The Influence of Effort Regulation and Affective Strategies on the Writing Process: A PLS-SEM Analysis

Writing is a fundamental academic skill that requires learners to manage cognitive, motivational, and behavioural demands throughout the writing process. This study investigates the influence of effort regulation and affective strategies on the writing process, specifically during the planning, translating, and reviewing stages. This study is grounded in the Cognitive Process Theory of Writing, Self-Regulated Learning theory, and Expectancy-Value Theory. A quantitative research design was employed, and data were collected from university students using a questionnaire adapted from Raoofi et al. (2017), which measured metacognitive, cognitive, effort regulation, and affective writing strategies using a five-point Likert scale. The data were analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) through SmartPLS 4 to evaluate both the measurement and structural models. The findings revealed that effort regulation has significant relationships with all three stages of the writing process: planning, translating, and reviewing, indicating that students who sustain effort and persist in writing tasks are more engaged in managing the different stages of writing. In contrast, affective strategies showed a significant relationship only with the translating stage, suggesting that emotional control and motivation mainly influence the drafting process. Effect size analysis further indicated medium effects for effort regulation on planning and reviewing, and for affective strategies on translating, while effort regulation had a smaller effect on translating. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of persistence, motivation, and emotional regulation in supporting students’ writing development. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of how effort regulation and affective strategies shape the writing process and suggests that writing instruction should incorporate strategy-based approaches that promote both self-regulation and positive emotional engagement to enhance students’ writing performance.