Benefits of Sustained Writing

SUSTAINED WRITING AND STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

All writing is a challenge. Writing a research paper or completing most kinds of sustained writing is a challenge for even the best writers. However, for the person whose disability is related to writing, the challenge can be compounded by:

• inexperience at basic writing skills and strategies;
• the (negative) image of oneself as a writer;
• limited writing experience in general;
• inability to organize all the materials and information made available--knowing what to keep, what to set aside, how best to arrange it all;
• inability to manage time.

In sum, the ability to maximize one's best learning strategies and available skills while also overcoming or successfully circumventing one's weaknesses in writing is needed to meet the challenge of sustained writing assignments in college.

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BENEFITS OF SUSTAINED WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

Students can benefit from sustained writing assignments because they:

• Illustrate how various bodies of texts and knowledge can relate to one another;
• Reinforce course content;
• Provide an effective means of assessment;
• Give students an opportunity to call on respective university support networks—teaching them how to utilize numerous resources for their work, in general and in the future.

Students will most benefit from sustained writing, if instructors:

1. Provide opportunities to review students' research and writing progress in peer group workshops (with their classmates) or individual conferences with the instructor;
2. Offer small group and individual guidance in the selection of appropriate research information;
3. Steer the direction and development of students' thesis/argument/purpose; and
4. Provide planned and sequenced management for achieving deadlines. Encourage multi-modal approaches to the research and writing process.