How Students Learn to Love Writing

Using Feedback to Engage and Develop Effective Writing Skills

Astudy that tested students on their readiness to sit NCEA L1, due to be introduced in 2024, has found that if students sat the standard for writing today only 35% would pass, leaving the remaining 65% struggling to write well enough to function in society. The sample that was tested ranged from Decile 5 and up. The results for Decile 1 students were even more alarming, with just 2% passing! These results should disturb us. We are hurtling at great speed into the digital age. Just a simple communication tool like e-mail requires an ability to write in a way that others can understand. Effective communication skills are of paramount importance. In order to future-proof our students, we must make sure they can succeed in these areas.

Effective writing is one of the most sought after skills by employers, along with strong digital and problem-solving skills. Writing and problem-solving are closely linked, since when we write, we think in order to construct a strong argument. Yet current research is telling us that we are falling behind in the key skill we need to think…writing.

Without strong literacy skills students will inevitably miss out on opportunities, career progression and life contentment.

As such, I authored and founded a unique, interactive technology, Stylefit. It encourages students to analyse their writing and to decide if it is doing the task they want of it. Is it descriptive, informative, entertaining, emotive? If it is not, then they are guided, using instant feedback, to edit their work and change wording in a re-draft to better suit the audience for which it is intended.

Stylefit is the result of many years of research into the increasingly complex challenges faced by teachers and learners as they are catapulted through the digital age and learning takes place in a range of environments inside and outside the traditional classroom.

In my research, I found that the one thing students value most is getting relevant, constructive feedback within days, (Even better - in mere hours!) of submitting their written work. If it is delivered any later, students move on to the next demand on their time, usually another essay. It does not take a great deal of imagination to realise that providing feedback within even one day of receiving an essay is a herculean undertaking.

If technology can shoulder some of the burden and relieve some of the relentless pressure of marking numerous essays, and guide students in writing original, thoroughly considered essays, then that surely is a good thing, is it not?

EdTech is now an integral part of every classroom and we are well on the way to integrating face-to-face education with technology – hybrid learning. When technology teaches students how to research, to analyse and think independently, and this force is combined with lessons guided by a teacher, then we have surely uncovered one of the greatest tools and changemakers of all time.

Suraya Dewing

Suraya Dewing is a published author who holds a BA in English and History, and a Master’s in Creative Writing. Recently, Suraya set out on a research mission to identify the factors that make writing successful. This led her to create Stylefit, an innovative writing tool that provides immediate feedback.

She can be reached at: suraya@stylefit.org