Effectiveness of the English Writing Process for Post-secondary School Students

Abstract

With the intention of contributing to the current state of knowledge about the writing skills of Singapore students, a study was carried out on a group of 73 post-secondary students in a polytechnic. The students are mandated to undertake an English Language and Communication module which aims to strengthen their core English Language proficiency. The aims of the study reported in this paper are: (a) to examine the differences in the levels of writing skills of the post-secondary students before and after completion of the English Language and Communication module, and (b) to investigate students’ perceptions of the English Language and Communication module. The study compared the compositions written by the students at the start and end of the module in terms of vocabulary, fluency, clarity and organisation, and overall composition levels. A scoring rubric, based on an evaluation rubric used by the Ministry of Education Singapore (2010), was developed to grade these compositions. Based on the analysis of the data, it was found that the students’ writing skills improved significantly. The study also administered a questionnaire to elicit the students’ perceptions on the usefulness of the module in the enhancement of their writing skills. The questionnaire analysis corroborates with our findings that the module is effective in enhancing the writing skills of post-secondary students. The findings, in the light of writing process method and recommendations for future research study, are discussed.