MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS AND FINANCE

RESEARCH REPORT

A SURVEY ON COMMON CHALLENGES IN ACADEMIC

ENGLISH WRITING SKILLS AMONG FINAL YEAR STUDENTS
MAJORING IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF
ECONOMICS AND FINANCE (UEF) AND SOME SOLUTIONS FOR
IMPROVEMENT

Major: English Language

Minor: Commercial English

Supervisor(s): Nguyen Dinh Tuan, MA

Student’s name: H o M i n h P h u o n g
Student ID: 175060376
Class: 17D1TA-TM01

Ho Chi Minh City, 2020

ABSTRACT

Along with the continuous development of the society, requiring new human
resources with high professional qualifications, international cultural integration and
development have shown the importance of applying and practicing well skills.
English skills, primarily essay writing skills for study and research purposes, expand
students' career opportunities.

This research paper explores the factors that affect existing difficulties and
challenges in students' essay skills at the University of economics and finance (UEF).

The data obtained is a questionnaire with 50 final-year students majoring in the

English language at the University of Economics and Finance (UEF). Based on the
collected data, writing skills show their importance in studying and researching at a
university and the student's weakness when writing, what factors may influence the
submission—student writing degree.

This study also proposes several teaching and learning methods to motivate
students to improve and develop writing skills within the constraints and directions
for future research.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To complete this research, I have received much enthusiastic help from

individuals and agencies. I want to express my sincere thanks to my instructor, Mr.
Nguyen Dinh Tuan (MA), and the English Department of the University of
Economics and Finance (UEF) for dedicated instructions and corrections to guide me
in arranging the reward ideas, outline making, and completing this report.

Besides, I would like to thank 50 students for helping and supporting me in this
research survey. The data obtained from this survey helped me to complete this report.

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SUPERVISOR’S COMMENTS

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................1
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................2
SUPERVISOR’S COMMENTS ...............................................................................3
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .............................................................................6
1.1. The research problem ..................................................................................6
1.2. The rationale of the study ............................................................................8
1.3. Aim of study and research questions ...........................................................8
1.4. Significance of the study .............................................................................9
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.................................................................10
2.1. Introduction of Academic English Writing ................................................10
2.1.1. Overview of Academic English Writing skill ......................................10
2.2. Overview of common challenges in English Essays ..................................13
2.2.1. Definition of “Challenge” ...................................................................13
2.2.2. Vocabulary Sources ............................................................................13
2.2.3. Grammar Structures ............................................................................14
2.2.4. Developing Ideas ................................................................................15
2.3. Factors influencing final year students' development of Writing skills.......15
2.3.1. Lack of Motivation .............................................................................15
2.3.2. Lack of Practice ..................................................................................16
2.3.3. Teacher Feedbacks..............................................................................17
2.4. Approaches in Teaching Writing ...............................................................18
2.4.1. Product approach ................................................................................18
2.4.2. Process approach ................................................................................18
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ..........................................................................20
3.1. Research design .........................................................................................20
3.2. Data gathering instruments ........................................................................20
3.3. Setting for the present study ......................................................................20
3.4. Data collection procedures ........................................................................21
3.5. Data collection procedures ........................................................................21

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 3.6. Data analysis .............................................................................................22
CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION .....................................................23
4.1. English proficiency and writing skills level through student assessment ....23
4.2. The importance of English writing skill for Senior students.......................24
4.3. Influencing Factors and Challenges ...........................................................25
4.4. Explore Students’ demand .........................................................................27
4.5. Discussion .................................................................................................30
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION ...............................................................................33
5.1. Summary of key findings ..........................................................................33
5.2. Implications...............................................................................................33
5.2.1. Implication for Students ......................................................................33
5.2.2. Implication for Teachers .....................................................................34
5.3. Limitations and direction for future research .............................................34
5.3.1. Limitations .........................................................................................34
5.3.2. Recommendations for future research .................................................34
REFERENCES .......................................................................................................36
APPENDICES........................................................................................................39

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1. The research problem

When we learn any language, we must have access to the language components
and the skills to use it. English is also not an exception to these requirements. Learning
English is learning its language components, along with skills.

