The effects of using samples in prewrting activities on the quality of written texts produced by final year students at ba ria vung tau teacher training college

Vietnam National University – HCM City University of Social Sciences & Humanities - - A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (TESOL) Submitted by LÊ THỊ XUÂN VŨ Supervisor TÔ MINH THANH, Ph.D Ho Chi Minh City, September 2009 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that this thesis entitled “THE EFFECTS of USING SAMPLES in PRE-WRITING on THE QUALITY of WRITTEN TEXTS produced by FINAL-YEAR STUDENTS at BARIA-VUNGTAU TEACHER TRAINING COLLEGE” is my own work This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other institution Ho Chi Minh City, September 2009 Lê Thị Xuân Vũ i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to express my deepest gratitude to my thesis supervisor, Dr Tô Minh Thanh for her constant enthusiastic guidance, enormously helpful advice, unbounded patience and careful proof-reading on my writing Without her help, this M.A thesis would still be far from finished My special thanks go to all of my professors and lecturers for their dedication and helpful instruction during the graduate course I am also thankful to the teaching staff of Baria-Vungtau Teacher Training College, in particular Mr Trịnh Hữu Hương and Mrs Trần Thị Thanh Tú for their help and support I also owe sincere thanks to my students, who are an inspiration to me, for their enquiries into essay writing problems and participation in the study; without which my thesis would never have been accomplished Finally, I am greatly indebted to my beloved family and close friends for their warm love, unending help and support ii ABSTRACT The study done for this M.A thesis examines possible problems facing finalyear English-majored students at BV TTC in writing essays, especially the argumentative essay It then investigates whether the application of samples related to the assigned writing topics in pre-writing stage can help the subject samples solve their problems and thereby improve their proficiency as a writer In order to achieve the study’s investigation purposes, two sets of questionnaires were delivered to 58 final-year English-majored students and 10 experienced writing teachers at BV TTC to elicit data on students’ problems in writing essays, especially the argumentative essay and practical suggestions made by both of the subjects of what should be done to solve the problems Then the experimental treatment was implemented to discover whether or not the incorporation of samples in writing classes was a promising solution The major findings of the study indicated (1) the major writing problems facing final-year English-majored at BV TTC were their incapability of determining ideas for essay writing, refuting, organizing ideas, identifying appropriate vocabulary related to the given topic and using correct sentence structure since they lack ideas, vocabulary and a thorough grasp of grammar and rarely practice writing, and (2) analyzing samples related to an assigned writing topic was a more effective solution in improving the students’ writing ability than brainstorming and group discussion, the two commonlyused techniques in pre-writing stage The thesis suggested that samples should have a role in writing pedagogy and that teachers should design consciousness-raising tasks to help students with such aspects of samples as ideas, vocabulary, organization structure and sentence patterns while students should actively engage in the analysis of samples Together with a joint effort of both teachers and students, the application of samples related to an assigned writing topic in English tertiary writing classes develops students’ writing ability iii TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF CHARTS ix LIST OF FIGURES x ABBREVIATIONS .xi INTRODUCTION 0.1 IDENTIFICATION OF THE PROBLEMS 0.2 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 0.