ESSAY WRITING DIFFICULTIES OF GRADE 10 STUDENTS IN SAN ISIDRO

NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL GENERAL LUNA, QUEZON:

BASIS FOR DEVELOPING A MODULE

FOR WRITING

An Undergraduate Thesis
Presented to the Faculty of the College of Education
Manuel S. Enverga University Foundation Inc.
Catanauan, Quezon

In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Degree
Bachelor of Secondary Education Major in English

Christine Lano Salas

October 2019
II. Background

A. Rationale of the Research

Essay is a composition with a focused subject or discussion which belongs to writing.

Writing is one of the five macro skills of a learner where in the it is a system of symbolizing

the symbols or the letters. Nunan (2003) as cited by Hamid (2019) states that writing is a

physical and mental act in a way that it is about discovering ideas, thinking about how to

communicate. Moreover, writing can be a basic skill but as important as speaking, listening

and reading (Harmer,2006 as cited by Faisal & Suwandita, 2013). Also, it can be defined as a

process of transforming thought into a written language (Tiwari,2005 as cited by Faisal &

Suwandita, 2013). There are so many definitions of writing nevertheless, it is very important

in English Language Learning.

Writing is one of the important ways to express your thoughts and communicate ideas

and views to others specifically for those who are emotional and do not express verbally

(Pillai,2018).Hence, it is important in the part of communication where in writing skills allow

us to communicate our messages with clarity and ease to a far larger audience than through a

face-to-face or telephone conversations (SkillsYouNeed2018). Expressing yourself through

writing can be wonderful and could serve to expand your experiences, imagination and

communication skills. Writing is a great way of communicating with other people. With all

the means of modern communication at your disposal, you can use your writing to connect

with other people (Dante Munnis,2016).

In acquiring the skill in writing, there are difficulties that students may encounter.

Writing Difficulties are picking out inappropriate words in order to bypass spelling problems

(Graham and Harris,2006). In addition, writing difficulties means the problem being
encountered by the students in terms of writing. According to D.O. 39 s. 2012, Policy

Guidelines on Addressing Learning Gaps and Implementing a Reading and Writing Program

in Secondary Schools effective school year 2012-2013, the Department of Education

recognizes that many of the Secondary schools have already put in place remediation

programs to address deficiencies in learning specially in reading and writing areas. In this

case, it states that they have recognize writing difficulties in secondary schools

(deped.gov.ph).

There are some factors to be considered as a difficulty in writing such as the academic

background, personal interest of the writer in various psychological, linguistic and cognitive

phenomena (Dar&Khan,2015; Haider,2012 et al. Fareed, Muhammad & Ashraf, 2016). Some

issues in writing difficulties have arisen like incompetence in syntax, coherence, idea

expansion, content selection, topic sentence, rhetorical conventions, mechanics, organization,

lack of vocabulary and inappropriate use of vocabulary. However, further research is required

to explore and examine the factors that affect the writing skills of the students, because issues

in writing can be more efficiently addressed if the factors that generate them are identified

(Hyland, 2003).

The main purpose of this research is to address the difficulties of the students in

writing specially in essay writing. It aims to help the students who are in need when it comes

to writing by developing a module to increase and enhance their ability to write essay.

Likewise, it also aims to help future teachers in addressing these difficulties in terms of essay

writing.
 B. Purpose of the Research

This study aims to address the Essay Writing Difficulties of Grade 10 Students in San

Isidro National High School General Luna, Quezon with an end goal of a modular guide for

writing.

Specifically, it aims to answer the following questions:

1. What are the essay writing difficulties of Grade 10 students in terms of:

1.1 Grammar;

1.2 Use of punctuation;

1.3 Choice of words; and

1.4 Organization of ideas;

2. What are the strategies used by the English teachers in addressing the student’s difficulties

in essay writing?

3. What guide for essay writing may be developed based on the result of the study?

C. Theoretical Framework

The study is anchored on the following theories:

Cognitive Process Theory of Writing (Flower & Hayes, 1981)

This theory has four points: (a) “ writing is a set of distinctive thinking processes

which writers orchestrate or organize during the act of composing” (Flower & Hayes, p. 366);

(b) the components of the process are hierarchical and can be in embedded within each other;

(c) “composing itself is a goal-directed thinking process, guided by the writer’s own growing
network of goals” (p. 366); and (d) writers should set goals representing their purpose by

modifying current goals or create new goals based on experience.

The cognitive process theory of writing, however, is not a traditional stage model

because writers do not move through linear stages of development before completing a

product. Writers move through units of mental processes situated within a hierarchical

structure with embedded components (Flower & Hayes,1981). For example, generating ideas

is a mental sub process of planning. When writers encounter a problem within the process,

they could retreat back to one of the earlier processes and work through the process for that

particular problem Flower and Hayes referred to the mental processes as the writer’s tool kit,

which could be used at any point in the process. As writers write, knowledge develops, and

they create, retrieve, modify, and consolidate goals based on the discovery of new knowledge

(Flower & Hayes,1981).

Moreover, the cognitive process theory of writing is being described as fruitful

because it revealed new phenomena, generated hypotheses, discussed ideas for potential

research opportunities, and addressed essential issues related to the theory. The complex

structure of the theory showed a hierarchical, in-depth look at the writing process. It portrayed

writing as a hierarchical structure with multiple sub processes, concepts, and relationships.

Based on the substantive theory definition cited by Creswell (1994) and discussed by

McEwen and Wills (2014), the cognitive process theory of writing was a middle-range theory

because it is a model that can be tested. It was more descriptive, and provided an

understanding of the phenomenon. Because of its number of citations and “circle of

contagiousness” (Meleis, 1985, p. 159), it has been accepted by writing researchers. As of July

2015, the theory had 3,279 citations on Google Scholar. Further, it was useful because it can
be applied to practice, education, and research. However, the theory did not meet the criteria

of sociocultural utility because it did not include its transferability, its relationship to society,

or its inclusion of community practices and their impact on the writing process. Although the

cognitive process theory of writing has been the research base for several writing models, it is

missing the inclusion of society’s influence on the writing process. With the addition of social

context, this theory could be stronger.

Social Cognitive Theory of Writing (Flower, 1994)

Flower (1994) called for an integration, especially in education, of social and cognitive

theory in her book “The construction of negotiated meaning: A social cognitive theory of

writing” because “neither social nor cognitive theory makes genuine sense without the other”

(Flower, p. 33). Writing is a constructive process often shaped and carried out in a complex

environment guided by the attitudes and feelings of not only the writer, but also the society

and people who surround him or her (Flower). Thus, “the forces clustered around the poles of

self and society, public and private, convention and invention, social and cognitive, are all

forces that can give structure to a writer’s meaning, guide composing, or set criteria …”

(Flower, p. 34). This construction becomes moments of active meaning negotiation that causes

the writer to deal with multiple forces while bringing meaning to a situation (Flower). Flower

(1994) contended that meaning is socially shaped through reproduction, conversation, and

negotiation. Reproduction is one-way communication; whereas, conversation and negotiation

are both dialogic processes. Knowledge production using reproduction is an unconscious

process of text production (Flower). “New texts can be defined as a reconfiguration of prior

texts” (Flower, p. 56) through the process of connecting previous meaning with new

information to develop new meaning, which is an example of knowledge transformation

(Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1987). Constructing meaning in written conversation is shared

knowledge with a community (Clark, 1990).

