INTRODUCTION
Research has been conducted on dialogue journal writing to determine its
usefulness in improving the writing skills of students. Kluwin and Kelly
(1991) listed five of the claimed benefits of the dialogue journal, including:
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an emphasis on either "real" or student selected or "familiar" topics;
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a focus on meaning over formalism;
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writing to a specific audience;
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a non-evaluative, private, or non-threatening climate; and
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individualized feedback from the instructor (p. 284).
Staton (1980) found that student writing improved most when the written
communication involved areas of language that focused "on the deeper, meaningful
aspects of language - its functions" (P. 516). These functions allow a
person to get things accomplished, to find out information, to complain
and/or get sympathy, and to request help. The study also determined that
dialogue journal writing was effective because it offers a forum for the
student to communicate more freely about the matters that are most important
to his/her life.