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 0.4 LIMITATION 0.5 DELIMITATION 0.6 METHODOLOGY .3 0.7 WRITING-RELATED TERMS 0.7.1 Essays 0.7.1.1 Definition of an essay 0.7.1.2 Organization of an essay 0.7.2 The argumentative essay .4 0.7.2.1 Definition of an argumentative essay .4 0.7.2.2 Organization of an argumentative essay 0.7.2.3 The refutation 0.7.3 Samples 0.8 ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS 0.9 DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGLISH WRITING SYLLABUS FOR FINALYEAR STUDENTS AT INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY – FOREIGN LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT, BV TTC .5 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 THE NATURE OF WRITING .7 1.1.1 Definition of writing 1.1.2 The process of writing 1.1.2.1 Pre-writing 1.1.2.1.1 Brainstorming 1.1.2.1.2 Clustering 1.1.2.1.3 Freewriting 1.1.2.1.4 Using questions 1.1.2.1.5 Group discussing 10 1.1.2.1.6 Preparing a scratch outline .10 1.1.2.2 Drafting .10 1.1.2.3 Revising 10 iv 1.1.2.4 Editing 11 1.2 CRITERIA OF A WELL-FORMED PIECE OF WRITING .11 1.2.1 Ideas 11 1.2.2 Organization .11 1.2.2.1 Introduction 11 1.2.2.2 Body 12 1.2.2.3 Conclusion 13 1.2.3 Voice 13 1.2.4 Word choice .13 1.2.5 Sentence fluency .14 1.2.6 Conventions 14 1.3 APPROACHES TO THE TEACHING OF ESL WRITING .15 1.3.1 The controlled-to-free approach 15 1.3.2 The freewriting approach 16 1.3.3 The paragraph-pattern approach 16 1.3.4 The grammar-syntax-organization approach .16 1.3.5 The communicative approach 16 1.3.6 The product approach 17 1.3.7 The process approach 17 1.3.8 The genre approach 18 1.3.9 The integrated approach 19 1.3.9.1 A synthesis of process and product approaches 19 1.3.9.2 A synthesis of process and genre approach 20 1.4 READING AND WRITING CONNECTION 20 1.4.1 A historical overview of reading and writing connection 20 1.4.2 Studies examining the influence of reading on writing 21 1.5 THE USE OF MODELS IN TEACHING WRITING 23 1.5.1 Some viewpoints on the use of models in teaching writing 23 1.5.1.1 Disadvantages of using models in teaching writing .23 1.5.1.2 Advantages of using models in teaching writing 24 1.5.2 Studies related to the use of models in teaching writing 25 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 28 2.1 RESEARCH QUESTIONS .28 2.2 PARTICIPANTS 28 2.2.1 Student subjects 28 2.2.2 Teacher subjects 29 2.3 PROCEDURE 30 2.3.1 Getting to know the student subjects 30 2.3.2 Experimental teaching 30 2.3.3 Evaluation 31 2.3.4 Responses to two sets of survey questionnaires 32 2.3.4.1 Students’ questionnaire 32 v 2.3.4.2 Teachers’ questionnaire .33 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 34 3.1 DATA ANALYSIS 34 3.1.1 Questionnaires 34 3.1.1.1 The importance of writing 34 3.1.1.2 Students’ frequency of writing practice 35 3.1.1.3 The difficulty of the argumentative essay 35 3.1.1.4 Criteria for measuring how good an argumentative essay is 37 3.1.1.5 Key elements in teaching and learning the argumentative essay 39 3.1.1.6 Difficulties encountered by the student writers 42 3.1.1.7 Students’ errors made in their argumentative essays 44 3.1.1.8 Reasons why the students are not good at writing 47 3.1.1.9 Suggestions to improve the teaching and learning of writing 48 3.1.2 Analysis using writing scores 51 3.1.2.1 Two groups’ writing scores 51 3.1.2.1.1 The results of Semester paper 51 3.1.2.1.2 The results