Effects of applying borders, formatting characters and annotating with voice during word processing on the quality of student writing

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis was to determine whether the quality of students' writing was affected by three types of word processor enhancements, namely, formatting characters, applying borders or annotating with voice. A team of evaluators independently scored three sets of writing assignments which were collected from 30 grade 7 students over a period of 39 weeks. An analysis of the data revealed no statistically significant differences between the treatment groups. The quality of writing was not affected by the type of word processor enhancements used during the composing and revising processes. The results of the study with these writers showed that 1) the research subjects did not possess sufficient knowledge of what could be expected from using the enhancements or the requisite skills to use the enhancements to affect the quality of their writing; 2) the constructivist writing model, along with the associated generative strategies which were employed with this group, were likely insufficient to effect a significant improvement in writing quality and, 3) a counterbalanced or repeated measures-by-treatment assessment should not have been used due to contamination of aural memory traces from speech to visual conditions. Limitations and implications of the study for further research are identified.