However, the social cognitive theory of writing (Flower, 1994) was accurate,

consistent, fruitful, complex, middle range (scope), acceptable, and had sociocultural utility.

The theory was important for writing because it emphasized the role that society and

community play in writing, as well as the role of cognitive processes in writing. Research

studies have shown that writing and writing development are influenced by society and

cognitive processes; however, theorists had failed to recognize such a relationship until

Flower did so in 1994.

D. Literature Survey

In this part, related literature and studies on essay writing difficulties are presented.

Essay

An essay is a short form of literary composition based on a single subject matter, and

often gives the personal opinion of the author (LiteraryDevices.com). Likewise, The Oxford

Dictionary describes it as “a short piece of writing on a particular subject”. It is often

considered synonymous with a story or a paper or an article. Essays can be formal as well as

informal. In addition, essay traffics in fact and tells the truth, yet it seems to feel free to

enliven, to shape, to embellish, to make use as necessary of elements of the

imaginative and the fictive — thus its inclusion in that rather unfortunate current designation

creative nonfiction.'"(G. Douglas Atkins, 2007 as cited by Nordquist, R., 2019). In fact,

Essays are an important piece of literature that can be used in a variety of situations. History
can be traced and understood through essays from theorists, leaders, artists of various arts, and

regular citizens of countries throughout the world and time. For students, learning to write

essays is also important because as they leave school and enter college and/or the work force,

it is vital for them to be able to express themselves well (literaryterms.net).

Writing

Writing a good English composition is never very easy especially to students. It

requires an ability of assessing a good grammar, imagination and thought, exploring major

and supporting ideas, putting them together, revising then final editing (N. T. A. Kareem,2014

as cited by Ariyanti,A. & Fitriana,R., 2017). Moreover, Younes and Albalawi (2015) point out

that writing needs huge effort as well as practicing it in terms of paragraph organization,

language use, and mechanics, for the reason that those three aspects are potential in

influencing the writing performance such as content and vocabulary including elements of

how to formulate ideas, develop and analyze them before displaying the essay writing as a

final draft. In addition, essay writing provides students opportunities to build and develop

critical thinking, so that students are trained to make their own judgement, decide their writing

styles, and pick out scientific diction for their academic writing task (Bakry and

Alsamadani,2014). Furthermore, it is important to evaluate students‟ essay writing based on

two categories proposed by Gathumbi and Masembe (2005), they are basic and advance skills.

In basic skills of writing, they involve the correctness of vocabulary, spelling and punctuation

and also well-written handwriting and for advance skills of writing, they implicate how ideas

are connected each other, correct structure used, and content originality of expression. They

further observe that in a second language learning situation, writing skills are the most

difficult to master. In addition, Graham and Perin (2007) claim that a well written essay
focuses on the topic and has an organizational pattern that enables a reader to follow the flow

of ideas. It also contains supporting ideas that are developed through the use of examples,

appropriate vocabulary and follows the conventions of standard written English language such

as correct spelling, capitalization and sentence structure.

Essay Writing Difficulties

There's nothing more frustrating than staring at a blank piece of paper. But that is often

the reality when starting an essay. Writing an essay is often quite challenging (Morgan,2018).

Upon studying and learning the techniques and methods in essay writing, students may have

encountered different difficulties in essay writing such as the following:

Grammar

Grammar is regarded as a whole system and structure of a language. It consists of

syntax, morphology, and sometimes also phonology and semantics, grammar encompasses the

three dimensions of morphosyntax (form), (meaning), and pragmatics (use). (Hsu, 2013). In

addition, Dr. Meenadevi (2017) stated that grammar takes into account the meanings and

functions the sentences have in the overall system of the language. As an important element of

language and as the essential part of linguistic competence, grammar has a central role in

making up learner’s language skills and their communicative competence. Moreover, Al-

Mekhlafi and Nagaratnam, 2011 state that learners have generally looked upon grammar

instruction as the moments of discomfort and sometimes even terror.

Even after years of education, there are some things that some people still mess up and

its grammar. It's not easy. Words and phrases that sound fine in your head can look like

gibberish when written down -- that is, if you even realize you made a mistake in the first
place. It's easy for little grammar mistakes to slip by, especially when you're self-editing.

(Zantal-Wiener, 2019). According to Davenport, B. & Scott, S. (2016), the following are some

grammatical errors encountered in writing essays.

First, Run-on Sentence or Comma Splice in which a sentence that joins two

independent clauses without punctuation or the appropriate conjunction. A comma splice is

similar to a run-on sentence, but it uses a comma to join two clauses that have no appropriate

conjunction. Second, Pronoun errors which occur when pronouns do not agree in number with

the nouns to which they refer. If the noun is singular, the pronoun must be singular. If the

noun is plural, however, the pronoun must be plural as well. Third, Mistakes in Apostrophe

Usage in which apostrophes are used to show possession. However, you do not use an

apostrophe after a possessive pronoun such as my, mine, our, ours, his, hers, its, their, or

theirs. Fourth, Lack of Subject/Verb Agreement that occurs when the speakers speak or write

in the present tense, a sentence must have subjects and verbs that agree in number. If the

subject is singular, the verb must be singular. If the subject is plural, the verb must be plural as

well. Fifth, Misplaced Modifiers that occurs when the author communicates ideas clearly, it

must generally place a modifier directly next to the word it is supposed to modify. The

modifier should clearly refer to a specific word in the sentence. Sixth, Determiners in which

words that come before a noun or noun phrase and tells us if the noun is general or specific

and often specifies quantity. This category includes articles (a, an, the) and words such as this,

that, every, each, which, and that. The most common issue concerns knowing which

determiner to use or omit and when to do so. Seventh, Prepositions in which words that

precede a noun or pronoun and shows that word’s relationship to another word in the same

sentence or clause. The hardest part about prepositions is that there aren’t many rules. When
in doubt, use the tools we list below to double-check expressions! Eighth, Verb Form in which

there are six typical verb forms exist: the base (dictionary form), the infinitive (to + base), the

3rd person singular (verb + s), the present participle (verb + -ing), the past simple, and the past

participle. Some verbs have fewer forms while the verb “be” has eight! The main sources of

verb form confusion come from using the wrong participle and overusing the present

participle (verb + -ing form). And Lastly, Verb Tense Shift in which it is a problematic

situation were talked about one topic at a particular point in time but use two or more tenses to

talk about it in the same clause. The rule is we should always use one tense or start a new

clause or sentence to avoid verb tense shifting.

