Running head: INCREASING ENGAGEMENT IN WRITING

Increasing Student Engagement in Writing When Responding to Persuasive/Opinion Based

Writing Prompts.
Leah N.S. Carrington
George Mason University

INCREASING ENGAGEMENT IN WRITING

Abstract

INCREASING ENGAGEMENT IN WRITING

This single subject study examined the increase of student productivity in writing when
responding to persuasive/opinion based writing prompts. One student in the third grade, who is a
novice writer, was taught a strategy of filling out a graphic organizer in totality prior to
completing a written paragraph when responding to an opinion based writing prompt. After the
intervention, the student improved their written responses in terms of length (word count) and
number of writing checklist elements. Results suggested that the graphic organizer approach
might be beneficial in improving the persuasive writing of third grade novice writers. Increasing
Student Productivity in Writing When Responding to Persuasive/Opinion Based Writing
Prompts
Persuasive writing is one of the genres taught to elementary school students. Even though
writing instruction is integrated into the curriculum at all levels, reports have indicated that
teachers do not consistently give students the opportunity to write and receive feedback in the
classroom. There are many reasons why students have problems with writing. One of the most
obvious is simply that they havent been taught how to write (Read, Landon-Hays, & MartinRivas, 2014). Writing instruction in persuasive writing occurs even less often that traditional
writing instruction. This study focuses on increasing student productivity in writing when
responding to persuasive/opinion based writing prompts. A lack of instruction in writing coupled
with a lack of engagement with writing results in sub par writing responses.

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Literature Review
Graphic organizers are considered to be useful when assisting and scaffolding for
students so that they are able to break topics or concepts down into smaller parts that can be
addressed or analyzed individually (Cochrane, 2010). They are essential to ensuring that the
writer can organize and chunk information when they plan, draft, and construct texts.
Scaffolding student writing is important as it allows for the teacher to find a balance between
teacher direction and student independence that is aligned with the needs and abilities of the
students. As the students acquire more skills the teacher can decrease the amount of direct
instruction needed. The use of graphic organizers is a useful strategy that allows scaffolding; it
provides support and guidance that enhances the students understanding of the function and
conventions of writing (Price, & Harkins, 2011).

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Graphic organizers are an essential planning tool for novice writers, as it aids in
organizing their thoughts and structuring their writing correctly (Bishop, Sawyer, Alber-Morgan,
& Boggs, 2015). Developing writers require explicit and direct teaching to learn and practice
higher order thinking skills that will allow them to respond to texts that promote deeper
comprehension and understandings. These writers are still learning to keep both the reader and
the objective behind their writing in mind. Graphic organizers allow children to organize their
thoughts and apply thinking skills to the content in a more organized and ordered manner.
Scaffolding writing instruction allows students to present ideas through the use of graphic
organizers in a clear and precise format, helping them build on prior learning and giving them the
opportunity to develop a deeper understanding around the topic.
Graphic organizers are useful for modeled writing to communicate teacher expectations
for student performance and provide the appropriate structure to support them in achieving the
task at their own level (Cochrane, 2010). This allows students to experience success in writing;
despite the stage of learning they may be in. Once the students ability to organize and chuck
information efficiently has improved, analysis and investigation becomes possible and then the
use of graphic organizers can be reduced. Both teachers and students find the use of graphic
organizers valuable. For students, it allows them to clarify their thinking in the process of
responding to writing prompts. For teachers, it allows them to gain insight into the thought
processes and strategies behind the students writing, thereby using any misconceptions to
inform further planning and teaching.

Research Purpose/Questions

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The purpose of the study is to increase student productivity in writing when responding to
persuasive/opinion based writing prompts. The following research questions will be examined in
the study a) Does student productivity increase a students writing output (number of words)? b)
Does the use of a pre-writing graphic organizer increase student accuracy for writing prompt
responses?

