Abstract
The present paper focuses on concept mapping as a means to improve upper secondary school students' writing skills. First, the paper defines and specifies concept mapping and delineates its potential for Japanese upper secondary school students. Then the paper reports the results of the experiment in which concept mapping has been incorporated into the regular lessons of English writing at an upper secondary school. The effectiveness of concept mapping has been assessed by looking at the changes which have occurred in students' free compositions and the changes in the students' perceptions of writing. As far as the changes in the free compositions are concerned, the paper examines (1) the changes in the number of produced words and sentences, (2) the changes in the complexity of produced sentences, and (3) the changes in the contents of the free compositions. As for the changes in the students' perceptions of writing, the paper examines the results of the questionnaire administered at the end of the experiment.