However, it's important to know that, with regard to professional or academic writing,

capitalization in English entails quite a bit more than simply knowing to begin names and

titles with capital letters (scribendi.com). Some students don’t really know when to capitalize

a letter or word. The following are the rules in capitalization that may help in improve your

writing: First, Capitalize the first word in quotations, provided the quoted material is a

complete sentence. Second, Use capitals for proper nouns. In other words, capitalize the

names of people, specific places, and things. Third, capitalize directions only when they refer

to specific regions. Fourth, all large words in the titles of movies, books, and other

publications should be capitalized, while all small words (a, an, the, but, and, if, as, or, nor, to

name a few) should not be capitalized unless they are the first or last words in the title. Fifth,

capitalize words derived from proper nouns. Lastly, capitalize when two or more sentences

follow a colon except if you are writing a list, or if there is only one sentence following the

colon.
 Each new generation of English teachers, by and large, adopting similar practice

to the previous generation of teachers. These time-honored methods have stuck because they a

re neat and orderly, easily testable, and for far too many teachers, symbolizes

power and control we hold over students (Swan, 2002 as cited by Becker & Westman,

2016). Some teachers challenged the norm and began exploring new strategies and

reasons for teaching grammar. Many educators are pushing away from demonstratively

ineffective methods and are finding new ways to make grammar relevant, interesting,

and directly applicable to writing (Berger, 2006; Kousar, 2010; Louis, 2016; Paesani, 2005 et

al Becker & Westman, 2016). They are moving away from teaching grammar because it is

there, and moving toward grammar instruction that emphasizes

the ability to understand and be understood with greater detail and clarity.

One of the problems generally faced by most of the teachers of English is the poor

standard of the students. Students are even ignorant of the basic rules and structural patterns

which they are supposed to have learnt at the lower level. If a teacher directly starts his

teaching at the graduate level without trying to know the level of the students, his efforts will

not bear any fruits as he will not be able to raise a structure over a feeble foundation (Dr.

Meenadevi,2017). The contention in teaching grammar is over the approach that best

facilitates or enhances ESL learners’ ability to communicate effectively through their spoken

and written English. According to Macfadye (2015), the following are some teaching

strategies in order to teach grammar a lot easier.

Inductive Teaching. The inductive method of teaching grammar involves presenting

several examples that illustrate a specific concept and expecting students to notice how the

concept works from these examples. No explanation of the concept is given beforehand and
the expectation is that students learn to recognize the rules of grammar in a more natural way

during their own reading and writing. Discovering grammar and visualizing how rules work in

a sentence allow for easier retention of the concept than if the students were given an

explanation that was disconnected from examples of the concept. The main goal of the

inductive teaching method is the retention of grammar concepts, with teachers using

techniques that are known to make an impression on students’ contextual memory.

Deductive Teaching. The deductive method of teaching grammar is an approach that

focuses on instruction before practice. A teacher gives students an in-depth explanation of a

grammatical concept before they encounter the same grammatical concept in their own

writing. After the lesson, students are expected to practice what they have just been shown in

a mechanical way through worksheets and exercises. But the method has its shortcomings, as

it is more of teacher-centered approach.

Interactive Teaching. Another method of teaching grammar is to incorporate

interactivity into lessons-using games to teach grammar not only engages students but also

helps them to remember what they have learned. This method allows the teachers to prepare

their lessons to the different learning styles of the students.

Diagramming Sentences. One of the older forms of teaching grammar which first

appeared in the 19th century. This method involves visually mapping the structures of and

relationships between different aspects of a sentence. This method is helpful especially for

visual learners. Different forms of diagramming are used to visualize sentences, but all

organize the functions of a sentence in a way that illustrates the grammatical relationships

between words. More recently, diagramming sentences has had a small pop-culture resurgence
in prints of famous opening sentences and websites that allow you to diagram to your heart’s

content.

Explicit Instruction of Note Taking Skills. Note taking is a procedure for recording

information from anything that is read, said, or done. Taking notes enhances students’

comprehension as they process, organize, and restate the information in their own words. It

also encourages metacognition as students must actively search for main ideas and key

supporting details. Finally, it is a valuable tool for gathering and organizing information to

write from a variety of sources.

Note-taking is one way to enhance listening, and using a systematic approach to the

taking and reviewing of your notes can add immeasurably to your understanding and

remembering the content of lectures. (Berkeley). Effective note-taking is an essential part of

any successful academic study program. It is a high-level skill, involving such complex

cognitive processes as analyzing, synthesizing, writing, evaluating, and reviewing. But more

than anything else, it requires active listening. (University of Texas at Austin).

Grammar is the base of English language. Through grammar, a learner learns how to

operate at the sentence level and studies the governance of the syntax or word orders that are

the rule of the game in the language. In addition, grammar teaching generally would involve

the intervention of a teacher in the classroom. Thus, the three dimensions of grammar: form,

meaning and use that tutored grammar learning brings to the learner’s attention enable him/her

to progress in their language competencies. Their risk of hitting a learning plateau is largely

reduced thus, in comparison to those who went through an untutored language learning

process (wordsworthelt.com).
 Use of Punctuation

Communication can be done either spoken or written. To communicate in written, one

of the most important things to help people or specifically here are the learners or the readers,

to communicate successfully is that the knowledge of using punctuation marks correctly,

moreover the comma. The richer information dealing with how and where to put commas we

have, the better we can communicate in written. Hence, in order not to fail on the way of

teaching and learning writing, both the teacher and the students must know first to what

extend the errors in using comma mostly found in writing then there will be no more errors

occur.

According to Nordquist (2019), punctuation is the set of marks used to regulate texts

and clarify their meanings, principally by separating or linking words, phrases, and clauses.

Additionally, punctuation is the use of spacing, conventional signs, and certain typographical

devices as aids to the understanding and correct reading, both silently and aloud, of

handwritten and printed texts (Brown, 2019). Englishsentences.com also stated that

punctuation tells when to pause or add a certain feeling to our words; it separates ideas so that

sentences are clear, it points out titles, quotes, and other key parts of language. Within the

framework of a few basic rules (fewer still in fiction), an author's choice of punctuation is an

ingredient of style as personal as his or her choice of words.”

According to Awad (2012), the different punctuation marks which have been

developed to help learners make up for the lack of voice intonation and body language in

written communication. They themselves carry meaning and express relationships between

ideas; thus, it is important to choose the punctuation mark that best expresses the relationship
learners have in mind” Nowadays, since everyone reads, and printed literature is available for

everyone, students should use punctuation in writing. In that way, sentences may be read in a

similar way to how we speak. Knowing how, when, and why to use punctuation is now a

standard part of writing in English. However, punctuation can become a tricky business in

academic writing, when you have to insert quotations, reference correctly, use direct speech

etc. Based on Government of Canada (2014), it was mentioned that basic punctuation of

English helps to clarify the sense of what is going to be written or has been written.