The language components include vocabulary, grammar, spelling, and

pronunciation. Meanwhile, English skills include four skills: listening, speaking,
reading, and writing. In particular, English writing is often considered the most
challenging skill for learners and needs most professionals. Especially since the
writing skill in English itself is a manual, complex skill that becomes more difficult
to use in universities because of the expertise of the types of academic discourse
students must pass, and through writing skills will classify professional competencies,
knowledge, and ability to acquire specialized knowledge, as a standard measure for
university assessments.

Brown and Yule (1983, p.10) have shown that learning to write in a foreign
language is often considered one of the most challenging aspects of language learning
for teachers to help students develop writing skills. It is not only for them to pass the
exam, but also for more general use when they want to use English in the outside
world. It involves students needing to strengthen their writing skills for a variety of
purposes in addition to school requirements. In other words, students will be able to
process written documents and administrative prints, and highly academic articles in
their future work and society.

As a first-year English language student at the University of Economics and

Finance, Ho Chi Minh City, students have access to courses that reinforce vocabulary
and grammar knowledge from the modules; The Advanced English program 1,2,3
Grammar 1,2, all of these activities aim to re-system knowledge for students .In the

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second year, students participate in the English Writing module for majors 1, 2,
support vocabulary training in English reading comprehension subjects, English
writing skills of office documents, economics. English students will learn applied
linguistics, social language, and research through their third year to understand word
contexts, word constructs, and sources. Through animations, learning the origin and
development of vocabulary, ideas, and semantics will help students improve their
knowledge in the most obvious way.

In the final year of university, students will learn subjects such as English-
American literature and culture, and these subjects once again help students know the
vocabulary, social culture but also help students learn the writing style of the authors
smoothly, learn how to use sentences in texts, understand the meaning of words in
their works. More importantly, subjects about economics-pedagogy and translation
major, depending on the student's major, will require a large amount of vocabulary
knowledge and essays, reports, and exams that require students to use the most reliable
and perfect English writing skills.

Second, the quality of study and research work for final-year students has changed
almost entirely with the first university years. Besides, students must fully and deeply
understand specialized course materials, summarizing, writing, and using words and
vocabulary conveyed in an exam. Students will also seriously engage in new ideas by
pondering them, analyzing them, criticizing them, connecting, making conclusions,
or finding new ways of thinking about a particular topic. In terms of education, they
are moving into more in-depth, more specialized waters.

Finally, the English writing skill is applied to life and worked right after
completing internships in fourth-year students' enterprises. Students need to have the
ability to use words, knowledge from the amount of knowledge learned from the
school chair directly applied to reality—an opportunity and challenge to write, present
text accurately, coherently, and meaningfully.

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 Although this research survey is final year students of the English Department,
they have a relatively good knowledge and background in English, as well as possess
a large amount of English vocabulary, as well as the writing style, is through subjects
such as grammar, intensive English writing modules, linguistics-semantics.

However, some students' current situation is still having difficulties and

challenges in using English writing skills, still facing many fundamental mistakes or
complexities in writing, problems related to form, and the essay's content in essays in
specialized subjects.

Therefore, final year students and, more importantly, students majoring in English
need to pay attention to common mistakes, find ways to fix them, correct them,
supplement their knowledge and writing skills.

1.2. The rationale of the study

Therefore, I decided to choose the topic "A survey on common challenges in

Academic English writing skills among final-year students majoring in English
language at University of Economics and Finance (UEF) and some solutions for
improvement ".

This research paper aims to learn more about the difficulties hindering final-
year English language students from completing specialized English essays. Basic and
complex errors often occur when students perform English writing skills in
specialized essays, find solutions, and identify weaknesses, thereby overcoming and
achieving excellent writing skills.

