The Role of Writing Apprehension in Writing Performance and Competence

AbstractThe role of apprehension in the writing competency and writing performance of 110 undergraduates was investigated. The hypotheses were that high apprehensives would perform differently than low apprehensives on standardized tests of writing-related skills (competency) and on two essays of different types (performance). The hypothesis for writing competency was confirmed. However, the hypothesis for writing performance was confirmed for only one of the two essay types. Differences in indices measuring syntactic development and in judgments of writing quality were observed in the narrative/descriptive essays, but not in the argumentative essays.