This version of the course guide is provisional until the period for editing the new course guides ends.

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Research Trends in Teaching of Writing

Code: 43214 ECTS Credits: 6
2025/2026
Degree Type Year
Research in Education OP 1

Contact

Name:
Marilisa Birello
Email:
marilisa.birello@uab.cat

Teachers

Carme Duran Rivas
Xavier Fontich Vicens

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites to take this course.


Objectives and Contextualisation

This is a compulsory course for students of the Language and Literature Didactics itinerary, while it is optional for students of other itineraries.

This course introduces students to the state-of-the-art in research on the development and teaching of writing. Relevant approaches to research on writing are presented, especially focusing on the contributions of cognitive psychology, discourse linguistics, and sociocultural theory. Special emphasis is placed on the interaction between writing, the learner, and the teacher, who creates the learning conditions.


Learning Outcomes

  1. CA39 (Competence) Formulate a research problem in the teaching of written composition and formulate its questions and goals.
  2. CA40 (Competence) Make proposals for improvement and/or innovation projects in writing that are grounded on research-based evidence.
  3. KA39 (Knowledge) Describe the methodological approaches and designs in research on written composition.
  4. KA40 (Knowledge) Identify lines of research on writing.
  5. KA41 (Knowledge) Identify problems and offer solutions for the needs arising from the teaching and learning of writing.
  6. SA25 (Skill) Design and carry out field work in school contexts using suitable data collection instruments.
  7. SA29 (Skill) Produce a comprehensive review of the scientific literature focused on studies of writing skills.
  8. SA30 (Skill) Develop the design and select the most consistent methodology with the research goals on writing.

Content

  • Research on the teaching of writing.
  • Assessment of written language.
  • Relationship between writing and grammar. The metalinguistic activity. Students' grammatical knowledge.
  • Research on written corrective feedback in L1 and additional languages.
  • Research on teaching and learning of discursive genres in the context of collaborative academic writing.

Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Classes in large group. 36 1.44
Type: Supervised      
Analysis and collective discussion of articles and documentary sources. Classroom practices: problem solving / cases / exercises. 36 1.44
Type: Autonomous      
Reading of articles and documentary sources. Development of the individual work of the subject. Participation in discussion in forums. 78 3.12

The training activity will be developed based on the following dynamics:
  • Lectures by the teacher
  • Reading articles and documentary sources
  • Analysis and collective discussion of articles and documentary sources
  • Classroom practices: problem solving / cases / exercises.
  • Oral presentation of written works.
  • Conferences

 

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Individual oral presentations 50% 0 0 CA40, KA40, KA41, SA29
Participation and class work 10% 0 0 KA39, KA40
Written work - group 40% 0 0 CA39, KA41, SA25, SA30

Evaluation criteria for the module 

The module will be assessed through activities indicated in the table of continuous assessment activities. The assessment activities will be carried out at the end of each block.

Individual oral presentations (50%):

- oral presentations in which an aspect worked on in the sessions is explored in depth.

Group work (40%) will consist of:

a) the reading of two texts (one common to all and another to be chosen from a list provided by the teacher)

b) the synthesis and contrast of these two texts.

Attendance & participation (10%)

The following items will be taken into account:

  • Regular attendance;
  • Punctuality & consistent full attendance;
  • Demonstrative engagement with proposed activities during class;
  • Collaboration with classmates;
  • Preparation and quality of the tasks submitted in class.

The final mark will be the weighted average of the planned activities. In order to be able to apply this criterion, it will be necessary to obtain at least a 5 in all the activities, those carried out during the development of the module and in the final report/work of the module. In case of failing the course, there is the possibility of sitting an exam consisting of a global oral test on all the subjects of the different blocks of the course.  This assessment activity will be done during the two weeks after the publication of the marks.

Plagiarism or copying will result in a failing grade and will be reported to the coordination of the degree.

Faculty will grade the assessment activities within a maximum of 20 working days.

In the event that a student chooses a single assessment, this will be carried out through afinal written paper which will account for 100% of the mark. In case of failing the final paper, the same recovery system will be applied as for the continuous assessment.