1.3. Aim of study and research questions

The research aims to find out common obstacles in final year students' English
essays to find ways to overcome and supplement their knowledge and writing skills.
Students will be able to do the most fluent and complete essay, contributing to

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completing the end-of-course subjects in particular and applying to future work. Solve
problems that challenge students 'writing skills with existing methods and find some
new suggestions for teachers' teaching, hoping to improve the quality of teaching and
learning and learning increase their confidence and excitement in training their
English writing skills.

Research Questions

▪ What are the common writing challenges in English academic essays of final
year students majoring in English at the University of Economics and Finance
(UEF)?

▪ What learning methods help students improve their academic English writing
skills?

1.4. Significance of the study

The findings of this study will benefit final year students in perfecting their
English academy writing skills for their career opportunities and provide good support
for lecturers teaching English subjects. By learning the weaknesses, abilities, and
needs of students, they will find a method of transmission through an essay more
easily and intimately with students, making it easier for students to perceive
knowledge and write down what it brings them through the emotions of the words
expressed in their writing.

Socially, I hope this study will not only cover support for UEFs’ students
majoring in English, but it will also be applied to students from different fields to help
them overcome obstacles in their English writing skills. Since then, they are making
a small contribution to developing the common ground of Vietnam's talents.

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

The purpose of this chapter is to study more clearly challenges when doing
academic writing for students. This section will present theories related to academic
writing skills and the importance of writing skills for final-year students when
learning significant English subjects. Besides, this chapter also explores solutions for
improving student's academic writing skills.

2.1. Introduction of Academic English Writing

2.1.1. Overview of Academic English Writing skill

2.1.1.1. Definition of “Writing”

The concept of “Writing” has been interested in by many scientists.

First, from Nunan' s point of view (2003), writing is an act both physically and
mentally. The practice of writing is the exploration, expansion of ideas, thinking about
how to convey the content of the article, and developing them into sentences and
paragraphs that the reader can understand. Writing is also a process and a product.
The writer creates their article, plans it, writes various manuscripts, modifies, edits,
and finally publishes; audience reading is a product.

Another observation by Brown (2001, p. 336), writing is a thinking process.

He stated that writing could be planned and released with an unlimited number of
edits before release. Besides, he said that writing is a two-step process. The first
process is to develop an idea, and the second is to put the idea in the writing language.
Writing shows what we think because the writing process reflects all thoughts that
exist in mind.

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 Moreover, Tribble (1996, p. 3) stated that writing with a language skill is
challenging to obtain and gives the impression that conventional writing requires
some form of instruction, not an easily acquired skill (1996, p. 11).

From the above statements, writing skills express the writer's opinions, ideas,
and thoughts from the posed problems. People who acquire the excellent skill of
writing a language that is not easy; the only approach cannot have good writing; it is
a skill that needs practice.

2.1.1.2. Definition of “Academic Writing.”

The definition of the word "Academic" from the Oxford Advanced Learner's
Dictionary is the link to education, especially at school and university, involving
reading and in-depth study. Rather than practical and technical skills to excel in one
or more subjects.

According to Harmer, writing is a practical tool that helps students practice

their skills and work with the language they have been studying (2008, p .112).

In other words, academic writing reinforces students to review their specialized

subject and demonstrate the depth of knowledge about that subject. The ability to
write academic essays is considered one of the essential education skills in college. It
is a prerequisite for university students to write accurate essays with exact content on
topics related to their fields of study or research.

Academic articles are mainly published products; these are articles, reports,
books, and chapter sections. For students, the most popular types of academic writing
exercises are listed below:

▪ Essay: To answer lecturers' questions, students need to have a relatively

short argument; the content follows the topic, often used in writing in
class.

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 ▪ Research paper: A more in-depth investigation based on independent
research, often in response to a question chosen by the student.

