Error-free phrases = 3 (numbers 1, 6 and 7; note that only the immediate context of the phrase is considered; thus "there is no one" is considered correct, even though the full context requires "there was no one."

Results

Table 1 presents the results for the cloze test. English majors started at a higher level, and gained seven points, while Health Science majors gained 4.4 points. The English majors, however, did not increase their advantage; effect sizes for pre- and post-tests were nearly identical, and gain scores were not significantly different (t = 1.38, df = 38; p = .18, two tails).

Table 1: Cloze test results

*mean scores; standard deviation in parentheses

A more accurate way to compare the results is to consider efficiency, gains per hour of instruction. The English majors had much more instruction: Recall that they were taking seven hours of English per week, while the Health Science majors only had one English class per week. English majors spent 126 hours (10.5*12 weeks) and gained only seven points on the cloze test. (0.06 points per hour). Health Science majors spent 18 hours and gained 4.4 points. (0.24 points per hour). (Note that only class-time was included in the analysis: Homework was not included).

Both groups gained in writing fluency (number of words, table 2, and number of phrases, table 3). The advantage of the English majors was greater on the posttest than on the pretest (see effect sizes in tables 2 and 3), and they made significantly larger gains (for words, t = 4.19, df = 38, p = .0002, two tails; for phrases, t = 4.09, df = 38, p = .0002, two tails).

Once again, however, when efficiency was considered, the Health Sciences students did much better, gaining at three to four times the rate in terms in words and phrases written per hour of instruction.

Table 2: Number of words written

Table 3: Number of phrases written

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