No synthesis assessment is provided.

Class attendance is compulsory. In order to obtain a positive final evaluation, the student must have attended at least 80% of the classes. Even if the corresponding activities have been submitted and completed, attendance below the required minimum will result in a grade of “not assessable” until a passing grade is validated (if applicable) during the resit session. In all cases, in order to be eligible for the resit, students must have previously submitted at least 66% of the assessment activities (this percentage is calculated based on the weight of each activity in the final grade) with a minimum average score of 3.5. Justification documents submitted in case of absence only serve to explain the reason for the absence; under no circumstances do they exempt students from the attendance requirement.

In this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is allowed exclusively in the bibliographic or information search, image generation and other specific situations that are expressly specified. It is not allowed in generating content beyond images, i.e. generating text or speech in any of the tasks. The student must clearly identify which parts have been generated with AI, specify the tools used and include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and the final outcome of the activity. Lack of transparency in the use of AI will be considered as academicdishonesty and may lead to a partial or total penalty in the marking of the assessment evidence, or higher penalties in more serious cases. Misuse will be penalised with a 0.

Inclusive language will be promoted.

 

 

Bibliography

APA (2019).Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. (7th ed). American Psychological Association.

Arfé, B., Dockrell, J., & Berninger, V. (2016). Writing development in children with hearing loss, dyslexia, or oral language problems. Implications for assessment and instruction. Oxford University Press.

Bañales, G., Castelló, M. & Vega, N. (2016). Enseñar a leer y escribir en la educación superior. Propuestas educativas basadas en la investigación. Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas. 

Bañales, G., Ahumada, S., Graham, S., Puente, A., Guajardo, M., Muñoz, I. (2020). Teaching writing in grades 4–6 in urban schools in Chile: a national survey. Reading and Writing, 33(10), 2661-2696. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-020-10055-z

Bazerman, Ch. (2005). Writing Across the Curriculum. ParlorPress /WAC Clearinghouse.

Bazerman, Ch. (dir.) (2008) Handbook of research on writing: history, society, school, individual, text. Lawrence Erlbaum.

Bazerman, Ch. , Lile, j., Bethel, L., Chavkin, T., Fouque, D.& Garufis, J. (2016) Escribir a través del curriculum. Una guía de referencia. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba

Birello, M., & Pujolà, J. T. (2023). Visual metaphors and metonymies in pre-service teachers’ reflections: Beliefs and experiences in the learning and teaching of writing. Teaching and Teacher Education, 122, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2022.103971

Bitchener, J. & Ferris, D. R. (2012). Written Corrective Feedback in Second Language Acquisition and Writing. Routledge

Borg, S. (2003). Teacher cognition in language teaching: a review of research on what teachers think, know, believe, and do. Language Teaching, 36(2), 81-109. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444803001903

Borg, S. (2019). Language Teacher Cognition: Perspectives and debates. In X. Gao (ed.). Second Handbook of English Language Teaching (pp.1149-1170). Springer International.

Camps, A. (comp.) (2003). Seqüències didàctiques per aprendre a escriure. Graó.

Castelló, M. (2017). Mirarse en el espejo: de comunicar lo que se ha aprendido a aprender comunicando. Textos de didáctica de la lengua yla literatura, 76, 7-13. 

Elola, I., & Oskoz, A. (2022). Reexamining feedback on L2 digital writing. Studiesin Second Language Learning and Teaching, 12(4), 575–595. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2022.12.4.3

Ferreiro, E., & Teberosky, A. (Eds.). (1979). Los sistemas de escritura en el desarrollo del niño. Siglo XXI.

Graham, S., MacArthur, Ch., & Hebert, M. (2018). Best Practices in Writing Instruction, 3rd Edition. Guildford Press.

Hsiang, T. P., Graham, S. Yang, Y.-M. (2020). Teachers’ practices and beliefs about teaching writing: a comprehensive survey of grades 1 to 3 teachers. Reading and Writing, 33(10), 2511-2548. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-020-10050-4

Hyland, K. (2002). Teaching and Researching Writing. Longman.

