Comparing the Effects of Reading and Writing on Writing Performance

The study compares the effects of an enriched syllabus which included extensive reading and frequent writing assignments on English descriptive writing performance at different form levels It examines a group of Cantonese-speaking students at four form levels in Hong Kong who participated in three English programs (A) regular plus unrelated (mathematics) enrichment program, (B) regular plus extensive reading, and (C) regular plus frequent writing practice Results demonstrated significant main effects due to the nature of program and form level with no significant interaction of these factors The regular plus extensive reading program was overall significantly effective, while both the regular plus mathematics program and the regular plus frequent writing practice were not In the area of content, the reading program was the only one which showed a significant positive effect Similarly, in the area of language use, the reading program was the only one of the three shown significantly effective