Examining reading and writing processes in a graduate level multiple text task: A think-aloud study
Keywords:
Academic Writing, Multiple Text Integration, Reading and Writing, Graduate Students, Graduate WritingAbstract
Writing from multiple texts is among the most common yet challenging tasks for higher education students. However, limited research has examined the strategies used by these highly competent readers and writers. The present descriptive study examines reading strategy use, writing strategy use, and writing performance in a sample of higher education students enrolled in graduate-level education classes. Students completed a scholarly multiple texts reading-to-write (S-MTRW) task, asking them to read three short research articles and to write a research report while thinking aloud and sharing their screen. Results indicate that students commonly reported evaluating, elaborating, and paraphrasing content during reading. During writing, students commonly engaged in summarizing, composing, and rereading information from the texts provided. Furthermore, the majority of students produced emergent documents models, reflecting limited attempts at synthesis in their writing about the research articles they read. A medium positive correlation was found between the number of instances students reported paraphrasing content while reading and the number of instances of multiple-text integration in students’ writing.
References
Afflerbach, P., & Cho, B.-Y. (2009). Identifying And Describing Constructively Responsive Comprehension Strategies In New And Traditional Forms Of Reading. Handbook of Research on Reading Comprehension, 69-90. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315759609
Aitken, A., & Graham, S. (2023). Perceptions of choice in writing of university students. Journal of Writing Research, 15(2), 225-332. https://doi.org/10.17239/jowr-2023.15.02.03
Alkema, E., Van Weijen, D., & Rijlaarsdam, G. (2023). Synthesis writing in science orientation classes: An instructional design studio. Journal of Writing Research, 15(1), 133-165. https://doi.org/10.17239/jowr-2023.15.01.06
Anmarkrud, Ø., Bråten, I., & Strømsø, H. I. (2014). Multiple-Documents Literacy: Strategic Processing, Source Awareness, And Argumentation When Reading Multiple Conflicting Documents. Learning and Individual Differences, 30, 64-76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2013.01.007
Badenhorst, C. M. (2019). Literature Reviews, Citations and Intertextuality in Graduate Student Writing. Journal of further and Higher Education, 43(2), 263-275. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2017.1359504
Barzilai, S., Zohar, A. R., & Mor-Hagani, S. (2018). Promoting Integration of Multiple Texts: a Review of Instructional Approaches and Practices. Educational Psychology Review, 30(3), 973-999. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-018-9436-8
Barzilai, S., Tal-Savir, D., Abed, F., Mor-Hagani, S., & Zohar, A. R. (2021). Mapping Multiple Documents: From Constructing Multiple Document Models To Argumentative Writing. Reading and Writing, 36, 809–847. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-021-10208-8
Bereiter, C., Burtis, P. J., & Scardamalia, M. (1988). Cognitive Operations In Constructing Main Points In Written Composition. Journal of Memory and Language, 27(3), 261-278. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-596X(88)90054-X
Bereiter, C., & Scardamalia, M. (1987). The psychology of written composition. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203812310
Bråten, I., & Strømsø, H. I. (2010). Effects of Task Instruction and Personal Epistemology on the Understanding of Multiple Texts About Climate Change. Discourse Processes, 47(1), 1-31. https://doi.org/10.1080/01638530902959646
Britt, M. A., & Aglinskas, C. (2002). Improving Students' Ability To Identify And Use Source Information. Cognition and Instruction, 20. 485-522. https://doi.org/10.1207/S1532690XCI2004_2
Britt, M. A., Perfetti, C. A., Sandak, R., & Rouet, J.-F. (1999). Content Integration And Source Separation In Learning From Multiple Texts. In Narrative comprehension, causality, and coherence: Essays in honor of Tom Trabasso, 209-233. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410603135
Britt, M. A., & Sommer, J. (2004). Facilitating Textual Integration With Macro-Structure Focusing Tasks. Reading Psychology, 25(4), 313-339. https://doi.org/10.1080/02702710490522658