Hyland K. (2016). Methods and methodologies in second language writing. System, 59, 116-125 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2016.05.002

Junqueira, L. & Payant, C.(2015). “I justwant to do it right, but it’s so hard”: A novice teacher’s written feedback beliefs and practices. Journal of Second Language Writing, 27, 19-36 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2014.11.001

Kubaniova, M. & Feryok, A. (2015). Language teacher cognition in applied linguistics research: revisiting the territory, redrawing the boundaries, reclaiming the relevance. The Modern Language Journal, 99, 435-449. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12239

Lee,I. (2019). Teacher written corrective feedback: Less is more. Language Teaching, 1–13. doi:10.1017/s0261444819000247

Lee, I. (2022). Developments in classroom-based research on L2 writing. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 12(4), 551–574. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2022.12.4.2

Lee, I. (2023). Problematising Written Corrective Feedback: A Global Englishes Perspective. Applied Linguistics, XX/XX, 1-7, https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amad038

Leow, R.P., Manchón, R.M., Polio, C. (2022). Researching L2 writing as a site for learning in instructed settings. In GUrzynski-Weiss, L. & Kim, Y. (eds.). Instructed Second Language Acquisition Research Methods. John Benjamins Publishing Company

Manchón, R.M. (2020). (Ed.) Writing and language learning. Advancing research agendas. John Benjamins Publishing.

McArthur, Ch., Graham, S. & Fitzgerald, J. (2016). Handbook of Writing Research, 2nd Edition. Guilford Press.

Nassaji, H., & Kartchava, E. (Eds.) (2017). Corrective Feedback in Second Language Teaching and Learning. Research, Theory, Applications, Implications. Routledge.

Nassaji, H., & Kartchava, E. (Eds.). (2021). The Cambridge Handbook of Corrective Feedback in Second Language Learning and Teaching (Cambridge Handbooks in Language and Linguistics). Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108589789

Perera, J., Aparici, M., Rosado, E., &Salas, N. (Eds.). (2016). Written and Spoken Language Development Across the Lifespan: Essays in Honour of Liliana Tolchinsky (Vol. 11). Springer.

Ribas, F., Perine, C. (2018). What does it mean to be an English teacher in Brazil? Student teachers' beliefs through narratives in a distance education programme. Applied Linguistics Review, 9(2-3), 273-305 https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/applirev-2017-0002/html

Ribas, T. (2010). La evaluación en el área lingüística. Textos de Didáctica de la Lengua y la Literatura, 53, 10-21.

Ribas, T., Fontich, X. & Guasch, O. (eds.) (2014). Grammar at School. Research on Metalinguistic Activity in Language Education. Peter Lang

Ribas,T., Milian, M., Guasch, O., Camps, A. (2002). La composición escrita como objeto de reflexión. A J.M. Cots I L. Nussbaum (eds.) Pensar lo dicho. La reflexión sobre la lengua y la comunicación en el aprendizaje de lenguas (pp.167-184). Milenio.

Salas, N., Birello, M., & Ribas, T. (2020). Effectiveness of an SRSD writing intervention for low- and high-SES children. Reading & Writing.https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-020-10103-8

Seoane, R. C., Jiménez, J. E., Gutiérrez, N. (2020). Pre-service teachers’ implicit theories of learning to write. European Journal of Teacher Education, 43:2, 165-190. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2019.1681964

Teberosky, A., Soler, M. (eds.) (2003). Contextos de alfabetización inicial. Horsori.

Tolchinsky, L. (2003). The cradle of culture and what children know about writing and numbers before being taught. Psychology Press.

Watson, A. (2015). The problem of grammar teaching: a case study of the relationship between a teacher’s beliefs and pedagogicalpractice. Language and Education, 29:4, 332-346 https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2015.1016955


Software

We will use Moodle. Students may be asked to make use of various software such as:

  1. Text editing (e.g., Microsoft Word).
  2. Creation of multimedia content (e.g., Canva or Genially)

Groups and Languages

Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(TEm) Theory (master) 1 Spanish second semester afternoon