▪ Thesis/dissertation: Is a research project usually done at the end of the

courses to finish the study program for a degree. Students will choose
the topic for their dissertation

▪ Research proposal: An outline of a potential topic and plan for a future

dissertation or research project.

▪ Literature review: A critical synthesis of existing research on a topic,

usually written to inform a new piece of research.

2.1.1.3. The importance of English writing skills in University essays for final-
years students

To emphasize the importance of students' essay writing skills in university,

Harmer (1998) stated: "Reasons to teach students to write English as a foreign
language include language training and development, how to learn, and most
importantly, write like a skill in their own right. ". Moreover, Zamel (1983) mentioned
that learners could effectively develop ideas during writing to use the correct language
in academic writing activities. Therefore, an academic essay requires students to have
access to academic writing forms such as descriptive, narrative, and illustrative,
approach (process, genre, and product), strategic (responsive) using critical thinking,
and explaining written sentences).

Successful writing skills depend on mastering the combined skills of language

learning, which seems to be the point where few students are least interested in the
practice. However, when we learn and practice a language, we cannot ignore writing
because it plays an essential role in everyday life and learning activities.

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2.2. Overview of common challenges in English Essays

2.2.1. Definition of “challenges”

According to the Cambridge dictionary, "Challenge" is defined as "(face to

face) something that requires a great deal of mental or physical effort to successfully
complete and thus test one's ability."

Furthermore, Bhatia (2004) argued that at the proficiency level of writing, the
focus is on linguistic accuracies, such as one's mastery of grammar and vocabulary
and being able to build and solve like text; meanwhile, at the general competence
level, the focus is on academic skills including 1) the use of academic conventions, 2)
reference to sources, 3) citations and interpretations, 4) recording annotating and
summarizing 5) plan, compose and edit, 6) write clear and well-structured paragraphs,
7) improve text organization, 8) ensure that text 'flows' smoothly, 'and 9) improving
grammar and accuracy. "

Thus, based on the above definition and statement, essay writing is a complex
combined skill of other academic skills, not simple. In other words, perfecting all the
supporting capacities for writing skills is a big challenge, requiring effort and learning
from learners.

2.2.2. Vocabulary Sources

Nation and Nunan (2003, p. 135) have shown that vocabulary is essential in
learning a foreign language. English words are learned based on the learning goals of
each learner. English vocabulary has nearly 1000 words families, and of which 75
percent is used in journalism and writing, 80 percent in literary fiction, and about 85
percent vocabulary. Also, Richards and Renandya (2002, p. 255) argued that
vocabulary is a core component of language proficiency and provides various
databases for learners to improve their listening, reading, and writing skills. They are

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considered one of the essentials in learning a second language, the vocabulary that the
vocabulary source must always be present and complete for its intended use.

Finally, Nation (2008, p. 125) argued that academic vocabulary includes word
families that often appear in a wide range of academic topics. Academic vocabulary
is understood as an official word used in learning and writing activities, and
specialized research vocabulary is one of the learner's goals to perform well in a
specialized field.

In summary, from the above comments, it can be said that the presence of
vocabulary is vibrant, but choosing and using the correct academic vocabulary in
essays requires the writer to have specialized knowledge; from a wide range of words,
it is possible to complete the article accurately.

2.2.3. Grammar Structures

In Teaching in Principles (2007, p. 420), Brown wrote, "Grammar is a system

of rules. Grammar is a comprehensive text that covers almost all aspects of English
Grammar. The text examines the fundamentals of Grammar and builds principles."
That is, demonstrating a close mutual relationship with all foreign language parts of
verbal and written communication. "

Furthermore, Hadley (2001, p. 4) distinguished that competencies are defined

as a hypothetical fundamental ability. Grammar is at the heart of language teaching
and learning. It is also one of the most challenging aspects of a language to teach well.
Grammar is a set of structured rules that govern the composition of propositions,
phrases, and words in a language.

