Improving The Writing Skills Of College

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
2007, 14 (2), 237-242

Improving the writing skills of college students
RONALD T. KELLOGG AND BASCOM A. RAULERSON III
Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri
Advanced writing skills are an important aspect of academic performance as well as of subsequent workrelated performance. However, American students rarely attain advanced scores on assessments of writing skills
(National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2002). In order to achieve higher levels of writing performance, the working memory demands of writing processes should be reduced so that executive attention is free to coordinate interactions among them. This can in theory be achieved through deliberate practice that trains writers to develop executive control through repeated opportunities to write and through timely and relevant feedback.
Automated essay scoring software may offer a way to alleviate the intensive grading demands placed on instructors and, thereby, substantially increase the amount of writing practice that students receive.

Effective writing skills are central both in higher education and the world of work that follows. One’s ability to compose an extended text is the single best predictor of success in course work during the freshman year (Geiser
& Studley, 2001). Gains in informative and analytical writing ability are, moreover, taken as a good indicator of the value added by higher education (Benjamin & Chun,
2003). Finally, a large share of the value added by businesses in a knowledge-based economy is codified in written documents, placing a premium on a literate workforce
(Brandt, 2005).
Despite the importance of writing skills, the National
Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP, 2002) has painted a dismal picture of the writing preparedness of
American students. Less than a third of students in 4th grade (28%), 8th grade (31%), and 12th grade (21%) scored at or above proficient levels. Only 2% wrote at an advanced level for all three samples.

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