Method
Participants
The participant for this study is an eight-year boy who is in the third grade at a public
school in the District of Colombia. He lives alone with his mother in a two-bedroom apartment
in the city. He enjoys playing video games specifically Minecraft on the computer, and watching
videos on YouTube that teaches him how to play different video games. His favorite subject in
school is mathematics and his least favorite activity is writing. He does not particularly like
reading but he enjoys the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series. Academically, in reading
comprehension he is slightly below grade level, he is above grade level in reading fluency, and
above level in mathematics. The student is considered to have basic skill levels when writing
informative/explanatory texts to examine a subject and describe information clearly. The student
is also considered to have developing skill levels when writing using standard English grammar
and when using standard English spelling, punctuation, and capitalization when writing. His
developing skills in writing made him an eligible participant for the study. His developing skills
in writing made him an eligible participant for the study. The participant has never been
suspected of having or tested for a learning or behavioral disability.
Setting

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Student completed the data collection period at home (918 sq. ft., 2 bedroom apartment).
When data was collected there were no external distracting factors. It was just the student and the
researcher. During the baseline phase the student completed writing prompts at the desk in his
bedroom that he shares with no one. In the bedroom (13 inches x 13 inches) there is a desk
(30Hx 21Wx 34D), a queen sized bed, a chest of draws with a mirror connected, a TV and game
system sitting on top, a toy box in the corner of the room, a organizational shelving system, and a
drawing easel. During the treatment phase the student completed the writing prompts at the
island (36 inches x 15 inches) in the kitchen where he typically does his homework.
Research Design
The A-B-A-B design which is also referred to as the reversal design, is the most
frequently used design in single subject research. The A-B-A-B designs allows for a strong and
conclusive demonstration of experimental control, as it requires the repeated introduction and
withdrawal of an intervention. The most important feature of the A-B-A-B design evaluates a
direct replication of effect- the last two conditions replicate the first two conditions with the same
participant and noting the same behavior (Gast, 2010). This design allows me to retest my
intervention after a withdrawal period.
Dependent Variables
Based on the introduction of the independent variable (graphic organizer) the student is
expected to increase the word count of writing prompts and student productivity (writing
checklist elements).
Productivity is defined as Completing writing prompts providing both an explanation and multiple
examples that are relevant to the writing prompt. Productivity is determined
by analyzing the writing checklist elements.

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Opinion Based Paragraph Writing Checklist

Included a definitive opinion statement (for or against the statement made in the prompt)
Included an explanation for the statement
Included more than one example
Restated opinion statement
Included a capital letter at the beginning of the sentence and a punctuation mark at the end.
The students paragraph writing must include the following criteria from the
checklist, which was taken from the format of the graphic organizer to determine
the students productivity. The graphic organizer required the student to make a
declarative in support of or against the statement, it then made the student explain
their stance, after which the student gave three (3) examples to support their
explanation and lastly the student restated their opinion with feeling.
Similarly an increase in writing amount is defined as an increase in the
number of words per writing prompt based upon the baseline data.

Independent Variable
The key elements of persuasive writing include the following: Writers must engage their
readers by providing a clear position on their argument, support their position with evidence,
consider alternate positions, and know that their goal is to consider a reader to accept their
position (Tompkins, 2010; Burrell, & Beard, 2010). A graphic organizer is a perfect tool that
helps students organize their thoughts when responding to a persuasive prompt (Barone, 2011).
In this intervention study the student receives a persuasive writing prompt. Before responding to
the writing prompt the student will complete a graphic organizer that is in the format of an
evidence based writing checklist. The student will also be given sentence starters to use when
completing the graphic organizer. Once the graphic organizer is completed the student will use
the information to complete a written paragraph based on the persuasive prompt. By using the

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graphic organizer prior to complete the writing prompt it is expected that the student will
increase their word count.
Materials
Student was given three writing prompts in each baseline phase and three writing
prompts in each treatment phase, for a total of twelve writing prompts. Each prompt was given to
the student on a half-sheet of paper with sufficient writing room. During the treatment phase the
student was provided with a graphic organizer as a pre-writing tool. The student was given a
checklist outlining expectations for the writing task and sentence starters to use during writing.
Baseline materials. During baseline the student was given a single writing prompt on a
half-sheet of paper with sufficient writing room.

Treatment materials. During treatment the student was given a pre-writing graphic
organizer and sentence starters to assist with responding to the persuasive/opinion based prompt.
The student was also given a single writing prompt to respond to on a half-sheet of paper with
sufficient writing room.

