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In this study, university students are faced with the task of collaboratively writing an argumentative synthesis from multiple sources. Specifically, in writing, they must integrate conflicting information on a particular issue obtained from reading two texts that present different perspectives. As research in this field has shown, university students’ transactional beliefs about writing have a bearing on the quality of the texts that they write. In addition, studies on collaborative learning have demonstrated the role of constructive strategies in addressing controversy. Constructive strategies require an epistemic approach, which implies understanding and integrating opposing positions and rationales. Therefore, the specific aims of the study are to analyze the relationships between the following: (a) writing beliefs and the joint written synthesis, b) writing beliefs and the strategies used to address the controversies that emerge during collaborative writing, and (c) how students resolve controversies and the quality of their joint syntheses. The participants were 52 fourth-year psychology students at a state-run university in Madrid. The results show that transactional writing beliefs are associated with both the controversy strategies employed by members of student dyads and the quality of the joint syntheses. Furthermore, the strategies for addressing controversy are associated with the quality of the joint syntheses.

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This study aims to investigate the effect of the synthesis text writing training on the success of 7th grade students to create synthesis text and to evaluate the effectiveness of the training given through student opinions on the training process. The research was conducted with 51 students studying in the 7th grade of a public school in Turkey. The research was modeled according to the embedded design. As for the quantitative dimension of the research, there was a training application based on a quasi-experimental design with pretest-posttest control group. In the qualitative dimension of the study, semi-structured interviews were used. According to the results, it can be said that the training organized to improve the synthesis text writing skill has a positive effect on the success of synthesis text writing. It was also concluded that the qualitative data collected through the interviews also supported the quantitative results and some changes and developments in the students were reflected in the interviews.

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This study investigated the effectiveness of a blended learning approach—involving the thesis, analysis, and synthesis key (TASK) procedural strategy; online Edmodo discussions; online message labels; and writing models—on student argumentative writing in a Hong Kong secondary school. It also examined whether the application of digital game mechanics increased student online contribution and writing performance. Three classes of Secondary 4 students (16- to 17-year-olds) participated in the 7-week study. The first experimental group (n = 22) utilized the blended learning + gamification approach. The second experimental group (n = 30) utilized only the blended learning approach. In the control group (n = 20), a teacher-led direct-instruction approach on the components of argumentation was employed. Data sources included students’ pre- and post-test written essays, students’ online Edmodo postings, and student and teacher interviews. We found a significant improvement in students’ writing using the blended learning approach. On-topic online contributions were significantly higher when gamification was adopted. Student and teacher opinions on the blended learning approach were also examined.

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Writing an argumentation about a controversial issue from contradictory sources is a challenging task. It involves understanding, managing, and generating arguments and counterarguments from different sources to support a final position, conveyed in a formal structure. Despite its difficulty, argumentative writing is not often taught in higher education in Spain. Furthermore, online interventions regarding this type of task are scarce. For this reason, we designed and evaluated virtual training aimed at writing integrative and well-structured arguments in a distance learning university. Sixty-eight undergraduates participated in this pre-post with a control group design. The training included explicit instruction through video lectures and practice exercises with immediate feedback using open online resources (e.g., Moodle). The results show that after the instruction the participants' written products improved both in their structure, the number of arguments for the against-position, and the degree of integration of the two perspectives. However, those products that presented medium or maximum integration were still limited. These results illustrate how online instruction of argumentative writing can be implemented in higher education with positive results. However, students still need more support to expand their skills for generating integrative synthesis. Considering these results, we propose further improvements in the designed training.

