ACTION RESEARCH TEACHERS’ SOCIETY

Topic: Development of Writing Skill

Research Problem: Common problems in writing encountered by Grade 11

students

Purpose Statement: To explore the reasons behind the difficulties

encountered by the Grade 11 students l and suggest programs to address it.

Research Title:
PROBLEMS AFFECTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF WRITING SKILL
OF GRADE 11 STUDENTS AT SOUTHVILLE 1 SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL: A
BASIS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ACTION PLAN

Research
I. Context and Rationale

In the K-12 curriculum, the students take a required Core Subject called

“Reading and Writing” where the skill of writing is no longer the mere recording of

information. Instead it is the channel for communicating their own mind-- their

experiences, their knowledge, their time—to others. It does not only aim to help the

students acquire effective writing skills—but in the process, to develop them into

critically-creative and independent thinking adults.

In addition, writing is one of the ways to transmit thoughts or ideas to other

people. Writing is also an important skill in studying English, which needs great

investment from the students. However, many Senior High School students do not

know the importance of writing so they only spend little time for it.

Furthermore, developing the students’ writing skill will help them get

acquainted with new types of writing as well as consolidate their writing skill. Writing

skill of grade 11 students plays an important role because it prepares essential

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principles for students such as: grammar points, content, vocabulary and especially

is helping them know how to write a paragraph or essay.

Moreover, one of the curriculum exits of K-12 is the admission to college or

university. Almost all colleges or universities require their students to get admission

exams in which writing is indispensable. It is imperative for us language teachers to

exhaust all means to address the problems affecting the development of the writing

skill of students because when they have efficient writing skill, it can help them get a

good job. In fact, The Department of Education, District of Cabuyao Laguna and the

ICCP group foundation, Inc. held the signing of the memorandum of agreement last

September 16, 2016 at LISP I Cabuyao, Laguna as the start of their partnership.

They will give greater opportunities to the students or graduates from the different

schools of Cabuyao. It is in condition that the teachers will teach the competencies

given and provided by the industry-partners. According to Dr. Maritess Cruz, NXP

Human Resource manager, they need people with high writing skill level who can

efficiently write or make contracts, reports, memorandum and documents in English.

Despite the intensification of educational programs in public schools, the

researcher observed that there are still low performing students and some has very

little improvement in their written outputs. Hence, in attempting to provide strategies

suitable for teachers and grade 11 Senior High School students that could be of

great help, especially in the public schools, the researcher seeks to address the

problems affecting the development of writing skill of grade 11 students at Southville

1 Senior High School.

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II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Writing

Writing seems to have taken on different definitions for different groups of

people in order to suit their different needs and purposes for writing.

Writing is a complex metacognitive activity that draws on an individual’s

knowledge, basic skill, strategies, and ability to coordinate multiple processes.

Graham (2002) identified the following four vital areas in the writing process:(1)

knowledge of writing and writing topics,(2) skill for producing and crafting text,(3)

processes for energizing and motivating participants to write with enthusiasm, and

(4) directing thought and actions through strategies to archive writing goals.

Grape and Kaplain (2001), in their book “Theory and practice of writing”,

explore the meaning of writing in temps of the rhetorical triangle in writing. Such

triangle consists of the reader, the recipient of the final product of the writing process,

the writer, the originator of the message; and the subject matter and the text itself.

Both the writer and the reader have to consider all these aspects when writing and

reading, respectively for each one plays a significant role in the journey towards

meaning.

There is another definition for writing, “Writing is the creative process

because it is a process of reaching out for one’s thought and discovering them.

Writing, as such is a process of meaning making” (Third Year student, 2004, National

University of Singapore)
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From the ancient time, writing is an extension of human language across time

and space. Writing most likely began because of political expansion in ancient

cultures, which needed reliable means for transmitting information, maintaining

financial accounts, keeping historical records, and similar activities. According to

Robert Todd Caroll (1990), the most important invention in human history is writing. It

provides a relatively permanent record of information, opinions, beliefs, feelings,

arguments, explanations, theories, etc. Writing allows us to share our communication

not only with our contemporaries, but also with future generations. It permits people

from the near and far distance past to speak to us. In fact, writing originated from the

need of saving cultural values and human’s spiritual. It is the official element for the

development of printed document, book and Internet. In addition, in our lives, we

sometimes need to make official texts, for the purposes of communication or other

business. Such cases, writing skill is the best supportive tool for us. It plays an

important role in our life.

Writing is a skill, which is not only helpful in writing to English, but also useful

to improve other considerably. “In English learning classroom, the teacher aims at

developing four skills of his/her the learner’ ability to understand to speak, to read

and to write. The ability to write occupies the last place in this order, but it does not

mean that it is least important. Reading makes a full man, conference a ready man

and writing an exact man”, said Bacon. “It is an important tool, which

enables man to communicate with others people in many ways” (Rita Rani Mandal,

2009). To students, good at writing will bring many benefits for us. Firstly, writing is a
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good way to help develop their ability of using vocabulary and grammar, increasing

the ability of using language. Secondly, writing is an essential tool to support other

skills. If a student has good writing ability, they can speak and read the text more

effectively. Thirdly, writing is a way to approach modern information technology as

well as the human knowledge. Otherwise, it is necessary to master writing skill

because it can help people have a well prepared when finding a job or attend English

courses. With those benefits, writing is really very important to every student.