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Data Collection Procedures

Baseline procedures.
The student was given a prompt to complete on a half-sheet of paper. Before the student
responded to the prompt the researcher read the prompt and they discussed it to ensure that the

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student was clear on what was being asked. The student then independently responded to the
prompt and the researcher left the room.
Teaching procedures.
The teacher explicitly modeled use of the pre-writing graphic organizer, with a couple of
writing prompts. Modeling each part of the evidence based writing checklist graphic organizer,
focusing on the following acronym:
Think OREO
O- State your opinion
R- Tell your reason for your opinion
E- Give an example to support your reason
O- Restate your opinion
The more reasons and examples you give, the stronger your writing is.

Persuasive Writing Graphic Organiz er

Opinion:
Reason:

Exam
ples:
1
.
2.
3.
Opinion:

The teacher also modeled the use of sentence starters that the student was expected to use when
responding to the writing prompt. Once the teacher completed modeling the use of the graphic
organizer with sentence starters for an entire writing prompt, the teacher guided the student
through completing a practice writing prompt with the use of the graphic organizer and the
sentence starters.

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Treatment procedures.
During treatment as in baseline the researcher reads the prompt to the student, after the
prompt is read the researcher enquires as to whether or not the student understood what was
being asked of them. Once the researcher received confirmation that the student understood, she
reminded the student to use the graphic organizer and the sentence starters provided when
responding to the prompt. The researcher did an audio recording of her interactions with the
student before he completed the organizer and the paragraph. Once the student began writing the
researcher left the room until he was finished, at which point the student would bring the
completed materials to the researcher.
Interobserver Agreement
After the data was gathered the researcher allowed other researchers not involved with the study
directly to review the material to ensure that what was recorded as the word count was similar,
and that their count for the opinion based writing checklist were similar.
Procedural Reliability (or Fidelity of Treatment)
The researcher made an audio recording of her interactions with the student prior to him
completing his writing prompt so as to ensure that the same procedures were followed in each
interaction. As the researcher was the only observer interacting with the student she created
different routine and procedural guidelines to follow before and after the student worked on the
writing prompt and/or the graphic organizer. The researcher created a checklist for the behaviors
she would exhibit prior to the student beginning the writing of the prompt; this was to ensure that
she was not assisting the student during the treatment or baseline phase. There was also a writing
checklist that was specifically used to determine the number of writing expectations that the
student followed. There was not a checklist for word counting, but to ensure that there was

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INCREASING ENGAGEMENT IN WRITING

consistency, the researcher counted all words that were hyphenated as one word and not two
words.
Observer Checklist
Read prompt to student
Asked student if he understood what was being asked of him
Reiterated use of the graphic organizer
Reiterated use of the sentence starters
Recorded interactions prior to writing with student

Below is an example of the

observer checklist used by
the researcher:

Social Validity
On the first day of teaching the student was asked to rate the graphic organizer
intervention on a scale of 1-10:1 (being not helpful at all) and 10 (being extremely helpful),
determining whether or not he believed that the graphic organizer will help him improve his
writing response to the opinion based writing prompts. At the time the student rated the graphic
organizer at a level 6 (relatively helpful). At the end of the intervention the student was asked to
rate the graphic organizer intervention again on a scale from 1-10, the student gave the
intervention a 9 (very helpful) stating that I would have given it a ten (10) but it took to much
time and it was annoying.

Data Analysis

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From the data gathered it is evident that the intervention showed a moderate effect, as
there are only three (3) data points within each phase. There is a documented problem, as
baseline in each phase is lower than in the treatment phases for both word count and writing
checklist elements. This shows a predictable pattern that when the intervention is not present
both the word count and the writing checklist elements are lower than when the intervention is
being implemented. In each phase the data in treatment phase is higher than the data in baseline
phase and overall the data in both baseline and treatment phase two (2) is higher than in baseline
and treatment phase one (1). There is a documented change of effect when the graphic organizer
(independent variable) is introduced on both word count (dependent variable) and student
productivity- writing checklist elements (dependent variable). In both cases when the
independent variable is introduced in the treatment phases the documented results are higher as
seen in figure 1 and figure 2. In each session of the treatment phase, in total six (6) sessions there
is documented change that both the word count and writing checklist elements are significantly
higher than in the baseline phases which also has a total of six (6) sessions.
The data shows a slow downward trend within and across phases when analyzing the
word count. The level shows that the mean for baseline data was 20.5% (SD= 3.83%), which
increased to 68.66% (SD= 18.46%) in the treatment phase when looking at the word count.
There is not considerable variability in both baseline and treatment. The percentage of nonoverlapping data points (PND) for these data was 100% indicating an effective treatment. There
was an immediacy of effect from baseline to treatment with the introduction of the intervention.
There is consistency across the data results with lower baselines and significantly higher
treatment data points.
Figure1. Results of Data for Student Word Count for Opinion Based Writing Prompts

