Writing in 3-d: Using Simultaneous Media to Enhance the Quality of Student Writing

Abstract

The traditional "process approach" to writing popularized in the early 1970s restricts students to two-dimensional conceptualizations in which the student must translate abstract thoughts into language. Students who are not particularly successful abstract thinkers do not improve the quality of their writing much using this model. Instead of the two-dimensional model, a group of "remedial" adolescents were given the opportunity to compose using a variety of visual, auditory and other sensory appeals. By utilizing stimultaneous media, these "remedial" students were able to transcend the limitations of the two dimensional box and add depth and substance to their writing.