of Essay 51 3.1.2.1.3 The results of Essay 52 3.1.2.1.4 Influence of analyzing samples on the argumentative essay’s elements 53 3.1.2.2 Two groups’ writing scores in different levels 55 3.1.2.2.1 Semester paper 55 3.1.2.2.2 Essay 56 3.1.2.2.3 Essay 59 3.2 FINDINGS 62 3.2.1 Attitudes towards the teaching and learning writing skill 62 3.2.2 Attitudes towards the teaching and learning the argumentative essay 63 3.2.3 Difficulty of the argumentative essay 63 3.2.4 The effect of analyzing samples on the quality of the students’ argumentative essays 63 CHAPTER 4: IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 65 4.1 IMPLICATIONS 65 4.2 RECOMMENDATIONS 66 4.2.1 To teachers 66 4.2.1 To students 68 4.2.1 To the writing syllabus .68 CONCLUSION 70 REFERENCE 72 vi APPENDIX APPENDIX APPENDIX APPENDIX APPENDIX APPENDIX APPENDIX APPENDIX APPENDIX APPENDIX 10 APPENDIX 11 APPENDIX 12 APPENDIX 13 The writing syllabus for English-majored students of the FLS 77 Timetable for teaching the argumentative essay .83 Lesson plan 84 Sample 1: Students should have part-time jobs .89 Sample 2: Students should not have part-time jobs 90 Sample 3: Married women should work outside the home 91 Sample 4: Married women should not work outside the home 93 Argumentative writing rubric 95 Students’ Questionnaire in Vietnamese 97 Students’ Questionnaire in English 101 Teachers’ Questionnaire in Vietnamese 105 Teachers’ Questionnaire in English 110 Students’ and teachers’ responses to the criteria of a well-formed argumentative essay 114 APPENDIX 14 Students’ and teachers’ responses to what element they pay attention to when dealing with the argumentative essay 115 APPENDIX 15 Students’ and teachers’ responses to difficulties encountered by the students when writing the argumentative essay 116 APPENDIX 16 Students’ and teachers’ responses to errors made by students when writing the argumentative essay 118 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1: Students’ age, gender, and time to start learning English 28 Table 3.1: Reasons why writing is so important .33 Table 3.2: Students’ frequency of writing practice 34 Table 3.3: Difficulty of the argumentative essay 34 viii LIST OF CHARTS Chart 3.1: Criteria for measuring how good an argumentative essay is .36 Chart 3.2: Criteria placed in their order of importance for measuring how good an argumentative essay is 37 Chart 3.3: Key elements in teaching and learning the argumentative essay 39 Chart 3.4: Key elements placed in their rank of the subjects’ attention in dealing with the argumentative essay .40 Chart 3.5: Difficulties encountered by the students when writing the argumentative essay 41 Chart 3.6: Degree of difficulties as encountered by the students when writing an argumentative essay .42 Chart 3.7: Students’ errors made in their argumentative essays 44 Chart 3.8: Order of errors made by the students in their argumentative essays 45 Chart 3.9: Reasons why the students are not good at writing 47 Chart 3.10: Suggestions to the students to improve their learning of writing 48 Chart 3.11: Suggestions to the teachers to improve their students’ competence in writing 49 Chart 3.12: Score deviation of the five elements as found in two groups’ Essay and Essay 53 Chart 3.13: Two groups’ Semester paper results in different student levels 55 Chart 3.14: Two groups’ results of Semester paper and Essay in different student levels 56 Chart 3.15: Score deviation of the four elements of Essay as found in two groups’ four student levels 58 Chart 3.16: Two groups’ results of Semester paper and Essay in different student levels 59 Chart 3.17: Score deviation of the four elements of Essay as found in two groups’ four