From Inbox to Insight: A Writing Teacher’s Reflection on Students’ Written Formality

  • Michael Cop Otago University
Keywords: Tone, Student correspondence, Negativity dominance, Student composition

Abstract

When I receive correspondence from students in my writing classes, I wonder if it is representative of my teaching or of the class’s capabilities. Reflecting on that dynamic, I designed a study to assess if I needed to modify either what I need to teach or how I perceive students’ capabilities (or something in between). My data suggest that my students are more than capable of identifying shifts in tone for power-distance communication and that I therefore need to be aware of negativity dominance.

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Published
2026-06-30
How to Cite
Cop, M. (2026). From Inbox to Insight: A Writing Teacher’s Reflection on Students’ Written Formality. New Zealand Journal of Teachers’ Work, 23(1), 22-30. https://doi.org/10.24135/teacherswork.v23i1.694
Section
Teacher reflections