Writing can help some struggling students overcome anxiety and perform better in school. In a study published by Science, researchers found students who completed 15 minute writing assignments centered around their values had the effect of maintaining a higher GPA – by .4 - than their peers who did not do these writing exercises. The positive effect had not faded over a year after the exercises! The things the kids valued and wrote about ranged from athletic ability, sense of humor, to creativity and being smart — they wrote about why those values were so important. Read more: The New York Times.