Just to share an action research I did in class today :)
BACKGROUND:
We've spent 10 weeks exploring different approaches to essay writing and practicing writing each essay types.
Students have been exposed to 7 different approaches to essay writing namely chronological order, spatial order, topical order, problem solution, cause and effect, comparison and contrast.
Students have been practicing writing each essay type based on the organized note and received feedbacks on their written essay practice.
Today (Thursday, March 27, 2008) the students are tested on their writing essay skill in class (8:30 - 9:40 a.m.). They have to choose one of the two topics and write a 300-word essay based on an unorganised note provided.
After the test, the students are in so involved in discussion. They are saying how they have so many things (ideas) rushing to their minds based on the notes provided in the test that they need more time to write. They have an hour to write the essay. From my initial impression of the answer booklet, I find that the length of the essay is more than 2 pages long and more than half of the students needed extra time to complete their writing.
PURPOSE:
1) Do the students make use of the strategies or approaches to essay writing they have learned?
PROCEDURES:
14 students, 11 female and 3 male of MLT group at UDM kampus Kota were involved in a this survey. They were asked these two questions after they submitted the answer booklet for the test.
The TWO questions asked:
1) How many students actually thought about which approaches to use for writing the particular topic that they have chosen?
2) How many of them actually prepare a diagram or flow chart to organise the ideas that were rushing to their head when they see the notes provided in the test questions?
RESULT:
NONE thought about the approaches or strategies or way or what ever when they read the test questions.
NONE prepare any sort of diagram or flow chart to help organise their ideas and present those ideas in a proper essay write-up.
CONCLUSION
The students do not make use of the strategies or approaches to essay writing they have learned during the test. There maybe several probabilities why the students do not make use of these strategies when they are sitting for the test. One of the possibility, as some of them mentioned was that they don't even relate to what they have learned when they begin to write the essay. Their focus was just to write down all those ideas that come to mind when they get the test question.
RECOMMENDATION
Thus, as a teacher, probably we should consider making the directions or instructions in the test question more explicit. Perhaps it would serve as a cue to the students that they should consider those before begin to write the essay.
An illustration of this is...
The original direction in the test was "Choose ONE of the two topics and write an essay in about 300 words". Now consider the new and improved direction: "Choose ONE of the two topics below and write an essay in about 300 words based on the unorganised note provided by making use of appropriate strategy." I'm sure that the new and improved version of the instruction is more precise.
Your two cents worth of thought on the matter please?
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2 comments:
Interestingly, this reseach has led to intriguing findings. Among all, it shows that students are not fairly organised under the pressure of time constraint and test anxiety. It also suggests that such lack of planning might partially contribute to low performance in writing.
Giving explicit instructions and directions as illustrated can be very helpful but they also should be trained continuously on how to organize and generate ideas systematically eg via mind maps.
All in all, this research does bring forward several issues on ESL writing process and its pedagogical implications. Therefore, further analysis is highly needed as to validate the findings. A longitudinal study perhaps?
Nik,
I commented on how none of the student didn't prepare a draft before writing their essay during exam to Prof Nuraihan of IIUM during a workshop on Getting Published organized by FBK last weekend.
Her reply ...
1) Need to look at it from a wider angle:
2) Look at the marking scheme: Does the assessment rubric award marks for the draft?
3) Look at the pedagogical aspect too: Does it being taught as a part of the process of writing?
I'll add more after I trace my note from the workshop, InshaAllah!
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