Computer Conversations and Writing Apprehension

Abstract

As participants in a growing number of online business writing courses, students must communicate with each other and the instructor electronically. One group of students may face particular challenges in this environment: those with high degrees of writing apprehension. This study examined the online communications behavior of such students as they communicated with both familiar and unknown audiences via Internet newsgroups. Low-apprehensive writers tend to exhibit simi lar communication strategies in both types of newsgroups. But high-apprehensive writers contributed more, initiated more topics of discussion, and felt more com fortable participating in electronic discussions with unknown audiences than they did when communicating with familiar audiences.

Keywords

Learning styles writing apprehension online communications behavior newsgroups

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