“The Job of Teaching Writing”

Teacher Views of Responding to Student Writing

Authors

  • Dana Ferris University of California Author
  • Hsiang Liu California State University Author
  • Brigitte Rabie California State University Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/wap.v3i1.39

Keywords:

Writing feedback, Writing pedagogy, College writing, Teacher perceptions

Abstract

Although response to student writing often consumes the majority of a writing instructor’s time and energy, studies of teachers’ philosophies and practices with regard to feedback have been relatively rare in the response literature. In the study described in this article, college writing instructors from six community colleges and two four-year universities in Northern California (N=129) were surveyed, and volunteers from this group (N=23) gave follow-up in-depth interviews. In addition, each interview participant provided 3-5 samples of student texts with their own written commentary. Based on the findings, our analysis focuses on two questions:

1. How do the participants (college-level writing instructors in Northern California) perceive response to student writing?

2. In what ways might the participants’ own practices be causing or adding to their frustrations?

We found that although most of the participants value response and believe it is very important, they are often frustrated and dissatisfied with the task itself and with its apparent lack of impact on student progress. Our data analyses suggest some possible underlying explanations for these teachers’ complex attitudes toward response. The discussion concludes with suggestions of ways writing instructors can adapt or focus their response practices to increase the efficiency and quality of their feedback, to reduce frustration, and to increase satisfaction with this aspect of their teaching practice.

Author Biographies

  • Dana Ferris, University of California

    Dana Ferris, Ph.D., is Professor in the University Writing Program at the University of California, Davis, and directs the first-year writing program. Her research focuses on second language writing and reading and on response to student writing.

  • Hsiang Liu, California State University

    Hsiang Liu, M.A., is a Lecturer in the Learning Skills and English departments at California State University, Sacramento. He teaches courses in the reading/writing program for multilingual students.

  • Brigitte Rabie, California State University

    Brigitte Rabie, M.A., is a Lecturer in the Learning Skills department at California State University, Sacramento. She teaches courses in the reading/ writing program for multilingual students.

References

Anson, C. M. (2000) Response and the social construction of error. Assessing Writing 7: 5–21.

Bitchener, J. (2008) Evidence in support of written corrective feedback. Journal of Second Language Writing 17: 102–118.

Bitchener, J. and Knoch, U. (2008) The value of written corrective feedback for migrant and international students. Language Teaching Research 12: 409–431.

Brannon, L. and Knoblauch, C. H. (1982) On students’ rights to their own texts: A model of teacher response. College Composition and Communication 33: 157–166.

Connors, R. and Lunsford, A. A. (1988). Frequency of formal errors in current college writing, or Ma and Pa Kettle do research. College Composition and Communication 39: 395–409.

Connors, R. and Lunsford, A. A. (1993) Teachers’ rhetorical comments on student papers. College Composition and Communication 44: 200–223.

Ellis, R., Sheen, Y., Murakami, M. and Takashima, H. (2008) The effects of focused and unfocused written corrective feedback in an English as a foreign language context. System 36: 353–371.

Ferris, D. R. (1995) Student reactions to teacher response in multiple-draft composition classrooms, TESOL Quarterly 29: 33–53.

Ferris, D. R. (1997) The influence of teacher commentary on student revision. TESOL Quarterly 31: 315–339.

Ferris, D. R. (2002) Treatment of Error in Second Language Student Writing. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

Ferris, D. R. (2003) Response to Student Writing: Implications for Second Language Students. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Ferris, D. R. (2004) The “grammar correction” debate in L2 writing: Where are we, and where do we go from here? (and what do we do in the meantime…?) Journal of Second Language Writing 13: 49–62.

Ferris, D. R. (2006) Does error feedback help student writers? New evidence on the short- and long-term effects of written error correction. In K. Hyland and F. Hyland (eds.) Feedback in Second Language Writing: Contexts and Issues 81–104. Cambridge University Press.

Ferris, D. R. (2009) Teaching College Writing to Diverse Student Populations. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

Ferris, D. and Hedgcock, J. S. (2005) Teaching ESL Composition: Purpose, Process, and Practice. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Ferris, D., Pezone, S., Tade, C., and Tinti, S. (1997) Teacher commentary on student writing: Descriptions and implications. Journal of Second Language Writing 6: 155–182.

Ferris, D. R., and Roberts, B. J. (2001) Error feedback in L2 writing classes: How explicit does it need to be? Journal of Second Language Writing 10: 161–184.

Goldstein, L. (2001) For Kyla: What does the research say about responding to ESL writers? In T. Silva and P. K. Matsuda (eds.) On Second Language Writing 73–90. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Goldstein, L. (2005) Teacher Written Commentary in Second Language Writing Classrooms. Ann Arbor: Michigan.