student levels .61 ix …………………………………………………………………………… ………… …………………………………………………………………………… ………… …………………………………………………………………………… ………… 12 In your opinion, what should we to improve the teaching and learning of writing skill? To students: …………………………………………………………………………… ………… …………………………………………………………………………… ………… …………………………………………………………………………… ………… …………………………………………………………………………… ………… …………………………………………………………………………… ………… …………………………………………………………………………… ………… …………………………………………………………………………… ………… …………………………………………………………………………… ………… …………………………………………………………………………… ………… …………………………………………………………………………… ………… To teachers: …………………………………………………………………………… ………… …………………………………………………………………………… ………… …………………………………………………………………………… ………… …………………………………………………………………………… ………… …………………………………………………………………………… ………… …………………………………………………………………………… ………… …………………………………………………………………………… ………… …………………………………………………………………………… ………… …………………………………………………………………………… ………… …………………………………………………………………………… ………… Thank you very much for your help!  104 APPENDIX 11 Teachers’ Questionnaire in Vietnamese TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG SƯ PHẠM BÀ RỊA-VŨNG TÀU KHOA NGOẠI NGỮ - TIN HỌC TỔ TIẾNG ANH PHIẾU KHẢO SÁT DÀNH CHO GIẢNG VIÊN Thưa q thầy/cơ, Xin vui lịng trả lời câu hỏi sau cách đánh dấu chéo (X) vào câu trả lời chọn (có thể có nhiều lựa chọn cho câu hỏi) xếp lựa chọn theo thứ tự ưu tiên (1, 2, 3, 4, 5…) Đối với câu cần ý kiến cụ thể, xin ghi rõ vào khoảng trống chừa sẵn Câu trả lời thầy/cô liệu quan trọng, có ý nghĩa định thành cơng đề tài nghiên cứu sử dụng vào mục đích nghiên cứu Khơng thơng tin cá nhân thầy/cô bị tiết lộ Xin cám ơn cộng tác nhiệt tình q thầy/cơ I THƠNG TIN CÁ NHÂN Giới tính  Nam  Nữ Tuổi: ……… Trình độ học vấn cao nay:  Cử nhân chuyên ngành tiếng Anh  Cử nhân chuyên ngành khác  Đang học cao học chuyên ngành tiếng Anh  Thạc sỹ chuyên ngành tiếng Anh  Bằng cấp khác (Xin ghi rõ.): ……………………………………………… Thầy/Cô dạy tiếng Anh bao lâu? …… năm Thầy/Cơ dạy mơn viết (Writing) chưa?  Có  Khơng II CÂU HỎI NGHIÊN CỨU Thầy/Cơ có cho kỹ viết quan trọng sinh viên chun ngành tiếng Anh?  Có  Khơng Nếu có, sao? (Xin ghi rõ.):…………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 105 Nếu khơng, sao? (Xin ghi rõ.) ………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… Theo nhận định thầy/cơ, ngồi học khoá, sinh viên luyện kỹ viết nào?  Không luyện tập  Chỉ viết yêu cầu  Viết thường xuyên: 2 lần/tuần 3 lần/tuần 4-5 lần/tuần  Ý khác (Xin ghi rõ.): ………………………………………………… Theo thầy/cô, văn tranh cãi lập luận (argumentative essays) có khó viết khơng?  Có  Khơng Nếu khơng, sao? (Xin ghi rõ.) ………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… Theo thầy/cô, văn tranh cãi lập luận coi viết tốt phải đạt yêu cầu gì? (Xin xếp theo thứ tự giảm dần, = yêu cầu cao nhất.)  Có tổ chức ý tưởng rõ ràng, lơ-gích (with a clear and logical organization of ideas)  Có tính mạch lạc (coherent)  Có tính thuyết phục cao (strong persuasive)  Trơi chảy tự nhiên (smooth and natural)  Có từ ngữ phong phú, chọn lọc xác (with abundant, precise word choice)  Đúng ngữ pháp (grammatically correct)  Có cấu trúc câu đa dạng (with varied sentence structures)  Đúng tả, dấu chấm câu viết hoa (with correct spelling, punctuation and capitalization)  Ý khác (Xin ghi rõ.) : ………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… 106 Khi dạy viết văn tranh cãi lập luận, thầy/cơ trọng dạy gì? (Xin xếp theo thứ tự giảm dần, = trọng nhất.)  Bố cục viết (essay outline)  Cách phát triển ý (idea development)  Cấu trúc câu (sentence structure)  Cách chọn từ (word choice)  Chính tả, dấu chấm câu cách viết hoa (spelling, punctuation, and capitalization)  Cách chuyển ý (transition)  Cách viết phản luận (refutation)  Ý khác (Xin ghi rõ.) : ……………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… Trong trình viết văn tranh cãi lập luận, sinh viên thầy/cô thường gặp khó khăn gì? (Xin xếp theo thứ tự giảm dần = khó khăn hay gặp nhấ.t.)  