The punctuation terms are “Period/ full stop (.), comma (,), semicolon (:), hyphen (-),

“n” dash/ “m” dash (--), dot (for the net) (www.hesinki.fi), decimal point (2.5), parentheses/

brackets ( () ), braces/ curly brackets ( {} ), exclamation mark (!), question mark (?), Slash,

slant line, diagonal, stroke, virgule (/), backlash (\),apostrophe (‘), quotation marks (“” ; ‘’),

ellipsis dots(. . .) asterisk (not comic asterix!) (*), superscript (𝑆𝑜𝑜𝑛15), subscript (𝐻2𝑂)”

(Noris (2015, p.53). Identically, Straus (2008, p52) quoted that “the kinds of punctuation are:

Periods, Ellipsis Marks, Commas, Semicolons, Colons, Question Marks, Exclamation Points,

Quotation Marks, Parentheses, Apostrophes, Hyphen, Dashes”. For more detail, there are of

kinds of punctuation symbol with some explanation and how to use it as explain by Straus

(2008). Here is some information about the usage of punctuation.

First, full stop which is used to end of a sentence. Full stop could not apply in question

sentence or exclamation sentence. It usually has two function there are: to end of sentence and

to write the title of degree. Second, comma (,) that is used to separate three or more words of

the same part. Also, to separate two adjectives when the word “and” can be inserted, to

surrounding the name or the title, to separate the day, year, and place, to interrupt the flow of

the sentence, and to separate two sentences to avoid from confusion. Third, question mark (?)
probably used to ask question. There are two function using question mark. First, use question

mark to ask only direct question. Secondly, question mark used when the sentence is half

statement or half question. Fourth, semicolon (;) which is used to separate items in a list to

divide two sentences where the conjunction was not use. It is also used to make sentences

using semicolon before introductory words and to separate units of a series when one or more

of the units use comma. Fifth, colons (:) which is usually used to introduce a list of ideas or

explanation and to follow the salutation if a business letter when addressing someone by his/

her first name. Sixth, exclamation point (!) which is used to show expression of surprise or

emphasis. This kind of punctuation mark is very strong in showing expression. Seventh,

quotation mark (“..”) is used to cite what the words that the people have said or direct speech.

Quotation marks also can use to quoting someone else speech. Eighth, apostrophe (’) which is

usually used to show possession. However, apostrophe also use with contractions, where the

noun shows possession, to show plural possession, “s” after the second name show two people

possess the same item and for the word “it’s”. Lastly, hyphens that is probably used to join

words units. It is also used to join prefixes, suffixes, and letters to words.

Based from the research of Awad (2012), the more exposure the students have to

language, the fewer mistakes they make in their dealing with the punctuation marks. The

students, making mistake in using punctuations, might be caused by their unawareness with

the rules of paragraph writing in English. However, one of many rules of paragraph writing

include the proper use of punctuation marks.

According to Jung (2013) “Many may believe using the appropriate punctuation is not

important, so students made a lot of errors with punctuation”. From this statement we know

that the students not aware in using punctuation correctly in writing. The students think that
using appropriate punctuation is not important. Thus, Afrin (2016, p.109) added that

“sometimes the long sentences became proper loaded sentence without proper punctuation”.

The statement shows that students made mistake in using punctuation mark when students

write long sentences without proper punctuation mark. Then, the factor of punctuation error

was also caused by students’ confusion and difficulty when using punctuation mark in writing.

Awad (2012, 7) said, “Experienced teachers of English as a second language have noticed

punctuation to be extremely difficult and confusing for many secondary students”. It shows

the factor of punctuation error the students made is because students feel difficult and

confused in using punctuation correctly. According to Scocco, 2007, here are some

punctuational errors that can be committed in essay writing:

First, Apostrophe for Plurals. The apostrophe is used to form contractions and to

indicate possession but never to form plurals. Second, the Comma Splice where in, the comma

is used to separate independent clauses, there must be a conjunction to connect the two ideas.

If the conjunction is not there, we have a comma splice. It can be fix by using a period instead

of the comma, or by adding a coordinating conjunction. Third, Quotation Marks for Emphasis

where in, the quotation marks are mainly used to quote speech, sentences or words. They can

also be used to denote irony. They can’t be used, however, to add emphasis to a word or

sentence. If you want to add emphasis to a word, use the boldface type and not the quotation

marks. Fourth, Multiple Punctuation Marks in which the student should limit the use of

exclamation point. The same applies to question marks and to the ellipsis (which should have

only three dots). Also, exclamation points are not used that frequently in business and formal

writing. Fifth, Punctuation Outside the Quotation Marks where in, other punctuation should

go inside the quotation marks, even if it is not part of the quotation itself. On the other hand,
some punctuation that is not part of the quoted sentence are outside of the quotation marks.

Lastly, The Missing Comma After Introductory Elements, in which the comma are not place

after that introductory element. An introductory element can be a sentence or a single word

(e.g., however, moreover and so on).

Punctuation is very important for English language learner. The student should know

the role of using punctuation mark in writing. The importance of punctuation come from

Benzer (2010) that “without punctuation marks, reading would be a very difficult task”. It

means that the students should put punctuation mark in their writing because the teacher feels

difficult when they read the written text made by the students. Awad (2012) said that

punctuation has three important functions: 1. Phonetic Function: this is very important, since

punctuation marks show clearly the rhythm, pauses and tone inflexions in a written document:

a written document has a tone. 2. Grammatical Function: punctuation is used in direct style: to

form interrogations: to mark emphatic content; to highlight syntactic elements displaced from

their natural positions; and to build the structure of the sentences, complex sentences,

paragraph, document, etc. 3. Semantic Function: punctuation helps learners understand the

meaning of particular words/ phrases by marking/ highlighting, bolds, capitals, etc.

Punctuation marks have many various and different functions. English language

learners should know the function of punctuation mark. The students should understand how

to apply every kind of punctuation in writing English or in a sentence. According to Gauthier,

Bissonnette & Richard, (2013), here are the strategy to teach the use of punctuation to the

students:

Explicit Instruction
 Punctuation is a feature of written text different from letters. Students should recognize

how capital letters are used for names, and that capital letters and full stops signal the

beginning and end of sentences. Students at the foundation stage need to demonstrate simple

sentence boundary punctuation in their writing.

Explicit instruction is based on research studies relating to effective teaching

practices. Explicit instruction involves using highly structured and sequenced steps to teach a

specific skill. With this approach, the educator intentionally aims to teach students using a

series of actions in three main stages: preparing for the lesson, interacting with students over

the course of the lesson, consolidating the lesson taught.

Over the course of the lesson, the implementation of explicit instruction, when

planning for educational activities should be adopted: the educator demonstrates to students

what they must do (modeling the practice); then guides students through a group activity

(guided or directed practice) so that students have the necessary skills to complete the task,

and then the students practice the task independently (autonomous practice).

Choice of Words

Writing is a series of choices. As you work on a paper, you choose your topic, your

approach, your sources, and your thesis; when it’s time to write, you have to choose the words

you will use to express your ideas and decide how you will arrange those words into sentences

and paragraphs (Writing Center, n.d.) . Finding words that capture your meaning and convey

that meaning to your readers is challenging. Keep in mind that it can sometimes take more

time to “save” words from your original sentence than to write a brand-new sentence to
convey the same meaning or idea. Don’t be too attached to what you’ve already written; if you

are willing to start a sentence fresh, you may be able to choose words with greater clarity.