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Integrated writing tasks have increased in popularity in second language writing classrooms. Extensive research on these tasks has examined the challenges that students face when completing such tasks. One significant challenge is the transformation of source language use when students integrate source information into their own essays. However, little is known about the relationship between students’ source notes and the quality of the essays that they produce. This exploratory study examined this issue by investigating the relationship between characteristics of English for academic purposes (EAP) students’ notes (N = 24) and their essay scores. The students’ notes were coded in terms of how they appropriated information from the source texts using four categories: copied, copied with changes, copied with gaps, and paraphrased. A multiple linear regression revealed that essay scores were predicted by the degree to which the students transformed source language and avoided copying. The implications of these findings for second language (L2) writing pedagogy and assessment are discussed. Les tâches de rédaction intégrée deviennent de plus en plus populaires dans les classes de rédaction en seconde langue. Ces tâches ont fait l’objet de nombreuses recherches qui ont étudié les défis auxquels font face les étudiants lorsqu’ils les exécutent. Un défi de taille est la transformation de l’utilisation de la langue source lorsque les étudiants intègrent l’information tirée des sources dans leurs rédactions. Cependant, on ne sait pas grand chose sur la relation entre les notes des étudiants provenant des sources et la qualité des rédactions qu’ils produisent. Cette étude exploratoire s’est intéressée à ce problème étudiant la relation entre les caractéris- tiques des notes des étudiants dans les cours d’anglais académique (N = 24) et les notes obtenues pour leurs rédactions. Les notes des étudiants ont été classées en quatre catégories selon la façon dont ils s’appropriaient l’information des textes sources : copiées, copiées avec des changements, copiées avec des lacunes et para- phrasées. Une régression multiple linéaire a révélé que les notes obtenues pour les rédactions étaient prédites par le degré auquel les étudiants avaient transformé la langue source et avaient évité de copier. On discute des implications de ces résultats pour la pédagogie et l’évaluation de la rédaction en langue seconde (L 2).

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Source use is one of the most challenging tasks a L2 writer learning to write academically has to face. Learning to use other authors’ voices while attempting to establishing their own is no easy task for academy newcomers writing an academic text such as a master’s thesis. This study followed the writing journeys as two ELT master’s students wrote their theses in a ‘home’, non-Anglophile context. A case study design identified the different journeys for participants’ development of sources use. Data gathering instruments were the drafts of the various components of their theses and a semi-structured interview. Analysis of multiple drafts of thesis components reveal how each student evolved differently in source use and level of complexity. However, their testimonies indicated that both students benefitted from exploring models and worked with similar schemes to figure out a way to integrate sources. Features of their home L2 context that impacted their use of sources were explored as well as pedagogical implications for graduate programs.

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This study tested an instructional design to improve students' synthesis performance in a specific academic subject, Science Orientation, which aimed to teach students how to critically evaluate scientific debates. The design included three components: 1) students construct a task definition via a learning strategy based on comparing and contrasting texts and processes, 2) students comprehend source information via a read-stop-think-note strategy, and 3) students connect source information critically via a semantic-textual transformation strategy. After several design iterations, the instructional design was tested in a quasi-experimental experiment with a pretest-posttest. Seven 10th grade classes participated in the intervention (n=129), four in the control condition (n=86). The design seemed feasible for teachers, students completed most learning tasks as intended and evaluated the course positively. Furthermore, texts written in the experimental condition at posttest were rated significantly higher than those written in the control condition on the instructed aspects: representation of source information, intertextual integration, and critical stance. This instructional design appears to have potential for helping students improve their comprehension of scientific debates and comprehensive writing. In the discussion we propose that the instructional design might be a general format for learning to synthesize domain specific information from contrasting sources.

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The increasing use of English in many professional and academic contexts has played a pivotal role not only in expanding the teaching of English at universities worldwide but also in determining the growth of teaching in English. This has heightened the need to teach thesis writing in many English-medium contexts. Focusing on the tension between individuality – expressing an individual point of view – and commonality – adopting the rhetorical and linguistic norms of the specific discourse community addressed, we discuss our experience of designing an introduction to thesis writing for an EMI (English as a Medium of Instruction) multidisciplinary MA programme in Italy. The chapter begins by exploring the interplay between commonality and individuality, then proceeds to describe the course’s context and its educational underpinnings. The general principles are illustrated through an analysis of activities meant to teach the students how to engage with the discourse community of their choice and to express their stance: from engaging with discourse communities to finding relevant sources, incorporating other voices into a literature review, and working collaboratively on the conclusion section. The chapter closes with a brief summing up of the issues raised.

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