Tìm ý tưởng để viết (determining ideas for essay writing)  Tổ chức ý tưởng (organizing these ideas)  Xác định từ vựng liên quan đến đề tài viết (identifying appropriate vocabulary relating to the selected topic)  Dùng cấu trúc câu (using correct sentence structure)  Sắp xếp câu đoạn (organizing sentences in a paragraph)  Sắp xếp đoạn (organizing paragraphs in an essay)  Phản luận (refuting)  Ý khác (Xin ghi rõ.): ……………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… 10 Khi chấm văn tranh cãi lập luận, thầy/cô nhận thấy sinh viên thường mắc lỗi gì? (Xin xếp theo thứ tự giảm dần, = lỗi hay gặp nhất.)  Ngữ pháp (grammar)  Cấu trúc câu (sentence structure)  Cách chọn từ (word choice) 107  Cách tổ chức ý tưởng (organization of ideas)  Chính tả (spelling)  Dấu chấm câu (punctuation)  Cách viết hoa (capitalization)  Cách viết phản luận (refutation)  Lỗi khác (xin ghi rõ) : ………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………… 11 Theo thầy/cơ, sinh viên cịn yếu kỹ viết đâu? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 12 Theo thầy/cơ, cần phải làm để nâng cao hiệu việc dạy học môn viết? Về phía sinh viên: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 108 Về phía giảng viên: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… Xin chân thành cảm ơn cộng tác quý Thầy/Cô!  APPENDIX 12 109 Teachers’ Questionnaire in English BARIA-VUNGTAU TEACHER TRAINING COLLEGE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY – FOREIGN LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT FOREIGN LANGUAGE SECTION QUESTIONNAIRE TO TEACHERS Dear research participants, Please answer the following questions by putting an X next to the chosen options (as many as apply) or order the options (1, 2, 3, 4, 5…) To open response questions, please write your answers in the space provided Your answers are very important to the success of the study They are for research purposes only and I promise no identifying information will be released Thank you very much for your help I PERSONAL INFORMATION Gender  Male  Female Age: ……… Education:  B.A in English  B.A in other majors  Studying for a Master in TESOL  Master in TESOL  Master in other majors  Others (Please specify.): ……………………………………………… How long have you been teaching English?: ……… Have you ever taught writing skill?  Yes  No II QUESTIONS FOR RESEARCH When teaching writing in the college, you think that writing skill is important?  Yes  No If yes, why? (Please state your own ideas.) ……………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… If not, why? (Please state your own ideas.) ………………………………… 110 ………………………………………………………………………………… Apart from curricular time, how often your students practice writing?  Never practice  Write as required  Frequent practice twice a week 3 times a week 4-5 times a week  Others (Please specify.):……………………………………………… In your opinion, is it difficult to write an argumentative essay?  Yes  No If not, why? (Please state your own ideas.)………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… In your opinion, what are the criteria of a well-formed argumentative writing piece? (Please number them in the decreasing order with 1= the most criterion.)  With a clear and logical organization of ideas  Coherent  Strong persuasive  Smooth and natural  With abundant, precise word choice  Grammatically correct  With varied sentence structures  With correct spelling, punctuation and capitalization  Others (Please specify):……………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… When teaching the argumentative essay, what elements you pay attention to? (Please number them in the decreasing order with 1= the element you pay most attention.)  