Word Choice is a word is the simplest part of any language. While communicating or

delivering any ideas or thoughts, one must use a proper word. Word choice is a person’s

choice or selection of words. There are many factors which determine or compel a person for

a word choice. A word choice is an important part of any communication (Toppr,2019). It is a

manner in which something is expressed in words. The choice of words is the style of

expression. A person, in general, chooses words to which he feels comfortable, confident, and

simple enough for a general audience to understand. (Nordquist,2019) stated that word choice is

an essential element for any student learning to write effectively. Appropriate word choice

allows students to display their knowledge, not just about English, but with regard to any

given field of study from science and mathematics to civics and history. In addition,

(Study.com) stated that word choice is important when you are writing an essay. An essay

with bad word choice makes your essay sound bad. If you have bad word choice in your

essay, your essay is not going to sound good.

“Careful decisions about word choice help you avoid alienating, annoying, or

confusing your readers” (Kibin,2016). It only means that Regardless of your topic or the

rhetorical situation, your goal—your purpose for writing—is important, and the right words

help you achieve it. Furthermore, solid word choices improve your credibility as a writer.

They let your readers know that you are a knowledgeable, confident authority on your topic

and that you’re professional enough to gauge the formality of the rhetorical situation.
 Difficulties with word choice aren’t the only cause of awkwardness, vagueness, or

other problems with clarity. Sometimes a sentence is hard to follow because there is a

grammatical problem with it or because of the syntax (the way the words and phrases are put

together). Choosing words that are appropriate in your writing can convince your readers that

your work is serious and important. On the other hand, if your words are unclear, ambiguous

and/or incorrect, chances are your readers might be confused about the content of your essay

or might even think that your work is not worth reading. According to Writing Center, here

are some difficulties that the students may encounter in essay writing in terms of word choice.

First, Misused words which the word doesn’t actually mean what the writer thinks it

does. Instead of using unfamiliar words, try to use simple words to be easily understood by the

readers. Next, Words with unwanted connotations or meanings. Avoid using double meaning

words except when you can use it in a proper way. Also, Usage of pronoun when readers can’t

tell whom/what it refers to. Another one is Jargon or technical terms that uses some of words

because it is important terms in a certain field of expertise. Next, loaded language in which the

writers know what they mean by a certain word, but they haven’t ever spelled that out for

readers or vice versa. They rely too heavily on that word, perhaps repeating it often, without

clarifying what they are talking about. Lastly, Wordiness in which the problem isn’t choosing

exactly the right word to express an idea—but being “wordy,” or using words that the reader

may regard as “extra” or inefficient. In addition, Clichés which are catchy little phrases

frequently used that have become trite, corny, or annoying. It can be a problem because the

overuse of clichés has diminished the impact and because it requires several words where one

word would do. Additionally, paraphrasing can be done in choosing words to use in rewording

ideas (YourDictionary2019). When paraphrasing, it is important to keep the original meaning

so that the facts remain intact. The problem is if the paraphrased text is too closed to the

wording of the original content, it will fall under plagiarism.

Choosing words that are too difficult, too technical, or too easy for your receiver can

be a communication barrier. If words are too difficult or too technical, the receiver may not

understand them; if words are too simple, the reader could become bored or be insulted. In

either case, the message falls short of meeting its goals . . . Word choice is also a

consideration when communicating with receivers for whom English is not the primary

language may not be familiar with colloquial English (Krizan, A.C., Merrier,P., Logan, J.P. &

Williams, K.,2011).

Social psychologist of the University of Texas, James W. Pennebaker, observes that

we often go wrong when trying to present ourselves in a way we think other people will find

acceptable. When we over-think how we speak, we tend to use constraining words that can

stop us from sounding authentic. One of the most telling signs of whether a person is a team

player, or has their own interests at heart is by listening out for usage of "I" and "me" over

"us" and "we." (St. Louis, 2018).

According to Pennebecker as cited by St. Louis,2018, the written word can often give

away clues about the person who wrote it, from their age to their gender. There's a ton of

valuable information hidden in the subtext of our use of pronouns and articles. Women, in

general, have been found to use more pronouns than men and make greater references to

others. Men typically opt for longer words and use more articles. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the

older generation is often better at writing and expressing themselves clearly. They're more

aware of negative-emotion words, like "alarming" or "discouraging," and opt instead for
positive speech, probably because they've learned from past mistakes. Use of words can also

be a sign as to whether someone is telling the truth or not, depending on how they structure

their speech. Pennebaker explains that people who are telling the truth tend to use the first

person singular, with more statements beginning with "I," whereas those who are lying often

respond to a question with another question.

The challenge for teachers of composition is to help students understand the reasoning

behind the specific word choices they've made and then letting the students know whether or

not those choices work. Simply telling a student something doesn't make sense or is

awkwardly phrased won't help that student become a better writer. If a student's word choice

is weak, inaccurate, or clichéd, a good teacher will not only explain how they went wrong but

ask the student to rethink his or her choices based on the given feedback. According to

Mukoroli, (2011), the following are some strategies to use in teaching how to choose

appropriate words for an essay:

Teaching Collocations. Vocabulary knowledge doesn’t only involve just knowing the

meaning of a word in isolation, but includes knowing the word that usually co-occurs with it.

These words that co-occur with high frequency are called collocations, e.g. heavy rain, strong

coffee but not powerful coffee, a brief discussion but a short man. Collocations help students

to define the semantic area of a word such as: Synonyms- words with identical meaning;

Examples of synonyms include commence/begin, end/ terminate. Antonyms - antonyms refers

to a notion of semantic opposition or unrelatedness. Examples of antonyms include married/

single, buy/ sell, big/ small. Hyponymy refers to a relationship existing between a specific and

general lexical item e.g. (a) super ordinate grouping (vehicle- car) (b) co-ordinate grouping
(car-sedan). Word formation refers to the recognition and 24 production (speaking and

writing) of word formation processes.

Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition (IVA). Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition is a

vocabulary learning strategy, defined as the learning of new words as a by-product of a

meaning-focused communicative activity, such as reading, listening and interaction. It occurs

through multiple exposures to a word in different contexts. Learners are able to acquire

vocabulary through extensive reading, communicative interactions and exposure to natural

input such as movies and television. This strategy entails extensive comprehensible input and

independent learning.

Teaching Word Family. Development in lexical semantics and the mental lexicon

have prompted the development of the semantic field theory, semantic networks or semantic

grid strategies, which present and organize words in terms of interrelated lexical meanings.

The meaning of most words is governed, in part, by the presence in the language of other

words whose semantic functions are related in one or more ways to the same area of

situational environment or culture. A simple example of a semantic field is the set of kinship

terms: father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, uncle, aunt or the various body parts

learned as a subset. Words may be grouped together (related to each other) according to

different criteria. Animals for example may be grouped in terms of physical or perceptual

features such as pet, wild, food etc. This strategy also enhances retention of vocabulary

learned in this manner.

