iv
Especially for my beloved father and mother, my brothers
and sisters and to him………
v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, I would like to extend my gratitude to Allah S.W.T for His mercy
and grace for allowing me to finally finish my thesis despite of all the challenges that
I had go through.
My sincere thanks to my beloved family, a million thank you for your endless
support and encouragement. And to Shaffrizan, thank you for all the cares, strengths
and advice.
I would also like to thank to the first year students of Sains Teknologi dan
Pengurusan (SHT) for the cooperation given that made this study possible. Not
forgetting, for my wonderful friends that give me advice, helps and supports. As for
all those who assisted me in this thesis, thank you very much………
vi
ABSTRACT
Most students have difficulties in writing. Many students have problems in
elaborating, generalizing and organizing the content of their essays besides making
more errors in grammar. Therefore, this study was undertaken to find out the
effectiveness of the teaching of writing process towards students' performance in
essay writing. In this study, the first year students of Sarjana Sains Teknologi dan
Pengurusan (SHI) were chosen and they were asked to write a four paragraph essay.
The findings consist of two stages of writing which are the pre-test and post-test
writing. After the student have written the pre-test essay, they were given the two
hour treatment by the researcher on the writing process. Then, followed by the posttest essay with the same topic written for the pre-test essay. The holistic scoring has
been used in the marking of both essays (pre-test and post-test) to see the differences
between these two essays. From the findings of this study, all five students showed
an improvement in their scores in the post-test. To see the problems faced by each
student, the analysis of errors have also been used in this study. The findings showed
that each student made less errors in the post-test essays compared with the pre-test
essay. The marking process was done by Miss D'Rahayu from Sekolah Menengah
Taman Universiti 2. Based on the findings, it was clearly shown that students will
achieve high performance in writing when he/she gets higher marks in writing
besides making less errors.
vii
ABSTRAK
Penulisan merupakan salah satu kesukaran yang dihadapi oleh pelajar. Ramai
pelajar mempunyai masalah di dalam mengembangkan, membuat pernyataan umum
dan menyusun isi karangan disamping membuat banyak kesalahan di dalam
penggunaan tatabahasa. Oleh itu, kajian ini telah dijalankan bertujuan untuk melihat
keberkesanan pengajaran proses penulisan terhadap pencapaian para pelajar di
dalam penulisan karangan. Di dalam kajian ini, pelajar tahun satu kursus Sarjana
Sains Teknologi dan Pengurusan telah dipilih dan mereka telah diarahkan untuk
menulis empat perenggan karangan. Dapatan kajian ini mempunyai dua peringkat
iaitu penulisan peringkat awal dan penulisan peringkat akhir. Setelah pelajar
menjalani ujian penulisan peringkat awal, para pelajar akan menjalani proses
pengajaran atau rawatan yang diberikan oleh pengkaji selama dua jam. Kemudian
diikuti pula dengan ujian penulisan peringkat akhir dengan menggunakan tajuk yang
sama seperti di dalam ujian penulisan peringkat awal. Skema pemarkahan holistik
telah digunakan di dalam proses pembahagian markah bagi kedua-dua proses
penulisan tersebut untuk melihat perbezaan diantara kedua-dua jenis penulisan ini.
Dapatan kajian mendapati bahawa kelima-lima pelajar telah menunjukkan
peningkatan markah di dalam ujian penulisan peringkat akhir. Bagi melihat masalah
yang dihadapi oleh setiap pelajar, analisis kesalahan juga telah digunakan di dalam
kajian ini. Dapatan kajian mendapati bahawa setiap pelajar telah melakukan kurang
kesalahan di dalam ujian penulisan peringkat akhir berbanding dengan ujian
penulisan peringkat awal. Proses pemarkahan telah dilakukan oleh seorang guru
sekolah menengah (Cik D'Rahayu) dari Sekolah Menengah Taman Universiti 2.
