Strategic Knowledge When Reading in Order to Write

Abstract Students who are asked to write research reports need to apply both social and cognitive strategic knowledge to the task. They must interpret the social context and use their knowledge of the process of researching and the content of the subject as they negotiate the complex task of reading in order to write a report. This case study describes six high‐achieving eighth‐grade students who were asked to write a short report (3‐5 pages) about a significant person they would like as a personal mentor in high school. During the seven 40‐minute sessions, the investigators used a variety of sources (field notes, student interviews on audiotapes, and videotapes) for data collection. Results indicated that the students choose their research topics rapidly and all students but one created a task impression of the assigned report with little difficulty. Interview data revealed students using both content- and procedural-related goals to accomplish their task. The social and cognitive dimensions these students used while researching are described and implications for classroom instruction are given.