The Efficiency of the Academic Writing System:

Can Prewriting Discussion be Eliminated?

Abstract

Writing is a complex process where learners are required to demonstrate linguistic skills and knowledge by constructing clear, relevant, and logical arguments. To write an essay in a foreign language (English) is not easy for Japanese college students who have insufficient experience in academic writing, sometimes even in their native language. To help those students, a collaborative writing support system has been developed, which allows learners to read English text to analyze information and to write a well-organized academic essay. In a previous study, the effects of the system were observed in the writing performance of EFL Japanese university students; however, a problem―a large amount of time allotted for discussion―was found (Kano, 2018). Therefore, the necessity of discussion was examined utilizing the same system in this study. In order to investigate its effects, a small group discussion session was held for the students in the with-discussion group. Their writing performance was later compared to that of the without-discussion group. The results showed no significant differences between the two groups regarding word choice, grammatical correctness, logical development, and organization of their writing performance. The results suggest that providing time for discussion is not necessary when the system is implemented.