Synthesis writing A comparison of instructional approaches and process measuring methods in English as a foreign language

This dissertation aimed at providing a deeper insight into synthesis writing instruction in three empirical studies. The first two studies tested the effects of instructional content (i.e., explicit strategy vs. no-strategy) and instructional mode (i.e., modelling vs. presentational) on students’ synthesis writing quality and writing processes. We first investigated the effects of explicit strategy instruction by comparing it to regular instructional practice (of an institution). A second research question investigated the effectiveness of two modes of instruction, namely presentational and modelling, that are typically used in explicit strategy instruction programmes. Both research questions were tested for their effectiveness on students’ writing performance, which we defined in this dissertation as students’ writing quality and writing processes. The second study was a replication of the first study for generalisation of results with a larger sample size and different participant profiles, as well as an additional inquiry into the effects of transfer to the argumentative genre. In a third study, we investigated a methodological issue that was raised in the findings of Study 2, that is, a possible reactivity of the measurement method, namely the online Time-Sampled Self- Reporting (TSSR), that we used in the two studies to operationalise students’ writing processes. Together the three studies provide an extensive insight on the effects of different modes of explicit strategy instruction, particularly on the effectiveness of modelling mode of instruction, on students’ synthesis writing products and processes, and into methods tapping into the writing process, highlighting the reactivity of TSSR.