In writing essay, we must choose the appropriate words that will express our given

meaning to the essay. Don’t use words that will lead the meaning to another meaning. It also
simply addresses the functions of every word in a sentence. Meaning, we should always look

for the perfect word in every writing we have.

Organization of ideas

There are many elements that must come together to create a good essay. The topic

should be clear and interesting. The author’s voice should come through, but not be a

distraction. There should be no errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, or capitalization.

Organization is one of the most important elements of an essay that is often overlooked. An

organized essay is clear, focused, logical and effective (Lumen learning, n.d.). In

composition and speech, the organization is the arrangement of ideas, incidents, evidence, or

details in a perceptible order in a paragraph, essay, or speech. It is also known as the

elements' arrangement or disposition, as in classical rhetoric. It was defined by Aristotle in

"Metaphysics" as "the order of that which has parts, either according to place or potential or

form." Although paragraphs (and indeed whole essays) may be patterned in any number of

ways, certain patterns of organization occur frequently, either alone or in combination:

examples and illustrations, narration, description, process, comparison and contrast, analogy,

cause and effect, classification and division, and definition. There is nothing particularly

magical about these patterns (sometimes called methods of development). They simply reflect

some of the ways in which we think. (Hacker, Sommers, Jehn, and Zweig, 2009).

Both Erdosy (2004) found that overall essay structure (i.e. introduction, body,

conclusion), paragraph structure, use of cohesive devices and coherence are valued when

assessing writing for organization. Similarly, according to Freedman (1979), strong

organization included proper paragraphing, logical order of presentation, and appropriate

cohesive devices. In a similar vein, this focused on the following characteristics:

paragraphing, the use of cohesive devices and coherence.

According to Bachman and Palmer (2010), organizational knowledge is one of the two

areas of language knowledge and encompasses grammatical knowledge and textual

knowledge. Textual knowledge in turn encompasses knowledge of cohesion and knowledge of

rhetorical organization. More specifically, knowledge of cohesion is demonstrated by

“producing…explicitly marked relationships among sentences in written texts” (2010: 45)

using cohesive devices such as ‘therefore’, ‘on the other hand’, and ‘however’. Knowledge of

rhetorical organization is demonstrated by sequencing units of information appropriately

within texts. In the present study, rhetorical organization is referred to as coherence. It appears

that both cohesion and coherence are essential in communicating meaning to raters.

Whether you’re writing fiction, poetry, non-fiction, or any other type of work, writing

is always about clearly communicating ideas to your reader. In order to be clear and

compelling, you need to present the right information in the right order. The order you use and

the details you choose to include can drastically affect how well your reader understands what

you're trying to say - whether that's a strong poetic image or clear support for your thesis in an

essay. There are two common strategies; however, it is important to note that these are broad

categories. Variations of these strategies can be used, and they may be combined with one

another.

Reverse Outlining. The reverse outline will help you evaluate the strengths and

weaknesses of both your organization and your argument. Read your draft over, and as you do
so, make very brief notes in the margin about what each paragraph is trying to accomplish.

After you’ve read through the entire draft, transfer the brief notes to a fresh sheet of paper,

listing them in the order in which they appear.

Paragraphs Breaks. Readers need paragraph breaks in order to organize their reading.

Writers need paragraph breaks to organize their writing. A paragraph break indicates a change

in focus, topic, specificity, point of view, or rhetorical strategy. The paragraph should have

one main idea; the topic sentence expresses this idea. The paragraph should be organized

either spatially, chronologically, or logically. The movement may be from general to specific,

specific to general, or general to specific to general. All paragraphs must contain developed

ideas: comparisons, examples, explanations, definitions, causes, effects, processes, or

descriptions.

Organizing ideas and information clearly and logically in an essay, so that readers will

understand and be able to follow the writer's thinking, is an essential stage of the writing process,

but one that often proves to be more difficult than it sounds. When people write, ideas tend to

come out in whatever order they occur to the writer, and it's not always easy to turn a first effort

into a cohesive, coherent order. Deciding what information belongs together, what should come

first, second, etc., creating a logical flow from one idea or topic to another, all are part of

organization. And these judgments can be hard to make.

The organization of material will vary somewhat depending on the type of essay—its

subject, whether it's a research or personal essay, how long it will be, etc. However, there are
certain features which appear consistently in most types of expository writing and which can be

followed as general guides for organizing essays (Lumen learning, n.d.).

E. Significance of the Research

This research aims to contribute information on the essay writing difficulties of Grade

10 students in San Isidro National High School General Luna, Quezon.

Students. This study will benefit them in such a way that it will help them identify

their skills in essay writing. They will also know how important writing skills are as an

individual.

Teachers. This study will be beneficial for the teacher since it will provide them a

clear-cut information on the essay writing difficulties of their students. Also, through this

study, the teacher will be provided of an essay writing module.

Principal. They will be benefited in a way that they will be helped to address the

needs of the students in their school. It will be a great help for them because whatever the

students do inside the school will reflect to the teachers, principal and the school in general.

School. As an institution for learning, the school will benefit in a way that the

achievement of every student in a small way or other way around will reflect to name of the

school and will be a good institution in the eyes of the people around it.

Future Researchers. They will benefit in a way that it will be a great opportunity for

them to collect ideas to researches like this to help people or institutions in our country. As the

future researchers make their masterpieces, it will be a living proof that some point in their

lives they give their great contribution and help without exchange.
 F. Statement of Desired Outcomes

Through the result of the study, the students will be able to improve their writing skills

especially in writing essay. They can express more of their ideas without thinking that it would

be all errors. They will have confidence in writing essay as many as they can. If they conquer

the difficulties, they have in essay writing, it will be a great help to them if they know how to

handle that difficulty. The students will encourage to write more and more. The teacher will

have less work in checking and revising the written works of the students.

G. Major Final Output

The final output of the study is a module for essay writing. This module will be a great

help to those students who have difficulty in terms of writing essay. The module will be an

exercise or activity material for the students so that they will easily understand and cope with

the proper writing of essay.

H. Target Beneficiaries of Research Result

The target beneficiaries of this study are the 211 students, a number of Grade 10

students in San Isidro National High School General Luna, Quezon.

I. Definition of Terms

In order for the readers to understand a number of concepts used in this study. The

following terms are defined:

Essay. is a text or a piece of writing that students creatively compose, either

independently, in a group or with the help of a teacher, in response to a writing exercise or

task (Nyasim,2014). Moreover, it is a composition with a focused subject or discussion which

belongs to writing.
 Writing Difficulties. Refers to picking out inappropriate words in order to bypass

spelling problems (Graham and Harris,2006). Also, it means the problem being encountered

by the students in terms of writing.

J. Scope and Limitations of the Study

The study aims to identify and to analyze the essay writing difficulties of Grade 10

students in San Isidro National High School General Luna, Quezon. This will be participated

by Grade 7 students with the cooperation of the advisers or teachers who’s handling the

students.

