Student Effort, Media Preference, and Writing Quality When Using Print and Electronic Resources in Expository Writing

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of the Internet as a research tool on elementary students' quality of writing, their perceptions of effort expended, and their resource media preference in writing an expository paper. We gathered data from 56 upper-elementary students as they wrote expository papers using print resources, electronic resources via the Internet, or both types of resources. We noted no significant differences among the quality of writing that could be attributed to the resources used or grade in school. However, students liked using the Internet more than traditional print resources for doing research. In addition, fifth-grade students perceived that they put forth more effort when using the Internet for this writing task.