The Impact Of Original Artwork as a Prewriting Strategy

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine if an interactive method, such as original artwork, would stimulate students’ minds in the Planning phase of process writing, preparing them with concrete and internalized ideas that could enhance the quality of their composition. Equally important was the focus on whether this method of prewriting could benefit students’ affective states through active engagement and by limiting the strain on their short-term working memory, so they could demonstrate more fluent writing, yielding a greater quantity of work completion. Two writing samples and their respective prewriting artwork from 35 ninth-grade students were collected and analyzed as part of the constant comparison data analysis in May and June of the 2024-2025 school year. As part of the triangulation design of this study, analysis of numerical data accompanied subjective evaluation in the categories of writing quality, writing fluency, work completion, and student engagement. Results indicate task-relevant drawing, such as the original artwork prewriting method, assists memory encoding and promotes writing fluency. Furthermore, students who prewrite tend to display more positive affective states during composition, which has a direct impact on their writing success. Suggestions for future research and recommendations for teachers are included.