The word "you" can make a difference

[see: Want people to remember what you write? and Writing helps learning]

This post makes the point, yet again, about writing in the authentic voice. Impress them with your lucidity and they will be impressed with your knowledge.

A study from the Journal of Educational Psychology, issue 93 (from 2000), looked at the difference in effectiveness between formal vs. informal style in learning. In their studies, the researchers (Roxana Moreno and Richard Mayer) looked at computer-based education on botany and lightning formation and "compared versions in which the words were in formal style with versions in which the words were in conversational style."

In five out of five studies, students who learned with personalized text performed better on subsequent transfer tests than students who learned with formal text. Overall, participants in the personalized group produced between 20 to 46 percent more solutions to transfer problems than the formal group.

That study was conducted by Moreno, R., and Mayer, R.E. (2000) Engaging Students in Active Learning: The Case for Personalized Messages (Journal of Educational Psychology, 93).

Additionally the second reference provides endorsement of the value of writing, for remembering, and learning. Students are encouraged to write short essays of less than 500 words, in language devoid of jargon... "which a relative could understand". So, writing something in your own words is an aid to learning.

[tag: writing]