Butterfuss, R. (2020). Revising misconceptions using multiple documents (Publication No. 28030669)[Doctoral Dissertation, The University of Minnesota]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global
Carlino, P. (2012). Helping Doctoral Students Of Education To Face Writing And Emotional Challenges In Identity Transition. Studies in Writing, 24, 217-234. https://doi.org/10.1163/9781780523873_013
Castelló, M. (2022). Research writing, what do we know and how to move forward. In M. Gustafsson and A. Eriksson (eds.). Negotiating the intersections of writing and writing instruction, 89-122. https://doi.org/10.37514/INT-B.2022.1466.2.04
Castelló, M., & Iñesta, A. (2012). Chapter 10: Texts As Artifacts-In-Activity: Developing Authorial Identity And Academic Voice In Writing Academic Research Papers. Studies in Writing, 24(February), 179-200. https://doi.org/10.1163/9781780523873_011
Castelló, M., Iñesta, A., & Monereo, C. (2017). Towards Self-Regulated Academic Writing: An Exploratory Study With Graduate Students In A Situated Learning Environment. Electronic Journal of Research in Education Psychology, 7(19), 1107-1130. https://doi.org/10.25115/ejrep.v7i19.1336
Center for Post-secondary Research (2021). NSSE Snapshot. Evidence-Based Improvement in Higher Education. Retrieved June 9, 2022, from https://nsse.indiana.edu/nsse/reports-data/sample-report/report-images/snapshot.html
Colwell, J. L., Whittington, J., & Jenks, C. F. (2011). Writing Challenges For Graduate Students In Engineering And Technology. ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings. https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--18722
Cuesta, M., Eklund, M., Rydin, I., & Witt, A. K. (2015). Using Facebook As A Co-Learning Community In Higher Education. Learning, Media and Technology, 41(1), 55-72. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2015.1064952
De La Paz, S., & Felton, M. K. (2010). Reading And Writing From Multiple Source Documents In History: Effects Of Strategy Instruction With Low To Average High School Writers. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 35(3), 174-192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2010.03.001
Dovey, T. (2010). Facilitating Writing From Sources: A Focus On Both Process And Product. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 9(1), 45-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2009.11.005
Du, H., & List, A. (2020). Researching And Writing Based On Multiple Texts. Learning and Instruction, 66 (November 2019), 101297. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2019.101297
ERICSSON, K. ANDERS. "Concurrent verbal reports on text comprehension: A review" Text - Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of Discourse, vol. 8, no. 4, 1988, pp. 295-326. https://doi.org/10.1515/text.1.1988.8.4.295
Frantz, K. K. (2022). ""It'sNot Scientific Enough"" Analyzing The Development Of Academic Criticism In A Graduate Student Writer. Studies in Applied Linguistics and TESOL, 22(1), 19-25. https://doi.org/10.52214/salt.v22i1.9897
Flower, L., & Hayes, J. (1981). A Cognitive Process Theory for Writing. Science, 73(1), 181-193. https://doi.org/10.2307/356600
Flowerdew, L. (2012). Grammar and the Research Article. The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal0473
Foroughi, B., Griffiths, M.D., Iranmanesh, M., Salamzadeh, Y. (2021). Associations Between Instagram Addiction, Academic Performance, Social Anxiety, Depression, and Life Satisfaction Among University Students. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 20, 2221-2242 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-021-00510-5
Franco, J. (2023). Beliefs and Practices of Academic Reading and Writing in Researchers in Training: a Case Study in Mexico. Cuadernos de Investigación Educativa, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.18861/cied.2023.14.1.3311
Gil, L., Bråten, I., Vidal-Abarca, E., & Strømsø, H. I. (2010). Summary versus argument tasks when working with multiple documents: Which is better for whom? Contemporary Educational Psychology, 35(3), 157-173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2009.11.002
Graham, S. (2020). The Sciences of Reading and Writing Must Become More Fully Integrated. Reading Research Quarterly, 55(S1), S35-S44. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.332
