THE WRITING QUALITY OF 7TH-GRADERS, 9TH-GRADERS, AND 11TH-GRADERS, AND COLLEGE-FRESHMEN - DOES RHETORICAL SPECIFICATION IN WRITING PROMPTS MAKE A DIFFERENCE

This study analyzes the influence of rhetorical specification in writi ng prompts on the writing quality of seventh-, ninth-, and eleventh-gr ade students, and college freshmen. Manipulating 3 composing variables -topic, purpose, and audience-8 assignments were created and administe red to college preparatory and college students at 4 age levels. Train ed raters scored 624 essays holistically on a six-point scale. The mai n and interactive effects of topic, purpose, and audience on writing q uality were analyzed using a three-way analysis of variance for all gr ades together and for each grade separately. Results indicate that stu dents utilized different kinds of rhetorical information at different stages. That is, while seventh graders tended to respond to simpler to pic specifications, ninth graders reacted strongly to more elaborated topics. Eleventh graders move frequently utilized rhetorical specifica tion, while college writers less frequently relied on it. Results sugg est that specific rhetorical information may be important to students at certain ages for pedagogical reasons as well as for assessment.