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Lourdes Andrade

LBS 355
Writing Self-efficacy
Paper #5
November 27, 2012
Draft #2

What is writing self-efficacy and why is it important that a teacher have a positive writing
self-efficacy? Writing self-efficacy is a person's judgment of how well of a writer he/she thinks
he/she is. As a teacher, many times your opinion of different subjects whether it is in math,
reading, or writing reflects on your student's opinion of the same matter. This document will
focus on the research, the strengths and weaknesses of the research, and my own writing selfefficacy.
In 2006, a survey was conducted to find the link between a person's writing self-efficacy
and his/her writing performance. The participants consisted of 64 teachers who were in graduate
school and taking an academic writing course. Their writings were evaluated holistically and on
a deep and surface writing rubric. Lavelle (2006) found that the rate of writing self-efficacy was
linked to the quality of writing done by the teacher.
While it is important to have information about how well a teacher may believe he/she
writes, it is also important to make sure the results of the research are as accurate as possible.
The research had some flaws. First of all, the evaluators were two graduate students. Granted
they had received training, they themselves had just graduated. It would be interesting to know
what they thought their writing self-efficacy was and how it affected the teacher's scores. Also,
the rubrics used were very confusing. Lavelle (2006) stated that the rubric scales were from 1 to
3, but did not really express what qualified as a 1, or a 2, or a 3. These defects opened a big
opportunity for errors and a question of accuracy. Writing is about communication, and with so
many chances of errors, this research fails to deliver the message that they aimed to achieve.
Particularly in my case, my writing self-efficacy has always been low. With time, I have
learned to raise it. Similarly to the article, I found writing to be an excruciating job (Lavelle,

2006). As an English Language Learner, English was very difficult. As an elementary student, I
remember hating anything that had to do with English, including writing. My third grade teacher
would mock me for my accent and this has had long lasting effects that still haunt me today. In
middle school and high school, writing was a little less difficult, but I did require a lot of help.
My first year as a college student, I remember working really hard on a writing assignment. I
thought I had done really well, but to my dismay I received a D on that paper because of my
grammar errors. My grammar errors have improved, but my papers are not always perfect. After
ten years, I decided I wanted to pursue my degree, but my writing is still an issue. Even today, I
still have trouble doing in class essays. Although I have difficulties, I have learned not to be
afraid to ask for help when needed. I have found ways to enhance my writing skills through
practice and corrections. I find it easier to write on issues related to my culture and experiences,
yet it still it takes me a long time to finish any writing assignments. I have learned that my
writing self-efficacy does not determine who I am or my self-worth. As I advance in my studies,
my skills will strengthen, the process of writing will be less nerve wracking, and my writing selfefficacy will continue to grow. In order for a student to grow, I do not believe that his/her
teacher's writing self efficacy must be high. From my experience, if a student loves writing, a
teacher's low writing self-efficacy will not always change their love for writing. As well as, if a
student hates to write, the teacher's high writing self-efficacy will not necessarily cause him/her
to all of a sudden love to write.
In brief, while the research conducted was interesting, it did not fully answer all of my
questions. Despite the research, high writing efficacy does not necessarily mean that a student
will be a successful writer. It just means that the student has a higher confidence of completing
the task. Students who have a low writing self efficacy will just have to work a little harder in

accomplishing the task and developing their skills. Self writing efficacy does not determine a
person's self worth, it just shows how easy or hard it will be to accomplish a task.

Reference List
Lavelle, E. (2006). Teachers' self-efficacy for writing. Electronic Journal of Research in
Educational Psychology, 4 (1), 73-84.

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