Predicting Final Course Performance From Students’ Written Self-Introductions

Abstract

Using a sample of 363 participants, we tested whether differences in the use of linguistic categories in written self-introductions at the start of the semester predicted final course performance at the end of the semester. The results supported this possibility: Course performance could indeed be predicted by relative word usage in particular linguistic categories—predominantly by the use of punctuation (commas and quotes), word simplicity, first-person singular pronouns, present tense, details concerning home and social life, and words pertaining to eating, drinking, and sex. Our interpretation of the findings emphasizes the egocentric “narrowed focus” of low-performing students and therefore stands in contrast to a previous interpretation that characterized these students as being “dynamic thinkers.”