Subject Matter Anxieties (continued)

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Research has also examined associations between teachers' feelings about writing and their teaching strategies. Studies have found, for example, that highly apprehensive female teachers assign fewer writing assignments and are more likely to be concerned with issues of form and usage and less likely to emphasize personal or creative expression and effort than less apprehensive teachers (see Daly, 1985; Daly et al., 1988). Associations between teachers' own anxiety about writing and their teaching methods were strongest in upper elementary school, when many important writing skills are supposed to be taught.

Studies of interventions find that simply taking writing courses decreases writing anxiety, at least temporarily (Basile, 1982; Fox, 1980). Zimmerman and Silverman (1982) report that the writing apprehension of fifth-grade students could be reduced by emphasizing prewriting activities, expressive writing, and positive evaluation (see Daly, 1985; Schweiker-Marra & Marra, 2000).

The instructional context can exacerbate concerns about competencies that feed anxiety, and they contribute to trait anxiety both over time and collectively. One study found that high school students who were relatively high in writing anxiety reported having experienced more criticism for their writing and less encouragement and support, and they reported seeking help for writing problems less than students low on writing anxiety (Daly, 1985).

Daly (1985) proposes that writing anxiety will be greatest under the following circumstances:

• evaluation is salient
• the task is ambiguous
• the writer feels conspicuous
• task difficulty is perceived to be high
• the writer feels lacking in prior experience relevant to the task
• the task is personally salient
• the setting or task is novel
• the writer perceives the audience as uninterested but evaluative

Teachers may be able to reduce writing anxiety by minimizing students' concerns about evaluation, making assignments and criteria for grading clear, and making sure that students have the prior experience and familiarity they need to complete the writing task. Writing tasks, like all tasks, should be challenging but not so difficult or different from what students have experienced in the past as to provoke a sense of incompetence or low expectations for success. A genuine and supportive audience (e.g., classmates, parents) might also help.