A Study On Students’ Paragraph Writing Skills In English Language Classes: Jeldu Preparatory School Grade 12 Students In Focus

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to assess the students’ paragraph writing skills of grade twelve students of Jeldu Preparatory School. Descriptive research was designed to address the problems and sources for the paragraph writings problems, and to identify strategies teachers used to cope with the problems and here, qualitative method of data analyzing was used to collect data in using four data collecting tools such as single paragraph writing test, open ended questionnaire for students, semi-structured interview for teachers and students’ exercise books were used. Accordingly, paragraph writing test was the major tool to check whether or not the paragraph writing skill was educationally set. Open ended questionnaires were also used to find out students’ paragraph writing problems, sources of the problems and identify factors that affect the quality of their paragraph writings. Semi-structured interview were in next employed to identify how teachers coped with these writing problems and students’ exercise books examining was helped to examine the students’ experiences on paragraph writings. Hence, the study identified the students’ related problems such as coherence, unity, completeness, adequacy, grammar, punctuation, capitalization and spelling. In addition, the students had lack of knowledge on how to write paragraphs ,construct types of sentences and form words into parts of speech, apply types of paragraphs and use structures of paragraph and lack of vocabulary knowledge and regular practice, and the teachers’ related factors such as unequal perception to paragraph writing skills rather than to grammar, lack of letting the students practice paragraph writings’ exercises to note takings, reporting, and letter writings, composing different short texts and answering written questions regularly. Generally, paragraph writing is a skill that can be acquired and improved via sufficient practicing and processing and students should get opportunity to practice on class exercises and assignment activities individually and collaboratively. Furthermore, they should practice on features of paragraph writings from the simplest one to the effective ones basically. To do that words and phrases formations, sentences constructing to the simple paragraph writings should be accompanied with helpful and effective activities and therefore, paragraph writing lessons should be provided sufficiently and appropriately to promote the basic paragraph writing skills in English language.