Reopening inquiry into cognitive processes in writing-to-learn

Writing produces generally positive, but inconsistent, effects on learning. The reasons for this inconsistency are unknown. This review examines four hypotheses about writing-to-learn: Writers spontaneously generate knowledge "at the point of utterance" (Britton, 1980/1982); writers externalize idea s in text, then reread them to generate new inferences (Young and Sullivan, 1984); writers use genre structures to organize relationships among elemen ts of text, and thereby among elements of knowledge (Newell, 1984); and wri ters set rhetorical goals, then solve content problems to achieve these goa ls (Bereiter and Scardamalia, 1987; Flower and Hayes, 1980a). These four hy potheses invoke different aspects of writing, and so are mutually compatibl e. The genre hypothesis has been supported by empirical research; the other three hypotheses have been tentatively supported by research concerning wr iting-to-learn, or indirectly supported by other research concerning learni ng or writing. Further investigation is needed concerning: The empirical va lidity of the four hypotheses, and interactions among the processes that th ey identify; the declarative and procedural knowledge that underpins writin g-to-learn; and the educational effectiveness of applying cognitive strateg y instruction to learning through writing.