Graham, S., & Perin, D. (2007). A meta-analysis of writing instruction for adolescent student s. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99(3), 445-476. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.99.3.445
Harmon, J., & Gross, A. (2009). The Structure Of Scientific Titles. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 39(4), 455-465. https://doi.org/10.2190/TW.39.4.g
Holdinga, L., Janssen, T., & Rijlaarsdam, G. (2021). The Relationship Between Students'Writing Process, Text Quality, and Thought Process Quality in 11th-Grade History and Philosophy Assignments. Written Communication, 1-43. https://doi.org/10.1177/07410883211028853
Horowitz, D. M. (1986). What Professors Actually Require: Academic Tasks for the ESL Classroom. TESOL Quarterly, 20(3), 445. https://doi.org/10.2307/3586294
Kamler, B., (2008). Rethinking Doctoral Publication Practices: Writing From And Beyond The Thesis, Studies In Higher Education, 33:3, 283-294, https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070802049236
Kim, M., Tian, Y., & Crossley, S. A. (2021). Exploring the relationships among cognitive and linguistic resources, writing processes, and written products in second language writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 53, 100824. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2021.100824
Landis, J. R., & Koch, G. G. (1977). The Measurement of Observer Agreement for Categorical Data. Biometrics, 33(1), 159-174. https://doi.org/10.2307/2529310
Lavelle, E., & Bushrow, K. (2007). Writing approaches of graduate students. Educational Psychology, 27(6), 807-822. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410701366001
List, A., & Campos Oaxaca, G. (2023). Comprehension and critique: an examination of students' evaluations of information in texts. Reading and Writing, 1-31. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-023-10417-3
List, A., & Du, H. (2020). Reasoning beyond history: examining students' strategy use when completing a multiple text task addressing a controversial topic in education. Reading and Writing, 1-46. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-020-10095-5
List, A., Du, H., Wang, Y., & Lee, H. Y. (2019). Toward a typology of integration: Examining the documents model framework. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 58(March), 228-242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2019.03.003
Luo, L., & Kiewra, K. A. (2019). Soaring to successful synthesis writing. Journal of Writing Research, 11(1), 163-209. https://doi.org/10.17239/jowr-2019.11.01.06
Magliano, J. P., & Millis, K. K. (2003). Assessing reading skills with a think-aloud procedure and latent semantic analysis. Cognition and Instruction, 21(3), 251-283. https://doi.org/10.1207/S1532690XCI2103_02
Mateos, M., Villalón, R., De Dios, M. J., & Martín, E. (2007). Reading and writing tasks on different university degree courses: what do the students say they do? Studies in Higher Education, 32(4), 489-510. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070701476183
Mateos, M., Solé, I., Martín, E., Cuevas, I., Miras, M., & Castells, N. (2014). Writing a synthesis from multiple sources as a learning activity. Studies in Writing, 28, 169–190. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004265011_009
McGinley, W. (1992). The Role of Reading and Writing While Composing from Sources. Reading Research Quarterly, 27(3), 227-248. https://doi.org/10.2307/747793
McNamara, D. S., Watanabe, M., Huynh, L., McCarthy, K. S., Allen, L. K., & Magliano, J. P. (2024). Summarizing versus rereading multiple documents. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 76, 102238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2023.102238
Paré, A. (2019). Re-writing the doctorate: New contexts, identities, and genres. Journal of Second Language Writing, 43, 80-84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2018.08.004
Park, J. J., & Schallert, D. L. (2019). Talking, reading, and writing like an educational psychologist: The role of discourse practices in graduate students professional identity development. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 22(June), 0-1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lcsi.2018.06.001
Perfetti, C. A., Rouet, J.-F., & Britt, M. A. (1999). Toward a theory of documents representation. In The construction of mental representations during reading. (pp. 99-122). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410603050