In the school setting, writing plays two distinct but complementary roles. First,

it is a skill draws on the use of strategies (such as planning, evaluating, and revising

text) to accomplish a variety of goal, such as writing a report or expressing an

opinion with the support of evidence. Second, writing is a mean of extending and

deepening student’s knowledge; it acts as a tool for learning subject matter (Key,

2000; Shanahan, 2004; Sperling & Freedman, 2001). Because these roles are

closely linked, Reading Next recommended that language arts teacher use content –

area texts to teach reading and writing skills and that content – area teachers provide

instruction and practice in discipline – specific reading and writing.

Research has shown that writing promotes learning and enhances critical

thinking skills. Emig (2002) pointed out that higher cognitive function, such as

analysis and synthesis, seem to develop most fully only with the support of verbal

language, particularly of written language.

Graves (2007) reported that, according to the National Assessment of

Educational Progress, major problems exist in students’ ability to write coherent text
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and to use information to persuade. The NAEP (2002) writing standards state that

students should be able to generate, draft, evaluate, revise, and edit ideas and forms

of expressions in their writing. Students should also be able to display effective

choices in the organization of their writing, including detail to illustrate and elaborate

their ideas and using appropriate conventions of written English.

The Importance of Improving Writing Skills

Writing skills is an essential component of literacy; in order to participate in

the literate society of the future, students need to be proficient writers. According to

Standards for the English Language Arts, the 1996 report by the National Council of

Teachers of English (NCTE) and the International Reading Association (IRA), the

literacy requirements of our society are increasing and are expected to continue to

rise. Researchers estimate that by the year 2020, students will need powerful literacy

abilities in order to participate fully in society and in the workplace. The NCTE/IRA

report stated, “Changes in technology and society have altered and will continue to

alter the ways in which we use language to communicate and to think. Students must

be prepared to meet these demands” (p. 4). This source will be used to develop the

importance and rationale of the problem to be studied.

A recent article in Contemporary Education reported that a shift has occurred

in the competencies students will need in order to be successful in the work force. In

The Future Isn’t What it Used to Be: Student Competencies for the 21^ Century. Day

and Koorland (1997) reported that employers in jobs which require written products
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cite writing as the primary skill requiring improvement among new employees,

especially the skill of using language appropriate to subject matter and audience.

Day and Koorland stated that effective written communication will always be an

important job skill. Day and Koorland’s findings will be used to develop the

importance and rationale of the study; they illustrate why it is important to help

students acquire writing skills.

Instructional Strategies For Improving Students’ Writing

In the article Writing as a Mode of Learning. Janet Emig (2002) described

writing as “a unique mode of learning” (p. 122) involving the active participation of

both the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Researchers have agreed that

writing enhances thinking skills; the higher cognitive functions of analysis and

synthesis seem to develop most fully with the support of written language (p. 122).

Emig stated that if the most effective learning occurs when learning is reinforced,

then writing “through its inherent re-inforcing cycle involving hand, eye, and brain

marks a uniquely powerful multi-representational mode for learning” (p. 125). This

source illustrates the importance of developing writing skills, which will be used in the

rationale of the study.

Writing skills is an essential component of literacy; students need to be

proficient writers in order to participate in our literate society. The National Council

of Teachers of English and the International Reading Association (1996) have stated

that the literacy requirements of our society are increasing and are expected to
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continue to rise. It is estimated that by the year 2020, students will need powerful

literacy abilities to participate fully in society and in the workplace.

In the article It Can Be Taught. But It Does Not Develop Naturally: Myths and

Realities in Writing Instruction. Graham and Harris (2002) reported that providing

direct and systematic instruction in writing strategies may be beneficial to students

who experience difficulty with writing. A writer’s development depends upon four

factors: knowledge, skill, will, and self-regulation. Graham and Harris stated that

children who find writing challenging generally do little planning or reflection before or

during writing. The authors suggested increasing students’ writing time to 45 minutes

to an hour each day, and providing direct instruction in self-regulatory strategies such

as planning and revising texts. This study provided evidence that prewriting should

be emphasized as a strategy to improve writing, and it will be conducive to planning

writing time for English class during the experiment.

In Roots in the Sawdust: Writing to Leam Across the Disciplines. Syrene

Forsman (2005) described a strategy for improving students’ writing fluency.

Forsman used timed writings, in which students were given several prompts on a

topic and wrote continuously for a specified amount of time. At the end of the time

period, students counted the number of words they had written and recorded the

number at the top of the entry. Forsman’s primary goal for the students was that they

increase the number of words written in each timed writing, and counting the words

provided concrete evidence of the students’ progress. Forsman stated, “My

experience has been that when students have had little experience writing in the 30
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school setting or when their writing has been inhibited by fill-in-the-blank exercises,

they need to develop self-respect for their own generating power” (p. 164). This

strategy will be used in English class during the experimental period as a way to

measure students’ growth in fluency. Anson and Beach (2005) described the

rationale and purposes for using joumal writing as a tool for improving students’

writing fluency and critical thinking skills in their book Joumals in the Classroom:

Writing to Leam.

