing Writers in Higher Education: A Longitudinal Study

Developing Writers in Higher Education explores how learning to write for various purposes in multiple disciplines leads college students to new levels of competence. It uses statistical analysis, qualitative analysis, corpus linguistics, and case studies to trace the multiple paths taken by student writers. Topics include student writers' interaction with feedback, perceptions of genre, the role of disciplinary writing, generality and certainty in student writing, students' concepts of voice and style, students' understanding of multimodal and digital writing, high school's influence on college writers, and writing development after college. The digital edition offers samples of student writing, electronic portfolios, transcripts of interviews, and explanations of analysis.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 384 pages
Publication date: 30 January 2019
Publisher: The University of Michigan Press

Developing Writers in Higher Education: A Longitudinal Study of 169 University of Michigan Undergraduates explores the processes by which students become more capable and ready to meet the challenges of writing for employers, the wider public, and their own purposes. The book draws on an in-depth study of the writing and experiences of 169 University of Michigan undergraduates, using statistical analysis of 322 surveys, qualitative analysis of 131 interviews, corpus linguistics on 94 electronic portfolios and 2,406 pieces of student writing, and case studies of individual students. Topics include student writers' interaction with feedback, perceptions of genre, the role of disciplinary writing, generality and certainty in student writing, students' concepts of voice and style, students' understanding of multimodal and digital writing, high school's influence on college writers, and writing development after college. The digital edition offers samples of student writing, electronic portfolios produced by student writers, transcripts of interviews with students, and explanations of some of the analysis conducted by the contributors. This is an important book for researchers and graduate students in multiple fields. Those in writing studies get an overview of other longitudinal studies as well as key questions currently circulating. For linguists, it demonstrates how corpus linguistics can inform writing studies. Scholars in higher education will gain a new perspective on college student development. The book also addresses the challenges of writing for employers, the wider public, and their own purposes.

Weight: 756g
Dimension: 182 x 254 x 28 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780472037384