Abstract
This study examines how instructors may motivate students to improve their writing
skills. According to the motivation research in the psychology and management litera
tures, two of the most prominent motivational techniques are goal setting and reinforce
ment. We examine what these literatures suggest about the effective use of such
motivation techniques, assess what has been done in business writing, compare goal-
and punishment-based grading systems for students, and test two exemplary systems
to determine their effect on students' performance and perception. Results of this study
indicate that although both goals- and punishment-based grading systems improve
students' writing, they are perceived differently and they influence students' writing in
different ways.