This research work was limited only to the Grade 10 students in San Isidro National

High School General Luna, Quezon to address the different essay writing difficulties they

encountered in the class activity or discussion. It can only be tested to Grade 10 students

because it is the first level in the high school life. It all begins in this level so I decided to

conduct this research to early address the difficulties and prevent it from spreading until

graduation.

III. Description of Method

This section involves detailed analysis of methods that study follows. It consists of

research design, research instrument, data gathering procedures, respondents, sampling

design and procedures, data analysis plan and research paradigm.

A. Research Design

This study will use the descriptive method of research in order to

determine the essay writing difficulties of the students. According to Calderon (2008),

Alberto et al (2011) as cited by Grade12 HUMSS (2018), descriptive method is

also known as statistical research, it describes data and characteristics about the

population or phenomenon being studied. This research method is used for frequencies,

averages and other statistical calculations. Often the best approach prior to writing

descriptive research, is conducting a survey investigation. The characteristics of this

method will be use as a tool to determine the difficulties of students in terms of essay writing.

This will be used to determine also the different strategies to be used in order to improve the

writing skills of the students. The survey questionnaires will be adapted and modified in order

to examine the student’s difficulties in terms of essay writing.

B. Research Instrument

Research Instruments are measurement tools (for example, questionnaires or scales)

designed to obtain data on a topic of interest from research subjects (authors,2019). The data

will be collected through survey in order gathered the information needed in the study. The

questionnaire will be used to examine the essay writing difficulties of the students. It will be

divided into 2 parts. It will use the 5-point scale to answer the following questions or

statements (5-Always, 4– Often, 3– Sometimes, 2–Rarely, and 1 – Never).

The researcher will conduct survey to know the effective strategies on how to deliver a

lesson that will develop the writing skills of the students in writing essay.

C. Data Gathering Procedures

The researcher will make a letter for the approval to conduct the study at San Isidro

National High School General Luna, Quezon in Grade 10 students with the help of the

research adviser. The principal will be given a copy of the thesis proposal and the

questionnaires to be used in the survey.

 After the approval of the letter, the study will be conducted for one day with the

guidance of the advisers of the students. The researcher will have explained to the teachers

and students on what will happen in the survey. Each student will be observed and guide in

answering the questionnaires. They will answer the questionnaires in 30-40 minutes to

accomplished the task. On the second day of data gathering, the researcher will conduct

another survey in terms of the strategies used in teaching writing skills.

After collecting all data, the researchers will tabulated and tallied the survey.

D. Respondents

The study will be conducted at San Isidro National High School General Luna

Quezon. The respondents of this research will be the Grade 10 students. The students will

answer the questionnaires.

E. Sampling Design and Procedure

This study will use the random sampling method wherein the researcher will use the

Slovin’s formula. According to Stat Trek, Random Sampling is a procedure for sampling from

a population in which the selection of a sample unit is based on chance and every element of

the population has a known, non-zero probability of being selected. In this part, the researcher

will use this formula to get the total respondents of the research:

𝑁
SLOVIN’S FORMULA: 𝑛=
1+𝑁ⅇ 2

211
𝑛=
1 + (211)(0.05)2
 211
𝑛=
1 + (211)(0.0025)

211
𝑛=
1 + (0.5275)

211
𝑛=
1.5275

𝑛 = 138

F. Data Analysis Plan

After collecting data, the researcher will employ the descriptive statistics to calculate

the weighted mean of the survey results. To foster clear and reliable interpretation of data, the

following statistical tool will be used to determine the results of the survey:

Weighted Mean: The weighted arithmetic mean is applicable to options different

∑𝑓𝑥
weights using the formula: x̅ = ∑𝑓

Where: x̅ = weighted arithmetic mean x = weighted of each score

∑𝑓𝑥= sum of all product of f and x ∑𝑓 = sum of all respondents tested

F = frequency each score

This will help to answer the questions in essay writing difficulties of the students. It

will also determine the strategies in teaching the writing skills they need in essay writing.
 This part presents the analysis and interpretation of the data related to essay writing

difficulties and the strategies used by the teacher. To interpret the results obtained in the

computation of the weighted mean, the scale below was used.

Weighted Point Range of Weighted Mean Interpretation

5 4.21-5.00 Always (A)
4 3.41-4.20 Often (O)
3 2.61-3.40 Sometimes (S)
2 1.82-2.60 Rarely (R)
1 1.00-1.81 Never (N)

F. Research Paradigm

Input Process Output

1.Essay writing difficulties

in terms of: - Assessment Survey
a. grammar; using Questionnaire
-Guide in Writing
b. use of punctuation; - Data Analysis and Essay
c. Choice of words; Interpretation

d. Organization of ideas
2.Strategies used by the
teachers to addressed the
essay writing difficulties

Figure 1. Research Paradigm

 The paradigm shows the Input-Process-Output (IPO) type where the variables of the

inputs are (a) essay writing difficulties in terms of grammar, use of punctuation, choice of words

and organization of ideas (b) strategies used by the teachers to address the essay writing

difficulties. Through the process of survey, data analysis and interpretation, the researchers would

be able to present a guide in writing essay that will be a great help for the students to enhanced

their writing skills.

Essay Writing Difficulties of Grade 10 Students in San Isidro National High School
General Luna, Quezon: Basis for Developing A Module for Writing

Respondent’s Questionnaire

Dear Respondent,

The undersigned is currently writing her undergraduate thesis which aims to determine
the “Essay Writing Difficulties of Grade 10 Students in San Isidro National High School
General Luna, Quezon: Basis for Developing A Module for Writing”

In this regard, may I request you to answer the questionnaire below?

Rest assured that whatever information that you will provide will be treated with utmost
confidentiality and shall only be used for the purpose of this study.

Thank you and best regards.

CHRISTINE L. SALAS
Researcher

Part I. Essay Writing Difficulties of Grade 10 Students

Directions: Below are statements that describe the essay writing difficulties of Grade 10
students. Kindly provide an assessment of your essay writing difficulties by putting a check to
the option that corresponds to your assessment. Refer to the scale provided below.

5 – Always (A)
 4 – Often (O)
3 – Sometimes (S)
2 – Rarely (R)
1 – Never (N)

I have difficulty in… 5 4 3 2 1

1. using different parts of speech correctly.

2. using the correct tense of the verb.

3. spelling words correctly.

4. using some prepositions correctly.

5. using discourse markers such as connectors or

transition words.
6. using capital letters correctly.

7. using punctuation marks correctly.

8. citing or quoting sources for my essay.

9. using punctuation marks in different kinds of

sentences.
10. using appropriate academic vocabulary.

11. paraphrasing sentences or paragraphs.

12. keeping the words short and simple.

13. keeping word limits when I write essay.

14. narrowing down a topic.

15. using variety of sentence structures.

16. writing paragraph with a clear focus.

17. writing sentences that follow logical or chronological

sequence.
18. displaying cohesion in the essays that I write.