Dapatan kajian mendapati bahawa pelajar akan memperolehi kebolehan penulisan
yang tinggi apabila mendapat markah yang tinggi disamping membuat kurang
kesalahan.
viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER
PAGE
Title page
i
Pengesahan penyelia
ii
Declaration
iii
Dedication
iv
Acknowledgments
v
Abstract
vi
Abstrak
vii
Table of contents
viii
List of tables
xi
List of diagrams
xii
List of acronyms
xiii
List of appendices
xiv
PART ONE
INTRODUCTION
I
1.0 Introduction
1
1.1 Background of the problem
5
1.2 Statement of problem
7
1.3 Objective of study
8
1.4 Research question
9
1.5 Significance of study
9
1.6 Definition of terms
10
1.6.1 ESL
10
1.6.2 Writing process
11
ix
1.7 Limitation of the study
12
PART TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
II
2.0 Introduction
13
2.1 What is writing process?
14
2.2 The nature of writing
15
2.3 Why teach writing?
18
2.4 Writing is a learning strategies
20
2.5 Problem encountered in writing
21
PART THREE
METHODOLOGY
III
3.0 Introduction
24
3.1 A case study
25
3.2 Subjects
25
3.3 Research instrument
26
3.4 Procedures
27
3.5 Method of data analysis
29
3.5.1 Holistic Evaluation
30
3.5.2 Error Analysis
32
PART FOUR
ANALYSIS OF DATA
IV
4.0 Introduction
34
4.1 Students' writing performance
35
4.1.1 Holistic scoring - pre-test
35
4.1.2 Holistic scoring - post-test
36
x
4.2 The effectiveness of the teaching of the writing process
in students' writing
38
4.3 Performance of students' writing in pre-test and post-test
39
4.4 Error Analysis of the pre-test essays
40
4.5 Error Analysis of the post-test essays
41
4.6 Students' writing performance based on Error Analysis
42
4.7 Students' writing performance in pre and post test
44
4.8 Conclusion
46
PART FIVE
CONCLUSION AND
V
RECOMMENDATION
5.0 Introduction
47
5.1 Summary
48
5.2 Conclusion
50
5.3 Recommendation
50
5.4 Recommendation for future research
51
REFERENCES
53
APPENDICES
56
xi
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE NO.
TITLE
PAGE
1
Holistic Scoring
28
2
A checklist of analysis of errors
30
3
Students' scores in the pre-test
32
4
The scores of the post-test
34
5
Differences in marks for pre-test and
Post-test in percentage.
35
Checklist of Error Analysis of students'
In pre-test essay.
37
Checklist of Error Analysis of students'
In post-test essay.
38
8
The total of errors in pre-test and post-test.
40
9
Students' performance in pre and post test.
41
6
7
xii
LIST OF DIAGRAMS
FIGURE NO.
1
TITLE
Students' performance in pre-test
And post-test writing.
PAGE
36
xiii
LIST OF ACRONYMS
ESL
-
English Second Language
KBSM
-
Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Menengah
ELT
-
English Language Teaching
L2
-
Second Language
SPM
-
Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia
xiv
LIST OF APPENDICES
APPENDIX
TITLE
PAGE
A
Pre-test and post-test essay topic.
53
B
Holistic Scoring used in marking
process
54
C
Analysis of error in students' writing.
55
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1.0
Introduction
In the teaching and learning process of English as a Second Language (ESL),
students are usually have problems in the learning process especially in writing. In
school, both teachers and students usually encounter problems related to the four
skills; listening, speaking, reading and writing. Of all these four skills, writing has
always been regarded as the most difficult skill to be mastered by students and to be
taught by teachers too, as they face difficulties in developing their students'
proficiency in writing.
Writing is considered difficult by students especially in using the language to
write because they have to use the correct grammar besides having to be as creative
as they could to produce a good piece of writing. Many students are facing these
problems because they are weak in using the correct grammar and they lack ideas to
produce good writing. Besides that, limited use of the English language among
students in school, at home and also during their daily communication
2
could also have some influence in producing a good sentence when writing in
English.
As Chedru and Geschwind (1972) state, writing is considered the most
difficult skill to master compared to listening, speaking or reading because in
writing, students have to know the first three skills, listening, speaking and reading.
By knowing these first three skills, students can be more confident in their writing
because they can use some new words based on what they have listened from the
teacher or from people around them. Students can also use the words from their daily
communication with friends or other people. Lastly, reading activity can also be a
good way to produce a good writing. Through reading, students can expose
themselves to the correct use of grammar and choice of words besides using right
sentences. Finally, students will combine all these aspects based on the first three
skills (listening, speaking, and reading) in their writing.
