Writing argumentative texts: The effects of electronic outlining on students’ writing product and process

This study focuses on using electronic outline-tools as a specific support for a planning strategy. Previous research shows positive effects of outline-tools on students’ writing performance (de Smet e.a., 2011). However, less is known about the effects on the writing process. Focus in this study is not only on final writing products but also on the orchestration of the writing process. This leads to the following research question: What is the effect of using an electronic outline-tool on students’ (a) writing performance, (b) organisation of the writing process and (c) perceived mental effort?Preliminary analyses show that electronic outlining positively influenced writing performance. Using an outline-tool significantly improved the presentation of the argumentative structure. Process data suggest that outlining increased total writing time, but no outline effect was found on students’ planning and reviewing.