Embedding Review and Drill in Teaching Technical Writing

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of embedding review and drill as a strategy in teaching technical writing to the second year students of Bachelor in Architectural Engineering Technology (BArET) at Surigao State College of Technology, Surigao City. It also probed the respondents’ level of writing competency both in the control and experimental groups as to grammatical accuracy, paragraph organization, and mechanics before and after instruction. Moreover, it investigated the significant difference on the writing competency of the respondents in both groups exposed to the conventional and review-and-drill strategy of instructions. The study employed a quasi-experimental research design. A research-made questionnaire was used to gather the data from the eighty (80) respondents. The data were analyzed through Mean and Standard Deviation, T-test for dependent and independent samples. Results revealed that the writing competency of the respondents in the control and the experimental groups did not meet expectations before instruction. However, after instructions were given, writing competency of the former became “accomplished” while that of the latter became “exemplary”. With regard to the effectiveness of the two instructions, both are effective; but the embedded review-and-drill strategy prevailed more effective based on the mean gains obtained by the respondents in the experimental group. Based on the foregoing findings of the study, the following conclusions were drawn: the writing competency of the respondents has improved after embedding review and drill as a new strategy of teaching and the conventional one as well. Nevertheless, they both excelled after being taught with lessons using different instructions; the conventional and the embedded review and drill in teaching technical writing are effective in developing writing competency of the students; and, embedding review and drill in teaching technical writing is more effective compared to the conventional instruction.