Essay outline  Idea development  Sentence structure  Word choice  Spelling, punctuation, and capitalization 111  Transition  Refutation  Others (Please specify)… ………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… , When writing an argumentative essay, what difficulties your students often encounter? (Please number them in the decreasing order with 1=the difficulty you encounter the most.)  Determining ideas for essay writing  Organizing these ideas  Identifying appropriate vocabulary relating to the selected topic  Using correct sentence structure  Organizing sentences in a paragraph  Organizing paragraphs in an essay  Refuting  Others (Please specify.): …………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… 10 When evaluating your students’ argumentative writing piece, what type of the following errors they often make? (Please number them in the decreasing order with 1=the error you make the most.)  Grammar  Sentence structure  Word choice  Organization of ideas  Spelling  Punctuation  Capitalization  Refutation  Others (Please specify.):… ………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………… 11 In your opinion, why are many students weak at writing skill? 112 ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… 12 In your opinion, what should we to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning writing skills? To students: ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… To teachers: ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… Thank you very much for your help!  113 APPENDIX 13 Students’ and teachers’ responses to the criteria of a well-formed argumentative essay Criteria Subject’s scale Coun With a Studen t clear and ts % logical organizati Coun Teache on of t rs ideas % Coherent Coun Studen t ts % Coun Teache t rs % Strong Coun Studen persuasive t ts % Coun Teache t rs % Smooth and Coun Studen natural t ts % Coun Teache t rs % Coun Studen With t ts abundant, % precise Coun word Teache t choice rs % Coun Studen t ts Grammatica % lly Coun correct Teache t rs % With Coun Studen varied t ts sentence % Tot al 58 18 22 31.0 37.9 13.8 1.7 3.4 6.9 0.0 5.2 0 0 0 37.5 62.5 0 0 0 26 11 10 1.7 10.3 44.8 19.0 17.2 5.2 1.7 0.0 99.9 0 12.5 75 12.5 0 33 10 3 100 58 56.9 17.2 12.1 5.2 1.7 5.2 1.7 56.9 1 0 0 62.5 12.5 12.5 12.5 0 0 15 11 11 0.0 5.2 3.4 25.9 15.5 19.0 19.0 12.1 1 0 12.5 12.5 12.5 37.5 25 0 11 14 0.0 8.6 12.1 19.0 15.5 24.1 15.5 5.2 0 0 0 12.5 50 25 12.5 0 10 13 8.6 15.5 6.9 17.2 22.4 12.1 15.5 1.7 0 0 0 25 50 25 0 11 16 12 1.7 3.4 5.2 8.6 13.8 19.0 27.6 20.7 114 99.9 100 58 100 100 58 100 100 58 100 100 58 100 100 58 100 structures Coun t % With Coun Studen correct t ts spelling, % punctuatio Coun n and Teache t capitaliza rs % tion Coun Studen t ts % Total Coun Teache t rs % Teache rs 0 0 0 0 25 62.5 12.5 1 11 32 0.0 1.7 1.7 3.4 10.3 8.6 19.0 55.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 12.5 87.5 58 58 58 58 58 58 58 58 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 8 8 8 8 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 APPENDIX 14 Students’ and teachers’ responses to what element they pay attention to when dealing with the argumentative essay Element Essay outline Subjects’ scale Students Teachers Idea development Sentence structure Word choice Students Teachers Students Teachers Students Teachers Spelling, punctuation Students Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Total 27 10 3 46.6 17.2 12.1 8.6 5.2 5.2 5.2 50 25 25 0 0 0 0 13 22.4 15 25.9 19 32.8 10.3 1.7 5.2 1.7 25 50 12.5 12.5 0 0 0 6.9 