A Study on Writing Process Components and Writing Strategies in Argumentative Writing

In this study, we investigated the writing process components and the writing strategies that appeared in the process of argumentative writing through students` think-alouds and semi-structured interviews. The subjects were 18 eighth graders. During argumentative writing, students were asked to decide whether they agreed with the given argument or not on the basis of information provided in the writing task. We categorized the writing process components and the writing strategies by analyzing the protocols of students` think-alouds and interviews, and evaluated the level of their written compositions. The analyses of the results indicated that the writing process components of argumentative writing showed different characteristics from those of problem solving writing in several components such as setting goals, organizing an outline, and evaluating content. In addition, the writing process component `coordinating information` was newly discovered in argumentative writing. The writing strategies were categorized into four groups by the types of decision making (reflective/intuitive) and the existence of outline organization: Reflective decision making and outline organization, reflective decision making and no outline organization, intuitive decision making and outline organization, and intuitive decision making and no outline organization. Students with the reflective decision making and outline organization strategy were found to get the highest scores in written composition in terms of the relationship between the argument and its grounds, the rebuttal of the opposing argument, and the structure of the writing. Educational implications are discussed.