Also, as Jamil and Kamran (2016) noted, "know more about how grammar
works to understand more about how grammar is used and misused." Students need
to recognize the importance of errors in their writing, capture, and understand the

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nature of their mistakes, thereby creating a complete essay and increasing their
academic writing skills.

Through the authors' analysis and comment, it can be seen that grammatical
structure is the essential and complex foundation of language construction. Students
may have difficulty making grammatical mistakes in their essays, and applying
inappropriate grammar will also be a significant challenge.

2.2.4. Developing Ideas

Professional writers or even students hardly follow a fixed sequence of linear

writing phases because they have to move back and forth between different writing
steps to develop ideas better.

This statement is supported by the conclusion of Flower and Hayes (1981, p.

376, quoted in Scott, 1996), the writing process can be viewed as a writer's toolkit.
When using tools, writers cannot use them in a fixed order or phases. Any use of the
tool can create other user needs. Idea generation can take some judgment, such as the
ability to write sentences. Reviews can force the writer to come up with new ideas.

Hence, according to (Tribble, 1990) writing in a process approach can be seen

as a dynamic and unpredictable process while writers try to reformat their ideas and
approximate ideas what they want to show in their work.

2.3. Factors influencing final year students' development of writing skills

2.3.1. Lack of Motivation

Many studies have shown the importance of motivation in learning any

language or, more clearly, any learning activity to be successful. This view is made
clear through this statement of Harmer (2006a), "Participants in language instruction
often say that students who want to learn will be successful in whatever context they

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learn, even when using methods that the experts consider unsatisfactory. In such
phenomenal periods, it seems reasonable to assume that the motivation that students
bring to the classroom is the greatest factor of simplicity affecting their success.",
suggests that motivation is one of the simple but important factors that affect the
learner's success.

Davies (1998, p. 25) stated that learners would be encouraged to write if the
writing tasks motivate them and excite them.

According to Leki (1991), the writer's desire to convey something is essential

because students write about something that they do not care about is more
problematic.

In addition to the above statements, Byrne (1988, p. 2) believed that most

writers write worse if they are forced to write about something they do not want to
write.

Finally, Pincas (1982, p. 4) argued that motivation increases if writing is placed

in a practical context for all ages and levels.

2.3.2. Lack of Practice

According to Davies (1998, p. 25), "writing is essentially a creative process,

and good writers have to learn to convey their ideas to unseen audiences. This process
takes practice.”

Grabe and Kaplan (1996, p. 6) believed that writing does not come naturally
but comes from constant effort and practice. Besides, learners have to take
responsibility for their learning if meaningful learning takes place. He also added that
the best way to learn any skill is to practice it. To be a good driver, you must drive.

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Also, Hedge (1988, p. 11), "My own experience tells me that to be a good writer, a
student needs to write a lot."

To summarize from the above ideas, it can be seen that practice can have a
little or more effect on students' writing skills and development.

2.3.3. Teacher Feedbacks

Zamel (1985, p. 79) stated that teacher feedback could be useful if teachers
respond to writing students as sincere and interested readers rather than as judges and
evaluators.

With the same point of view, Byrne (1988, p. 29) argued that if we are genuine
readers rather than judges, perhaps we should not look too much at what student
mistakes but look at what they were successful for. Students appreciate receiving
teachers' comments and apply them to correct their writing mistakes.

Besides, Ferris (1995, p. 49) argued that teachers should not ignore their
constructive criticism but should use encouraging words to encourage students.

Contrary to the useful comments, Cohen and Cavalcanatic (1990, p. 155)

mentioned that, in most cases, the teacher response was ambiguous, inaccurate, and
unfair. As a result, such feedback will not help students develop writing skills.

According to Cohen and Robbins (1976) cited in Tesfay (1995, p. 9), correcting
students' writing errors is often ineffective in reducing errors because teachers correct
inconsistencies in student writing.

To summarize these comments, it can be said that the teacher's value of positive
feedback can help students overcome their challenges, and students can correct their
mistakes and can gain more knowledge quickly.

