Writing is an essential professional skill. The goal of writing instruction in business communication classes is to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to successfully meet future writing challenges. However, many writers struggle to transfer skills and knowledge from one context to another. The primary reason for this struggle is that despite years of writing instruction, most people are highly apprehensive about writing and do not consider themselves “writers.” Writing instruction typically does little to lessen writing apprehension, but fostering writing self-efficacy can both diminish writing apprehension and further writing development.
AnsonC. M. (2008). Closed systems and standardized writing tests. College Composition and Communication, 60, 113-128.
2.
BanduraA. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York, NY: W. H. Freeman.
3.
BanduraA. (2004). Swimming against the mainstream: The early years from chilly tributary to transformative mainstream. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 42, 613-630.
4.
DalyJ. A.MillerM. D. (1975). The empirical development of an instrument to measure writing apprehension. Research in the Teaching of English, 9, 242-249.
5.
FarisK. A.GolenS. P.LynchD. H. (1999). Writing apprehension in beginning accounting majors. Business Communication Quarterly, 62(2), 9-22.
6.
HidiS.BoscoloP. (2008). Motivation and writing. In MacArthurC. A.GrahamS.FitzGeraldJ. (Eds.), Handbook of writing research (pp. 144-157). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
7.
JamesonD. A. (2007). Literacy in decline: Untangling the evidence. Business Communication Quarterly, 70, 16-33.
8.
KrapelsR. H.DavisB. D. (2003). Designation of “communication skills” in position listings. Business Communication Quarterly, 66(2), 90-96.
9.
MabritoM. (2000). Computer conversations and writing apprehension. Business Communication Quarterly, 63(1), 39-49.
10.
MartinezC. T.KockN.CassJ. (2011). Pain and pleasure in short essay writing: Factors predicting university students’ writing anxiety and writing self-efficacy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 54, 351-360.
11.
MatotiS.ShumbaA. (2011). Assessing the writing efficacy of post-graduate students at a university of technology in South Africa. Journal of Social Sciences: Interdisciplinary Reflection of Contemporary Society, 29, 109-118.
12.
PajaresF. (2003). Self-efficacy beliefs, motivation, and achievement in writing: A review of the literature. Reading & Writing Quarterly: Overcoming Learning Difficulties, 19, 139-158.
13.
PajaresF. (2007). Empirical properties of a scale to assess writing self-efficacy in school contexts. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 39, 239-249.
14.
PajaresF.JohnsonM. J.UsherE. L. (2007). Sources of writing self-efficacy beliefs of elementary, middle, and high school students. Research in the Teaching of English, 42, 104-120.
15.
PajaresF.ValianteG. (2008). Self-efficacy beliefs and motivation in writing development. In MacArthurC. A.GrahamS.FitzGeraldJ. (Eds.), Handbook of writing research (pp. 158-170). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
16.
PittengerK. K. S.MillerM. C.AllisonJ. (2006). Can we succeed in teaching business students to write effectively?Business Communication Quarterly, 69, 257-263.
17.
RussT. L. (2009). The status of the business communication course at U.S. colleges and universities. Business Communication Quarterly, 72, 395-413.
18.
SommersN. (2008). The call of research: A longitudinal view of writing development. College Composition and Communication, 60, 113-128.
19.
UsherE. L.PajaresF. (2008). Sources of self-efficacy in school: Critical review of the literature and future directions. Review of Educational Research, 78, 751-796.