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Figure1. Results of Data for Student Writing Checklist for Opinion Based Writing Prompt

Results

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The student was presented with an opinion based writing prompt to respond to in
paragraph format, baselines ranged between fourteen (14) words and twenty-five (25) words for
word count, and stayed at three (3) for the writing checklist elements. The student showed a slow
downward trend in word count starting with twenty-two (22), then twenty (20), and ending with
fourteen (14) words in baseline one, and beginning with twenty-five (25), then twenty-three (23)
and ending with nineteen (19) words in baseline two. In the treatment stage the student showed a
substantial increase in word count across treatment phases ranging from ninety (90) words to
forty-eight (48) words. The student showed a five (5) the maximum score that could be obtained
for the writing checklist elements across each session of the treatment phases. The data once
again showed a slow downward trend within each treatment phase; in treatment one the student
started with an eighty-eight (88) word count, then a sixty-one (61) and ended with forty-eight
(48) words. In the second treatment phase the student started with a ninety (90) word count, then
seventy-five (75), and ended with a fifty (50) word count. It is clear that in the treatment phase
the students word count and writing checklist elements were higher than in baseline phase,
proving that the intervention was successful. As shown in Table 1, both baseline and treatment
phase two (2) had higher word count numbers than baseline and treatment one (1).
Number of Words
In baseline phase one (1) the student had a mean of 19% (SD=4.1%), which increased in
treatment phase one (1) to a mean of 66% (SD=20.2%) in relation to word count. In baseline
phase two (2) the student had a mean of 22% (SD=3.05%), which increased in treatment phase
two (2) to a mean of 72% (SD= 20.4%), again in relation to word count. There was an immediate
change in level in relation to word count; there was not considerable variability in the baseline
and intervention data. The mean for baseline data was 20.5% (SD= 3.83%), which increased to

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68.66% (SD= 18.46%) in the treatment phase. The data shows a slow downward trend in each
data phase from baseline to treatment. The percentage of non-overlapping data points (PND) for
these data was 100% indicating an effective treatment. When the intervention was introduced
there was an immediacy of effect from baseline to treatment. This intervention shows
consistency, as there are similar data patterns between baseline and treatment across phases.
Writing Checklist Elements- Student Productivity
The data shows a flat trend in each data phase from baseline to treatment. The percentage
of non-overlapping data points (PND) for these data was 100% indicating an effective treatment.
When the intervention was introduced there was an immediacy of effect from baseline to
treatment. This intervention shows consistency, as there are similar data patterns between
baseline and treatment across phases.
Table 1
Word Count Across Baseline and Treatment Phases
Baseline Treatmen Baseline Treatment
1
t1
2
2
22
88
25
90
20
61
23
75
14
48
19
50
Discussion
Practical Implications
The purpose of this study was to use a systematic approach to answering an opinion
based writing prompt with the use of a graphic organizer intervention. This was implemented
hoping to increase the students word count and student productivity when responding to the
opinion based writing prompt. The study contributes to the application of a graphic organizer
when completing writing prompts. Graphic organizers are useful for modeled writing to