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2.4. Approaches in Teaching Writing

2.4.1. Product approach

The product approach to writing determines the ingredients that make up the
written essay rather than the interpretation process. Writing teachers using a product
approach will help the final product be readable, grammatically correct, and follow
discourse conventions regarding critical points, supporting details.

According to Getnet (1994, p. 9), the product-oriented approach, whose

primary focus is on what students produce in the essay, requires precision and formal
norms. In grammar, spelling, vocabulary usage, layout conventions are given
maximum priority. Moreover, Raimes (1983, p. 6) pointed out that "In the controlled
approach of teaching writing, students are given sentences to correctly and
grammatically copy and manipulate with little chance of making mistakes."

Hedge (1988, p. 8) suggested several points that students should consider

incorporating into the product approach; including understanding correct grammar,
collecting vocabulary counts, using correct composition conventions, spelling
correctly, using sentence structure, linking ideas and information between sentences
to develop a topic, build and organize content clearly and convincingly.

2.4.2. Process approach

The process approach to writing focuses on the content composition instead of

the written final product. In this method, which encourages students to be conscious
of the purpose and object of the writing, a teacher's main task in a process approach
is to guide students to write about a specific topic. Hedge (1988, p. 9) stated that "good
writers seem to go through certain processes that lead to successful works.", As well
as suggested steps of the writing-process approach that good writing should note:

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"First, students start with a master plan in mind. Then they think about what they want
to say and whom they are writing. In the end, they draft the ideas, the sections of the
article, and as they work on their writing, they continue to need to review, modify,
and edit their work."

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CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

This chapter will explain the research methods used in the report. This
chapter’s overview includes study design, data collection tools, current study settings,
participant information, data collection procedures, and data analysis.

3.1. Research design

The purpose of this research is to investigate challenges in academic writing

that final-year English majors at the University of Economics & Finance (UEF). The
results analysis and discussion are conducted for the sake of the research and to use
research methodology by collecting data through questionnaires.

3.2. Data gathering instruments

A quantitative research method was used to achieve the purpose of this study.
About the data collection tool, conduct the survey using the questionnaire in the
research. This method provides detailed information about the participants’ problems,
and the collected data is entirely unspecified.

The survey questions are all related to writing skills and students’ challenges
to writing in academic writing. Survey participants are final-year English majors
studying at the University of Economics & Finance (UEF). A detailed questionnaire
is listed in the appendix.

3.3. Setting for the present study

The subjects in this research are final-year English majors at the University of
Economics & Finance (UEF). Students are prepared with fully English skills at the
university and must study the required English majoring subject. Students must use
English as a learning tool language and use regular essay writing skills to take exams.

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This survey aims to learn about the difficulties students face in their English essays
by analyzing the data.

3.4. Data collection procedures

There are 50 students to participate in the survey, including 26 female students

(56%) and 24 male students (48%). Students take surveys to assess English essay
writing skills and identify their writing problems in specialized English subjects.
Incorporate proposed methods to help them overcome obstacles, improve their writing
skills through their answer selection. Students majoring in English will be selected to
participate in the research because they often use English, especially they have to use
English writing skills in their subjects quite a lot, which will bring good results for
this study. All students know that they are part of the study.

Chart 1: Gender of the students

3.5. Data collection procedures

The successful implementation of this survey came from the help of the final-
year English majors at the University of Economics & Finances (UEF). Research is
conducted in the form of online surveys. A student participating in the survey will be
sent an invitation with the questionnaire link via email and messenger on Facebook.
Inside the part of the questionnaire, it will explain the aim of the survey. The survey
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questions are all related to students’ challenges in English academic writing skills and
suggested solutions. All participating student responses will be stored out in the
Google form.

3.6. Data analysis

After the survey is completed, analyzing the data will go through several steps:

1. All the data collected from the questionnaire will be processed through Google
Sheets to generate a percentage and calculate the total number of votes for each
question.

