Female Superiority and Gender Similarity Effects and Interest Factors in Writing

The first part of this chapter is a review of the research on gender differences in writing. After a brief description of the early studies focused on verbal ability, research is presented that has analyzed gender differences in writing. Specific aspects of writing, in particular text quality, mechanical skills, text structure, and the processes of planning, translating, and revising, are described. ¹ In the second part of the chapter the relation between gender differences and motivational factors, such as self-efficacy, gender orientation toward writing activity, and interest, are examined. In the final part of the chapter an empirical study is presented that reports new findings about the role of interest and gender in writing.