Harklau, L., Losey, K. and Siegal, M. (eds.) (1999) Generation 1.5 Meets College Composition: Issues in the Teaching of Writing to U.S.-Educated Learners of ESL. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Haswell, R. H. (1983) Minimal marking. College English 45: 600–604.

Hartwell, P. (1985) Grammar, grammars, and the teaching of grammar. College English 47: 105–127.

Hendrickson, J. M. (1980) The treatment of error in written work. Modern Language Journal 64: 216–221.

Knoblauch, C. H. and Brannon, L. (1981) Teacher commentary on student writing: The state of the art. Freshman English News 10 (Fall): 1–4.

Knoblauch, C. H. and Brannon, L. (2006) Introduction: The emperor (still) has no clothes revisiting the myth of improvement. In R. Straub (ed.) Key Works on Teacher Response 1–16. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Boynton/Cook Heinemann.

Lalande, J. F., II (1982) Reducing composition errors: An experiment. Modern Language Journal 66: 140–149.

Lee, I. (2008) Understanding teachers’ written feedback practices in Hong Kong secondary classrooms. Journal of Second Language Writing 17: 69–85.

Lee, I. (2009) Ten mismatches between teachers’ beliefs and written feedback practice. ELT Journal 63: 13–22.

Lunsford, A. A., and Lunsford, K. J. (2008) “Mistakes are a fact of life”: A national comparative study. College Composition and Communication 59: 781–806.

Lunsford, R. F, and Straub, R. (2006) Twelve readers reading: A survey of contemporary teachers’ commenting strategies. In R. Straub (ed.) Key Works on Teacher Response 159-189. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Boynton/Cook Heinemann.

Matsuda, P. K., Cox, M., Jordan, J., and Ortmeier-Hooper, C. (eds.) (2006) Second-Language Writing in the Composition Classroom. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

Montgomery, J. L., and Baker, W. (2007) Teacher-written feedback: Student perceptions, teacher self-assessment, and actual teacher performance. Journal of Second Language Writing 16: 82–99.

Nurmukhamedov, U. (2009) Teacher feedback on writing: Considering the options. Writing & Pedagogy 1: 113–124.

Reid, J. (1994) Responding to ESL students’ texts: The myths of appropriation. TESOL Quarterly 28: 273–292.

Roberge, M., Siegal, M., and Harklau, L. (eds.) (2009) Generation 1.5 in College Composition. New York: Routledge.

Santa, T. (2006) Dead Letters: Error in Composition, 1873-2004. Cresskill, New Jersey: Hampton Press.

Segade, G. (2004) Book review: Response to Student Writing by Dana R. Ferris. Retrieved 6 June 2006 from http://www.writingproject.org/cs/nwpp/lpt/nwpr/1990

Sheen, Y. (2007) The effect of focused written corrective feedback and language aptitude on ESL learners’ acquisition of articles. TESOL Quarterly 41: 255–83.

Sommers, N. (1982) Responding to student writing. College Composition and Communication 33: 148–156.

Sommers, N. (2006) Re-visions: Rethinking Nancy Sommers’ “Responding to student writing,” 1982. College Composition and Communication 58: 246–256.

Sperling, M. and Freedman, S. W. (1987) A good girl writes like a good girl: Written responses to student writing. Written Communication 4: 343–369.

Straub, R. (1997) Students’ reactions to teacher comments: An exploratory study. Research in the Teaching of English 31: 91–119.

Straub, R. (2000) The Practice of Response: Strategies for Commenting on Student Writing. Creskill, New Jersey: Hampton Press.

Straub, R. (ed.) (2006). Key Works on Teacher Response. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Boynton/Cook Heinemann.

Straub, R. and Lunsford, R. F. (1995) Twelve Readers Reading: Responding to College Student Writing. Creskill, New Jersey: Hampton Press.

Truscott, J. (1996) The case against grammar correction in L2 writing classes. Language Learning 46: 327–369.

Truscott, J. (2007) The effect of error correction on learners’ ability to write accurately. Journal of Second Language Writing 16: 255–272.

White, E. M. (2006) Assigning, Responding, Evaluating: A Writing Teacher’s Guide (4th edition). New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

Williams, J. M. (1981) The phenomenology of error. College Composition and Communication 32: 152–168.

Zamel, V. (1985) Responding to student writing. TESOL Quarterly 19: 79–102.

Downloads

Published

2011-06-29

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2011)

Section

Research Matters

License

© Equinox Publishing Ltd.

For information regarding our Open Access policy, click here.

How to Cite

Ferris, D., Liu, H., & Rabie, B. (2011). “The Job of Teaching Writing”: Teacher Views of Responding to Student Writing. Writing and Pedagogy, 3(1), 39-77. https://doi.org/10.1558/wap.v3i1.39