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communicate teacher expectations for student performance and provide the appropriate structure
to support them in achieving the task at their own level (Cochrane, 2010). Further, graphic
organizers are considered to be useful for assisting and scaffolding students to break topics or
concepts down into smaller parts that can be addressed or analyzed individually (Cochrane,
2010).
The results of the writing prompts indicated that the graphic organizer strategy instruction
had a positive effect on the students writing ability when responding to opinion based prompts.
The student had low scores in both total word count and writing checklist elements during the
baseline phase, but as instruction of the intervention continued both elements improved
significantly from the baseline phase. The intervention prompted him to include more elements
in his writing, thereby lengthening his responses and increasing his overall word count. The
immediate increase in the students word count and writing checklist elements was an
improvement from baseline phase, suggesting that the intervention package was effective. These
results were replicated when the graphic organizer intervention was reinstated following the brief
withdrawal. High levels of treatment integrity were observed during intervention phases
corresponding with observed improvements in the students word count and writing checklist
elements. These results indicate a functional relation between the intervention and increases in
the students word count and productivity.
Limitations and Future Research
There are three major potential limitations that should be considered regarding this study.
First there were limited data points in both baseline and treatment. There were twelve (12)
overall data points; three in baseline 1, three in treatment 1, three in baseline 2 and three in
treatment 2. More data points would have shown a strong effect rather than a moderate effect.

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Second, there was only one observer with a close relationship to the student. Another observer
would have been added to ensure reliability and fidelity was being implemented accurately and
without bias. Third, a behavioral component would have been added with a tangible motivational
reward. From the results it was clear that there was push back to completing the writing prompt
from the student. It would be interesting to see if adding a reward component would change the
behavior seen (complaining and unwillingness) when it came time to answering the writing
prompt. Future studies could implement the academic intervention along with a
behavioral/reward component, analyzing the impact that the behavioral component would have
on the academic component.
In sum, results show that the intervention further extends the body of literature that
supports the use of graphic organizers by novice writers, as described in the literature review as a
successful practice (Bishop, Sawyer, Alber-Morgan, & Boggs, 2015). This intervention was
successful in expanding the students writing and productivity.

Reflection
This experience has taught me the importance of being very methodical when executing a
study. Planning thoroughly for every aspect of the study and anything that could potentially go
wrong during your study. If something unexpected happens it is important to be flexible and to
implement a contingency plan to accommodate any changes. In this study I would have done a
few things differently. Firstly, I would have used multiple subjects in order to be able to compare
the effectiveness of the intervention across multiple people versus a single person. Secondly, I
would have chosen a study that more closely related to my interests for dissertation, this would
have allowed me to be able to make a more solid determination of whether or not single subject

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would be a methodology that would is essential in gathering data for my dissertation research.
Lastly, I would have added a behavioral component that would show a decrease in negative
behaviors that negatively impacted the academic intervention. Overall, single subject research
allowed me to analyze my subject at an intimate level, allowing me to look at my intervention
over multiple phases (a baseline before the intervention and then after a withdrawal period).
Completing this single subject study gave me an opportunity for the first time to conduct an
intervention study from the idea stage through the implementation stage, and then through the
analysis stage. Determining whether or not the intervention was successful in changing the
behaviors (academically) of the subject being studied.

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References
Barone, D. (2011). Practicing persuasion. The California Reader, 46(1), 15-20
Bishop, A. E. (2015). Effects of a graphic organizer training package on the persuasive writing
of middle school students with autism. Education and training in autism and
developmental disabilities, 50(3), 290-302.
Cochrane, V. (2010). Top level structure: Why use graphic organizers to scaffold developing
writers? Practically Primary, 15(3), 34-37.
Gast, D. L. (2010). Single subject research methodology in behavioral sciences. New York,
U.S.A: Routledge.
McCarthey, S. J., & Ro, Y. S. (2010). Approaches to writing instruction. Pedagogies: An
International Journal, 6(4), 273-295. doi: 10.1080/1554480X. 2011.604902.
Price, E. A., & Harkins, M. J. (2011). Scaffolding student writing. Language & Literacy: A
Canadian Educational E-Journal, 13(1), 14-38.
Read, S., Landon-Hays, M., & Martin-Rivas, A. (2014). Gradually releasing responsibility to
students writing persuasive text. The Reading Teacher, 67(6), 469-477.
Unzueta, C. H., & Barbetta, P. M. (2012). The effects of computer graphic organizers on the
persuasive writing of Hispanic middle school students with specific learning disabilities.
Journal of Special Education Technology, 27(3), 15-30.

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