2. Based on these data, charts and tables will be created.

3. An analysis of students' answers will be presented, and the data collected aims
to help find answers to the study.

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CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

4.1. English proficiency and writing skills level through student assessment

The second chart shows the current level of senior English students. The lowest
percentage is the Beginning level with 12%, and Next is the Upper-intermediate level
at 16%. The two most dominant levels in the survey selected by students are
Intermediate at 40% and Pre-intermediate at 32%. It can be seen that the students
taking the survey have intermediate to English proficiency quite well, but the number
of upper-intermediate levels is relatively small. This chart proves that students need
to improve their English level to the most complete and professional level.

Chart 2: Students’ levels of English

Related to the third chart is the self-assessment measure of proficiency in the

writing of students. Based on the corresponding 1 to 5 quantitative level (Basic -
Advanced), we can see that most students choose the third level, which means about
intermediate level, have intermediate writing ability with 62% options. Advanced
proficiency Assessment at a score of 4-5 (pre-advanced & advanced) accounted for a
relatively low percentage of 16% for the 4/5 point and only 4% for the Advanced
level. This chart shows that to do well in specialized subjects requires a higher level
of skill mastery from students.

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 Chart 3: The proficiency in Students’ Writing

4.2. The importance of English writing skill for senior students

Chart 4: The Importance of writing skill in Essay

Through the chart 4th, we can easily see that senior English language students rated
their academic essay writing skills as 34% as necessary and 58% as very necessary.
The overwhelming number of reviews shows how well students agree with the range
of essay writing skills.

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4.3. Influencing Factors and Challenges

Concerning the fifth chart, we can see the number of time students spend
practicing writing skills. The highest percentage is from 2-3 times a week 46%. Next
is once a week that accounts for 22%, 3-4 times a week 18%, and only 14% practice
this skill every day.

Chart 5: The number of time students spends practicing writing skills

The six chart shows the main problems students face. The lowest rate of 6% is
the Inappropriate teaching method, followed by a challenge in Brainstorming & Ideas
Development with 16%. The three groups of challenges that account for the largest
percentage are Vocabulary Range (20%), Poor Grammar and Syntax Skills (28%),
and the final challenge of lack of motivation has the highest rate of 30%. The critical
point that can be seen through the chart is the challenge of grammar, vocabulary
resources, and especially the lack of motivation to implement students' writing skills.

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 Chart 6: Student’s challenges in writing

To gather more in-depth data information and more substantive data are
the data from the questions below: First of all, in 7th chart, it can be seen that among
the general problems when writing a paragraph, the three main factors that affect the
lack of transition from one main idea to the next in a paragraph with 26 % contain too
many ideas with 28%. In the end, they have the problem of missing transitions to the
next paragraph (32%), which is the biggest problem when students write the passage.

Chart 7: Common problems in paragraph writing

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4.4. Explore Students’ demand

Chart eight will answer final-year students' motivation to study and develop
writing skills in specialized essays. In this chart, it can be seen clearly that the highest
percentage of 40% is the driving force of valuable and positive feedback. Next, there
were quite similar results, 20% motivation from Use for future jobs and 18%
motivation from getting high marks in a specialized subject. The motivation to
develop English writing skills in these two options is quite close, showing the need to
use writing skills to get high scores in current subjects and high motivation to get job
opportunities in the future.

Finally split in the last two positions are Pass professional exams, accounting
for 12% and 10% in motivation when having friend study and practice together.

From the survey results in this question, it can be seen that students' motivation
to develop essay writing skills is different. The most important motivation is the value
of positive feedback, followed by the motivation to complete specialized subjects and
future work successfully.

Chart 8: Final-year students' motivation

In chart nine, students' needs for teacher support to enhance and develop their
writing skills yielded comparable results. As can be seen from the chart, the correct

27
errors option and the Pair with other students plan shared 30% of the respondents
choose each option. The next 20% split for each option was developing ideas, making
outline summaries, and introducing relevant specialized materials. The result proves
that students need to have teachers support different ways to increase their writing
essay skills.