19. organizing sentences into paragraphs.

20. using appropriate writing patterns.

Part II. Teaching Strategies used by the Teachers

Directions: Below are the teaching strategies used by teacher to improve writing skills of
students. Kindly indicate the level of effectiveness of these strategies based on your
experiences. Refer on the scale provided.

5 – Always (A)
4 – Often (O)
3 – Sometimes (S)
2 – Rarely (R)
1 – Never (N)
My teacher… 5 4 3 2 1

1. conducts spelling activity regularly to develop our

spelling skills.
2. uses editing and revision strategies to develop the
writing skills of the students.
3. helps us to discover the different rules of grammar
by using a story or example situations.
4. uses more written activities to motivate us in
developing our skills in writing.
5. gives us an in-depth explanation of a certain
concept before we encounter the same concept in
our own writing
6. uses diagramming technique to understand the
structure and the relationships between different
aspects in the sentences.
7. uses note taking strategy to improve the
grammatical knowledge.
8. uses note taking strategy to improve the spelling.

9. shows us how capital letters are used in the

sentences.
10. guides us to select and use appropriate
punctuation to every type of sentences.
11. uses words in different activities connected to our
lives to build vocabulary.
12. presents examples of sentences to know how to
construct our own sentences.
13. helps us to use the English language correctly and
appropriately in a conversation.
14. helps us practice rewriting particularly in long
sentences into several shorter ones.
15. encourages us to translate complex passages into
our own words.
 16. uses error correction to improve our writing skills.

17. uses collaborative activities to improve our essay

writing skills.
18. plays educational videos to stimulate our minds
and be able to construct new sentences or ideas.
19. demonstrates how to organize ideas in a
paragraph.
20. teaches step-by-step process in writing essay.

IV. Results and Discussion

In this part, the results of the study are presented and discussed with reference to the

Part I. Essay Writing Difficulties of Grade 10 students

This part presents the essay writing difficulties of Grade 10 students

Table 1. Assessment of the Respondents on their Essay Writing Difficulties

Statements WM QD R
I have difficulty in…

1. using different parts of speech correctly. 3.38 S 14.5

2. using the correct tense of the verb. 3.41 O 11.5

3. spelling words correctly. 3.49 O 7.5

4. using some prepositions correctly. 3.34 S 18

5. using discourse markers such as connectors or 3.54 O 3

transition words.
6. using capital letters correctly. 3.36 S 17

7. using punctuation marks correctly. 3.49 O 7.5

8. citing or quoting sources for my essay. 3.52 O 4

9. using punctuation marks in different kinds of 3.08 S 20

sentences.
10. using appropriate academic vocabulary. 3.42 O 10
 11. paraphrasing sentences or paragraphs. 3.59 O 1

12. keeping the words short and simple. 3.28 S 19

13. keeping word limits when I write essay. 3.41 O 11.5

14. narrowing down a topic. 3.37 S 16

15. using variety of sentence structures. 3.48 O 9

16. writing paragraph with a clear focus. 3.51 O 5.5

17. writing sentences that follow logical or chronological 3.39 S 13

sequence.
18. displaying cohesion in the essays that I write. 3.38 S 14.5

19. organizing sentences into paragraphs. 3.58 O 2

20. using appropriate writing patterns. 3.51 O 5.5

GRAND MEAN 3.43 O

LEGEND:

4.21- 5.00 - Always (A) QD – Qualitative Description

3.41- 4.20 - Often (O) WM – Weighted Mean
2.61- 3.40 - Sometimes (S) R – Rank
1.82- 2.60 - Rarely (R)
1.00- 1.81 - Never (N)

Table 2 shows the assessment of the respondents on the difficulties they encountered in essay

writing in terms of grammar, use of punctuation, choice of words and organization of ideas. It

registered a grand mean of 3.43 which indicates that the respondents encounter these difficulties

sometimes in writing essay.

Paraphrasing sentences or paragraphs got the highest weighted mean of 3.59. It is followed

by organizing sentences into paragraphs with a weighted mean of 3.58. Additionally, using

discourse markers such as connectors or transition words got the third highest weighted mean
with 3.54.

Meanwhile, the difficulties in essay writing with the lowest weighted mean are: using some

prepositions correctly with 3.34; keeping the words short and simple with 3.28 and using

punctuation marks in different kinds of sentences with 3.08.

According to Smith, 2019, paraphrasing or using more than a few direction quotations

interferes with the “flow” of your writing. It is often difficult for the reader to see how the

paraphrased or quoted ideas fit with your broader discussion because they have not read the same

source material you have. Paraphrasing can be as difficult as it is. Additionally, paraphrasing can

be done in choosing words to use in rewording ideas (YourDictionary2019). When paraphrasing,

it is important to keep the original meaning so that the facts remain intact. The problem is if the

paraphrased text is too closed to the wording of the original content, it will fall under plagiarism.

PART II. Teaching Strategies Used by the Teachers

Table 2. Assessment of respondents on the Teaching Strategies used by the Teachers

My teacher…
WM QD R

1. conducts spelling activity regularly to develop our spelling 3.38 S 20

skills.
2. uses editing and revision strategies to develop the writing 3.46 O 19
skills of the students.
3. helps us to discover the different rules of grammar by using a 3.85 O 1
story or example situations.
4. uses more written activities to motivate us in developing our 3.70 O 5
skills in writing.
5. gives us an in-depth explanation of a certain concept before 3.61 O 12.5
we encounter the same concept in our own writing
6. uses diagramming technique to understand the structure and 3.62 O 10.5
the relationships between different aspects in the sentences.
7. uses note taking strategy to improve the grammatical 3.67 O 6
knowledge.
8. uses note taking strategy to improve the spelling. 3.71 O 4

9. shows us how capital letters are used in the sentences. 3.62 O 10.5

10. guides us to select and use appropriate punctuation to every 3.77 O 3

type of sentences.
11. uses words in different activities connected to our lives to 3.63 O 9
build vocabulary.
12. presents examples of sentences to know how to construct our 3.64 O 8
own sentences.
13. helps us to use the English language correctly and 3.83 O 2
appropriately in a conversation.
14. helps us practice rewriting particularly in long sentences into 3.57 O 16.5
several shorter ones.
15. encourages us to translate complex passages into our own 3.57 O 16.5
words.
16. uses error correction to improve our writing skills. 3.59 O 14.5

17. uses collaborative activities to improve our essay writing 3.48 O 18

skills.
18. plays educational videos to stimulate our minds and be able to 3.66 O 7
construct new sentences or ideas.
19. demonstrates how to organize ideas in a paragraph. 3.59 O 14.5

20. teaches step-by-step process in writing essay. 3.61 O 12.5

GRAND MEAN 3.63 O

LEGEND:

4.21- 5.00 - Always (A) QD – Qualitative Description

3.41- 4.20 - Often (O) WM – Weighted Mean
2.61- 3.40 - Sometimes (S) R – Rank
1.82- 2.60 - Rarely (R)
1.00- 1.81 - Never (N)