To provide a broad view of writer's block and the composing process, this annotated bibliography includes 100 sources that discuss (1) early views of blocking, e.g., Freud's warning about internal critics; (2) contemporary curatives, e.g., cognitive therapies that purport to change a writer's inhibitory self-talk; (3) successful writers' accounts…

Research into writing anxiety is an off-shoot of research into oral communication anxiety. At first, researchers thought that people with high oral communication anxiety tended to compensate by writing. However, when the Daly-Miller Writing Apprehension Test was used, it was found that the link between oral and written anxiety did not exist. The…

A program evaluation was undertaken at Southern Illinois University (Carbondale) to assess the broad, measurable effects of using computers to teach introductory college composition. Twenty-four classes were studied--twelve control classes and twelve experimental--with the experimental computer classes meeting in the lab for half of their…

Tests the hypothesis that high writing-apprehensive subjects would differ significantly from low writing-apprehensive subjects regarding the writing intensity of their jobs. Suggests that where a lack of writing productivity exists in writing-intensive jobs, managers might explore writing-apprehension problems, or at least examine the match…

Presents step-by-step instructions to help developmental writing students write a cohesive essay by combining individually written paragraphs. (HTH)

Reports on a study of writing apprehension in writing center tutors, results of which indicated a strong correspondence between various dimensions of writing apprehension and specific teaching behaviors that do not aid the student in problem detection or writing improvement. (HTH)

Results indicate that various measures of speech, telephone, and writing apprehension can account for a small significant percentage of the variance in channel (face-to-face, telephone, written) preferences. (PD)

Describes the methodology and results of a study to determine whether writing instruction caused anxiety. The results indicated that teaching technical writing in freshman composition was more effective in lowering student writing anxiety than were literary-essay or rhetorical teaching approaches. (HTH)

Reports on the predrafting processes of several high and several low writing apprehensive students engaged in academic writing and analyzes the differences related to writing apprehension. (HOD)

This study examined the relationship between writing apprehension and academic achievement among undergraduate honors students at the University of Alabama. A total of 75 male honors students completed Daly and Miller's Writing Apprehension Test and self-reported their grade point averages (GPA). The test measured apprehension or anxiety and fear…

Describes a study of students' anxiety levels in the writing classroom. Results indicated a significant rise in anxiety level for "writing papers for grades," and a marked fear of failing a test. (HTH)

Reports on a study of eight corporations to assess the nature of writing done on the job, and how important writing ability was to the employee's career. Results indicated that communication ability was important to their jobs, but most employees loathed writing and considered quality writing beyond their grasp. (HTH)

Describes ways to help students of all ages with writing apprehension, including write more; discourage appropriation of voice; listen to fearful writers; find patterns in students' errors; conference during drafting stages; coach peers for effective response; encourage positive self-talk; be aware of possible gender differences; vary writing…

Discusses ways to bolster first-year student writers' confidence in themselves. Provides a needs-assessment tool for high school and college instructors. (RS)

Investigates the relationships among self-confidence about writing, expected outcomes, writing apprehension, general self-confidence, and writing performance over one semester. Finds that students' beliefs about their own composition skills and the preperformance measure were the only significant predictors. (SR)