According to Anson and Beach, the purposes for joumal writing include

“improving thinking, enhancing formal writing, and enriching the social context of the

classroom” (p. 21). Joumal writing is also important to helping students achieve

fluency, and it can build confidence and comfort in writing. Anson and Beach stated

that “the raw quantity of students’ writing seems strongly related to how much and

how well they leam” (p. 23). Various types of joumals, strategies for incorporating

joumal writing into class assignments across the curriculum, and methods for

evaluating joumals were explained. The ideas for using joumals will be adapted for

content-area and English class activities during the experimental phase of this study.

Synthesis of Reviewed Related Literature and Studies

The articles and researchers cited by authors related to the study focused on

the importance of writing, importance of developing writing skills and the instructional

strategies for improving students’ writing strategies which are the considerations in

the making of an action plan. These studies will provide the researcher valuable

inputs for the conceptualization of his study as well as in the formulation of the
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problems to be investigated. The literatures on writing which were reviewed by the

researcher will provide a base of concepts which were found significant in the data

analysis of the data. From the literatures perused, it is not surprising that the success

of teachers and students can be very much enlivened through proliferation of reading

texts for an effective instruction. The studies cited will provide the researcher insights

instructional strategies for improving students’ writing. In the classroom, both the

teacher and the student play the most significant roles. Thus, the teacher has to offer

the necessary instructional.

The statement of Graham, Grape and Kaplain, Caroll, Nhadal are all related

to this study in the sense that academic performance is based on the students’

achievement through the influence of teachers. In essence, It provides a relatively

permanent record of information, opinions, beliefs, feelings, arguments,

explanations, theories, etc. Writing allows us to share our communication not only

with our contemporaries, but also with future generations.

Speaking of similarities to the present study, Koorland and Emig have agreed

that writing enhances thinking skills; the higher cognitive functions of analysis and

synthesis seem to develop most fully with the support of written language.
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III. RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. What are the common problems in writing encountered by Grade 11

students?
2. What are the reasons behind the difficulties encountered by the Grade 11

students?
3. What programs or intervention can be done to address the problems affecting

the development of writing skill of grade 11 students?

IV. SCOPE AND LIMITATION

This study will be preceded on the first semester of academic year 2016 –

2017 at Southville 1 Senior High School, District of Cabuyao, Laguna. The

respondents consist of 150 Grade 11 students who come from the classes H.E A,

H.E B and H.E C. All of them are at the age of seventeen to nineteen years old. Their

learning time is 4 hours per week.

V. METHODOLOGY

a. Sampling

The respondents consist of 150 Grade 11 students who come from the

classes H.E A, H.E B and H.E C. All of them are at the age of seventeen to nineteen

years old. Their learning time is 4 hours per week.

The participants will be determined through the use of random sampling

method.

b. Data Collection
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The researcher will venture on asking permission from the principal of the

school where she will conduct her study through a formal letter. The questionnaires

will be distributed to the participants on the agreed date as scheduled by the

researcher.

c. Ethical Issues
This research should not embarrass the students who have problem

in writing. The purpose of this research is to help them develop their writing

skill that can also help them boost their self-esteem and not the other way

around. The researcher will inform the respondents about the study to be

conducted and how it can be beneficial to them.

d. Plan for Data Analysis

In this section, the researcher will utilize the qualitative method.

Questionnaires will be employed to investigate the information about students’ point

of view, problems and ways of learning writing. In addition, observation will also

carried out so as to survey reality of students’ learning writing.

VI. WORKPLAN

ACTIVITIES TIME FRAME

Research Title August 21-25, 2016
Writing of Action Research Proposal August 26- September 24, 2016
Data Collection October 2016
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Presentation, Analysis and Interpretation of Data November 2016

Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations December 2016
Editing of the Research Paper January 2016
Submission of the final copy of the action research February 2016

VII. COST ESTIMATES

Items Estimated Amount

Photocopy Expenses Php. 100.00
Printing Expenses of Research Proposal Php. 100.00

Printing of the final copy of Action Php. 200.00

Research
Total Php. 400.00

VIII. ACTION PLAN

Although this project will be completed, the researcher plans to

continue this study throughout this school year to determine if, with increased

time, any improvement in students’ writing skills will occur. This action

research can be utilized by the other English teachers, so that they can

address the common problems affecting the development of writing skill of

Grade 11 students.

IX. LIST OF REFERENCES

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Caroll, R. T (1990) Students Success Guide – Writing Skills [Accessed 18th

March 2015]
Emig (2002). The Practice of English Language Teaching. The 3th Edition.
Grape & Kaplian (2000). Success in English Teaching. Oxford University

Press
Mandhal R, R. (1998). Teach English: A training Course for Teacher.

Cambridge University Acquisition. The Modern Language Journal, Volume

75, No 2, 173-180.
Available from World Wide Web:
[Link]
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