But, not all students can write based on these three skills using their own
experience. Tunku Mohani (1992:26) stated that writing has been described as a
fragile skill, the last to be learned and the one soonest lost in state of acute
disturbances. It means that students will forget what that they have learnt earlier
when they learned something new through the writing process such as the topic
sentence or controlling ideas.
Some students, after they have learned these three skills, (listening, speaking,
reading), will forget that these three skills can be used in their writing. They have
forgotten what they have listened to their teacher's teaching in the classroom. They
will also forget what they have learned through speaking activities and sometimes,
students will forget what they have read such as newspapers. Then, when students
3
start to write, they lack of ideas because they have forgotten the skills that they have
learned earlier (listening, speaking, reading).
Moreover, Byrne (1988:4), states that writing is learned through a process of
instruction. It means that we can only learn writing through steps like planning,
organizing, revising, editing and finishing and also through the explanations given by
the teacher in the classroom. This is because each step has its own purpose. As for
the introduction, it is for the writer to give some idea to the reader what they want to
talk about in general, based on the topic. In the content, there will be four important
factors, the introduction, the topic sentence, the supporting details and the concluding
sentence. The topic sentence of the paragraph will express the single main idea of the
content. The supporting details include the explanation and examples related to the
topic sentence. The concluding paragraph is the conclusion for each paragraph.
Finally, the closing is the conclusion for the whole paragraph. Following these steps,
the writer can show the flow of ideas in each paragraph besides giving suitable
examples.
In addition, the written form of language has to be mastered and certain
structures that are not often used in speech have to be learned such as the passive
voice structures. In written form, the language that we use is based on the standard
language with the correct structure and also the correct grammar. It is different from
the language that we use to speak; we use a non-standard language in our daily
communication.
Byrne (1988) further states that good writing implies a knowledge of the
convention of the written code; to be effective, it needs the precision and nuances the
language offers to be interesting, it requires the ability to vary structures and patterns
for rhetorical effect. This means, through writing, we will know the student's ability
4
in writing based on the content and the language used in completing the writing
assignment. The elaboration of sentences can also make the writing more interesting.
A good student can attract the reader's attention and interest when reading the
student's writing. Faighley, (1985) as cited in Tunku Mohani, (1992) stated that good
writing is defined as that which shows an absence of error. Writing without any error
is perfect writing. This kind of writing can give some advantages to the reader and
the writer. The reader will enjoy the essay because it is easy for the reader to
understand the contents. The reader's reading will not be interrupted with any
grammatical mistakes that sometimes they have to read the sentence repeatedly to get
the meaning. Besides that, the writer will get some satisfaction in writing because
they can produce on paper what they have in mind perfectly and the most important
is that the reader will enjoy reading their writing.
Tunku Mohani cites Byrne (1979) who says that students are unable to
produce good writing if they have problem in writing. When students have problems
in writing like problems in grammar or sentence structure, the teacher will correct
them. Then, the next time when they write, they will remember the error that they
have made before and they will not repeat it. So, students will increase their
knowledge and they will also be more careful in their writing the next time.
The problems students usually encounter are classified as cognitive problems,
linguistic problems and psychological problems. (Chitravelu, et al. 1995:63). In
cognitive problems, students usually lack ideas and are unable to express themselves
in writing. Linguistic problems on the other hand, is when students usually have
problems in sentence construction, the use of tenses, use of connectors and subjectverb agreement.
5
In psychological problems, students are afraid of making errors, which can
affect their writing performance. For them, the teacher will be angry with them when
they make errors, as these will show their weaknesses in writing. Therefore, it is
important for teachers to employ the most suitable approach to help their students to
overcome these problems and thus improve their writing skills.
1.1
Background of the problem
Eleven years have passed since the Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Menengah
(KBSM) English syllabus was first introduced in 1987 in the Malaysian Secondary
Schools. The English language program taught is based on a communicative syllabus
involving all the four major skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing.