Plakans, L., Gebril, A., & Bilki, Z. (2019). Shaping a score: Complexity, accuracy, and fluency in integrated writing performances. Language Testing, 36(2), 161-179. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532216669537
Sala-Bubaré, A., Castelló, M., & Rijlaarsdam, G. (2021). Writing processes as situated regulation processes: A context-based approach to doctoral writing. Journal of Writing Research,13(1), 1-30. https://doi.org/10.17239/jowr-2021.13.01.01
Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. L. (1992). Dos modelos explicativos de los procesos de composicion escrita Two explicative models for the processes of written composition. Journal for the Study of Education and Development: Infancia y Aprendizaje, 15(58), 43-64. https://doi.org/10.1080/02103702.1992.10822332
Segev-Miller, R. (2007). Cognitive processes in discourse synthesis: The case of intertextual processing strategies. Studies in Writing, 20, 231-250. https://doi.org/10.1163/9781849508223_016
Solé, I., Miras, M., Castells, N., Espino, S., & Minguela, M. (2013). Integrating Information: An Analysis of the Processes Involved and the Products Generated in a Written Synthesis Task. Written Communication, 30(1), 63-90. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741088312466532
Spivey, N. N. (1983). Discourse synthesis: Constructing texts in reading and writing. (Publication No. 8329876) [Doctoral Dissertation, The University of Texas at Austin]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global Closed Collection
Spivey, N. N. (1997). The Constructivist Metaphor: Reading, Writing and the making of meaning. Brill. https://doi.org/10.2307/358470
Stirling, E. (2019). Technology, time and transition in higher education-two different realities of everyday Facebook use in the first year of university in the UK. In Social Media and Education (pp. 100-118). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315121697
Tarchi, C., & Casado-Ledesma, L. (2024). Readers’ awareness in the use of intertextual strategies when reading multiple texts. Journal of Writing Research. https://doi.org/10.17239/jowr-2024.16.02.03
Tardy, C. M. (2005). "It's like a story" Rhetorical knowledge development in advanced academic literacy. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 4(4), 325-338. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2005.07.005
Tarone, E., Dwyer, S., Gillette, S., & Icke, V. (1981). On the use of the passive in two astrophysics journal papers. The ESP Journal, 1(2), 123-140. https://doi.org/10.1016/0272-2380(81)90004-4
Torrance, M., Thomas, G. V., & Robinson, E. J. (1994). The writing strategies of graduate research students in the social sciences. Higher Education, 27(3), 379-392. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03179901
van Gog, T., Paas, F., van Merriënboer, J. J. G., & Witte, P. (2005). Uncovering the Problem-Solving Process: Cued Retrospective Reporting Versus Concurrent and Retrospective Reporting. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 11(4), 237-244. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-898X.11.4.237
van Ockenburg, L., Weijen, D. van, & Rijlaarsdam, G. (2019). Learning to write synthesis texts: A review of intervention studies. Journal of Writing Research, 10(3), 401-428. https://doi.org/10.17239/jowr-2019.10.03.01
VERBI Software. (2021). MAXQDA 2022 [computer software]. Berlin, Germany: VERBI Software. Available from maxqda.com.
Walter, L., & Stouck, J. (2020). Writing the Literature Review: Graduate Student Experiences. The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.5206/cjsotl-rcacea.2020.1.8295
White, M. J., & Bruning, R. (2005). Implicit writing beliefs and their relation to writing quality. Contemporary educational psychology, 30(2), 166-189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2004.07.002
Wiley, J., & Voss, J. F. (1999). Constructing arguments from multiple sources: Tasks that promote understanding and not just memory for text. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91(2), 301-311. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.91.2.301
Wolfe, M. B., & Goldman, S. R. (2005). Relations between adolescents' text processing and reasoning. Cognition and instruction, 23(4), 467-502. https://doi.org/10.1207/s1532690xci2304_2
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Gala Campos Oaxaca

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 Unported License.