Self-Efficacy and Writing: A Different View of Self-Evaluation

Abstract

Both in our teaching and in our research, self-evaluation is coming to be recognized as an important facet of the writing process. Donald Murray first opened our eyes to the importance of self-evaluation when he described how he conducts a writing conference. One of the first questions he asks when a writer turns in a piece is How do you feel about it? He then goes on to ask a series of questions that encourage the writer to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the work. In a recent CCC article, How Writers Evaluate Their Own Writing (CCC, May, 1982), Susan Miller similarly stresses that self-evaluation is an essential step in effective writing processes. Several other composition researchers including Beach, Perl, Pianko, Flower and Hayes, and Sommers have demonstrated that assessment of one's written work can influence