Students are expected to write simple compositions after their 12 years in
school like writing a composition based on a series of pictures given or writing a
composition based on short notes given. In this simple composition, they only have
to use simple words and construct simple sentences. Usually, students will be asked
to use short sentences in their writing. However, after 12 basic schooling years, many
students have not yet mastered the skill of writing simple compositions.
It is apparent that despite the fact that writing skills are being emphasized, the
teaching of composition was done in most cases using the traditional approach
emphasizing on the finished product rather than emphasizing on the writing process.
Language teachers are more often than not, do not teach the writing process which
6
among others, paid attention to the importance of prewriting activities to generate
ideas.
The root of the problem may be due to the teachers' lack of knowledge
pertaining to the use of prewriting activities in teaching composition writing. On top
of that, other contributing factors such as time constraints, pressure in completing the
syllabus, pressure from the school administration and society and a heavy workload
further aggravate the problem. A teacher only enters a class five periods a week for
English lesson with about 35-40 minutes per period. Out of the five periods, one
period has been allocated for the teaching of literature.
Moreover, with so much emphasis placed upon doing well in examinations,
the teacher is under pressure from both the school administration and parents to
complete the syllabus. Further, besides the regular teaching tasks, teachers nowadays
are also forced to perform other clerical jobs.
These factors will contribute in producing students who are unable to write
effectively since they lack sufficient input and preparation from the English teacher.
But, we cannot put these problems on teachers only. Students must also have their
own efforts to improve their writing performances. They must also do their own
writing exercises at home to increase their performance in writing.
7
1.2
Statement of problem
Even though writing is the most difficult skill to acquire among the four skills
(listening, speaking, reading, and writing) in language learning, many teachers in
schools make students write compositions without much preparation of any kind. Lee
(1992:17) asserts those teachers give composition topics to the students believing (or
pretend to believe) that writing is 'a piece of cake.' It means we will enjoy reading a
good composition but in the process of producing it, a certain step or process need to
be followed. These students have to understand the process before they can produce
a good piece of writing.
Careful and well-planned writing activities provide a means of acquiring the
right strategies of writing by the students. This is further reiterated in Compendium,
A Handbook for ELT Teachers. Vol. 1 (1989:60) which says:
"…it is not enough to give students a little and expose them to
complete the task to the best of their abilities. Students may be
prevented by lack of vocabulary and ideas from producing a piece of
acceptable written work".
But as most teachers are usually under a lot of pressure to complete their
syllabus, prewriting activities are more often than not excluded in the approach to
composition writing. This is not right since prewriting activities are one of the most
important strategies that teacher have to teach the students before they start to write
This prewriting activity is important because, before they start to write,
students have to know what they want to write first. Then, the students have to come
8
out with some ideas and they have to elaborate on the content to make it clearer.
They cannot write it straight on paper because they have to plan what they want to
write.
Many students, especially those with low proficiency in English, feel
uncomfortable and frighten, less expressive and finally lose the confidence when it
comes to writing composition. These students will then be unable to write well since
they receive less input in writing such as in elaborating the contents.
Some preparation from the English teacher is also important, such as the
teacher must know what they want to teach their students in the writing process such
as with using an effective way to teach the students. The teacher also must know how
to get the students' interest in writing. For example, teacher can do some class
activities like drama that is related to the teaching topic. Then, teacher can ask
students to write an essay based on what they have seen or acted in class.
1.3
Objective of study
The objectives of this study are based on the assumption that the teaching of
the writing process can improve the writings of low proficiency students. The
objectives of this study are:
i. to identify the relationship between the teaching of writing process
and writing performance.
9
ii. to investigate the extent to which the teaching of writing process
helps ESL low proficiency students become better writers.
iii. to find out if writing process can be taught in an ESL classroom.
1.4
Research question
In this study, the researcher seeks to investigate whether the teaching of
writing process can enhance the students' writing performance. The following
research questions will form the study;
i. What is the relationship between the teaching of writing process
and writing performance?
ii. Can students produce better writings after they have learned the
writing process?
iii. Can writing process be taught in an ESL classroom?
1.5
Significance of the study
The study is to investigate students' ability towards writing process and how
they can apply the writing process in the classroom to improve their writing