The effect of Strategy-based Instruction on Medical Students’ Academic Writing Performance

Background: The present study was intended to investigate the effectiveness of strategy-based instruction in the form of self-regulatory strategy development on persuasive academic writing performance of a group of Iranian medicine and pharmacy students. Additionally, the study sought to examine if such instruction carries over to a related academic genre, i.e., descriptive writing. Methods: First, 30 male and female medicine and pharmacy students were administered pretests on target genres. Secondly, they received SBI on the persuasive genre of academic writing. Thirdly, the participants were asked to write essays on a set of writing probes across these two genres. Finally, post tests were administered. Results: The results showed that the persuasive-specific self-regulatory strategy instruction the participants received contributed to their performance on persuasive academic writing. In the case of descriptive academic genre, the participants’ performances on the posttest experienced a boost compared to those in the pretest corroborating the transfer of learning to a related noninstructed genre. More specifically, the sentences participants wrote in the post-tests were longer, qualitatively better, and contained more persuasive and descriptive elements. Conclusions: Supplementing English for academic purposes courses for the students of medicine with strategy-based instruction in the form of genrespecific self-regulatory strategy development interventions seems a necessary first step in enhancing academic writing ability of medical students. The findings out of this research have certain implications for English for academic purposes students and teachers accordingly.