5.2 6.9 10 17.2 24 41.4 12 20.7 1.7 0 0 0 25 62.5 12.5 0 0.0 5.2 6.9 10 17.2 11 19.0 27 46.6 5.2 0 0 12.5 12.5 12.5 62.5 0 1.7 0.0 0.0 1.7 5.2 13.8 45 77.6 115 58 100 100 58 100 100 58 100 100 58 100 100 58 100 100 58 100 100 and capitalization Transition Teachers Students Teachers Refutation Students Teachers Students Total Teachers Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % 0 0 0 0 0 0 100 1.7 12.1 16 27.6 18 31.0 11 19.0 5.2 3.4 0 0 12.5 50 25 12.5 0 12 20.7 20 34.5 13.8 13.8 8.6 3.4 5.2 25 25 37.5 0 0 12.5 0 58 100 100 58 100 100 58 100 100 58 99.8 100 58 100 100 58 100 100 58 100 100 100 58 100 100 58 100 100 APPENDIX 15 Students’ and teachers’ responses to difficulties encountered by the students when writing the argumentative essay Difficulty Determining ideas for essay writing Organizing these ideas Students’ scale Students Teachers Students Teachers Identifying appropriate vocabulary related to the given topic Students Using correct sentence structures Students Organizing sentences in a paragraph Teachers Teachers Students Teachers Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count 39 67.2 15.5 75 10.3 5.2 1.7 0 0 0 12.5 12.5 0 0 0 13 19 8 1 13.8 12.5 22.4 25.0 32.8 50.0 13.8 12.5 13.8 0 1.7 0 1.7 0 1.7 10.3 15.5 15 25.9 13.8 12.1 12 20.7 1 0 12.5 12.5 12.5 62.5 0 6.9 8.6 15.5 15.5 14 24.1 12 20.7 8.6 0 0 0 37.5 12.5 25.0 25.0 0 3 5.2 13 22.4 13.8 25 43.1 12.1 0 116 Total 58 99.9 100 58 100 100 58 100 100 58 99.9 100 58 100 Organizing paragraphs in an essay Refuting Students Teachers Students Teachers Students Total Teachers % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % 0 25.0 50.0 25.0 1.7 3.4 6.9 6.9 11 19.0 10 17.2 26 44.8 0 12.5 0 0 12.5 25.0 50.0 8.6 21 36.2 13.8 10.3 13.8 5.2 12.1 0 62.5 25.0 0 12.5 0 0 58 99.9 100 58 99.8 100 58 100 100 58 100 100 58 100 100 58 100 100 58 100 100 117 100 58 100 99.9 58 100 100 APPENDIX 16 Students’ and teachers’ responses to errors made by students when writing the argumentative essay Error Grammar Subjects’ scale Students Teachers Sentence structure Students Teachers Word choice Students Teachers Organization of ideas Students Teachers Spelling Students Teachers Punctuation Students Teachers Capitalization Students Teachers Refutation Students Teachers Students Total Teachers Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % 24 41.4 50 10 17.2 0 12.1 12.5 10 17.2 25 6.9 0 1.7 0 0 0 3.4 12.5 10 17.2 0 16 27.6 25 12 20.7 12.5 13 22.4 12.5 3.4 0 0 0 0 0 8.6 50 10 17.2 12.5 14 24.1 0 13.8 25 14 24.1 50 12.1 0 0 0 0 0 8.6 12.5 15.5 25 11 19.0 50 14 24.1 12.5 15.5 0 10.3 0 1.7 0 0 0 13.8 12.5 8.6 12.5 8.6 25 10 17.2 37.5 12.1 12.5 17 29.3 0 5.2 0 0 0 11 19.0 12.5 0 0 3.4 0 10.3 0 6.9 0 10 17.2 75 22 37.9 25 0 0 14 24.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.7 0 12 20.7 12.5 26 44.8 75 12.1 12.5 12 20.7 0 0 0 0 0 1.7 0 0 0 0 12.5 8.6 0 51 87.9 87.5 1.7 0 58 100 100 58 100 100 58 100 100 58 100 100 58 100 100 58 100 100 58 100 100 58 100 100 118 Total 58 100 100 58 100 100 58 100 100 58 100 100 58 100 100 58 100 100 58 100 100 58 100 100 ...STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that this thesis entitled ? ?THE EFFECTS of USING SAMPLES in PRE-WRITING on THE QUALITY of WRITTEN TEXTS produced by FINAL- YEAR STUDENTS at BARIA-VUNGTAU TEACHER. .. is drag On the highway, in the parking lot, at the concession stand, on the theater itself I by wanting to eat too much The patrons by creating disturbances The theater owners by not having enough... facing final- year English-majored students at BV TTC in writing the argumentative essay;  To investigate positive effects on the quality of the students? ?? writing performance of the use of samples