Melendy, Galon A.Mahidol University. International College. Humanities and Language Division.2015-06-122018-02-272015-06-122018-02-272015-06-122008The Asian EFL Journal. Vol. 10, No. 3 (2008), 187-198https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/9893Motivation plays a key role in education. This action research study evaluated the effectiveness of the power of choice of proximal academic goals as a strategy for boosting student motivation in an undergraduate composition and rhetoric course. Students were given choices to select easier or more difficult assessment tasks prior to essay examinations. The results indicated that more students in this sample group selected the most challenging tasks when given the choice. The implications of this study suggest that this approach has the potential to be a valuable motivational strategy in academic writing courses.engMahidol UniversityEFLMotivationAction ResearchArticleTESOL Asia (Australia)