Scalable Writing Pedagogy for Strengthening Cohesion with Interactive Visualization

Abstract

The current pedagogy on cohesion in writing relies primarily on traditional static charts to depict topical connections across sentences. However, since charts are manually generated, they are not practical for inspecting a text during the revision process. We have developed a visualization tool called OnTopic, designed to guide students’ attention to their composing choices that support coherent writing. OnTopic uses natural language processing algorithms to dynamically visualize the topical structure of the student’s draft and thereby help students’ confront and learn to account for their composing decisions. This paper reports on a pilot study that evaluated OnTopic in a series of writing workshops. The results suggest that most students were able to successfully assess their writing from the perspective of topical structure, and develop a plan for specific revisions.