Chart 9: Teacher's support

Table 1 shows the results of the student consensus survey about common
challenges in essay writing, with the same number of 49/50 students "agree" with two
answers " Grammatical mistakes always prevent a successful essay " and " You
always feel confused about using words that match the context of your essay." Those
are also the two answers that students choose the most. Two options follow, " You
often have trouble in using specialized vocabulary " and " You have difficulties
developing and organizing ideas " together with 46 out of 50 options "agree."

Table 1 shows that almost absolutely the surveyed students agree with the main
factors that prevent a successful essay and recognize some outstanding weaknesses.
The participants' consensus numbers will be evidence to have more data for more
accurate analysis.

28
 Table 1: Common challenges in essay writing

Option Agree Disagree Don't know

Grammatical mistakes always prevent a successful

essay 49 0 1

You often have trouble in using specialized

vocabulary 46 3 1

You always feel confused about using words that

match the context of your essay 49 0 1

You have difficulties developing and organizing ideas 46 3 1

Looking at table 2, we can see that the sentence " You recognize mistakes in
your essay and absorb corrective ideas through the comments of your teachers and
your friends " accounts for the highest number of "agree" with 48. Next, with "You
will be pleased to receive positive and valuable feedback from your instructor," with
47 agree, and finally "Spelling correction tool, provide words Useful vocabulary to
improve writing skills, "with 46 agree. In sum, students agree to do writing and
receive valuable feedback from their friends and teachers to correct their mistakes and
feel more satisfied than using live spelling correction tools.

29
 Table 2: External support methods

Option Agree Disagree Don’ know

You will be satisfied to receive positive and valuable

feedback from your instructor 47 1 2

Spelling correction tools, providing useful vocabulary

in improving writing skills 46 2 2

You recognize mistakes in your essay and absorb

corrective ideas through the comments of your
teachers and your friends 48 2 0

To summarize two tables 1 and 2, most students will have difficulty writing
essays about Grammar, specialized vocabulary, and transferring ideas in writing, as
well as they will learn a lot more by receiving objective feedback from teachers and
friends.

4.5. Discussion

Through the questionnaire, google surveyed the difficulties that final year
students face as well as polling to suggest some tips and solutions to improve essay
writing skills, in general, can be summarized as follows;

First, almost all students assess writing skills as essential for their studies at
UEF. Second, students' motivation to maintain writing skills is the positive feedback
on writing and studying, and finding work opportunities in the future.

30
 Despite the differences in essay writing challenges, students generally
appreciate Grammar's importance, vocabulary, and linking ideas in an essay. Students
appreciate and agree with correcting solutions through comments rather than using
direct error correction tools.

Compared with the literature in chapter 2, we can see the similarities with the
views and comments of the authors as follows:

On the grammar challenge side: The question "Grammatical mistakes always

prevent a successful essay." receive most students' agreement and survey results "Poor
grammar and syntax skills" are the second challenge in essay writing (28%). The
above two are compared with Hadley (2001, p. 4), Grammar is one of the most
challenging aspects of a language to teach well. Surveys and statements are searched
in chapter 2 that is Showing parallels in demonstrating and identifying grammatical
challenges is one of the most challenging challenges students face.

In terms of challenges, Vocabulary Range & Ideas development: "Agree"

feedback from participants is almost absolute about survey questions such as: "You
often have trouble in using specialized vocabulary.", "You always feel confused about
using words that match the context of your essay.", "You have difficulties developing
and organizing ideas."

This result shows similarities with the studies of (Tribble 1990), writing in a
process approach while the writer tries to reformat the idea, their ideas approximate
what they want to show in their work, and Richards and Renandya point of view
(2002, p. 255) vocabulary as a core component of language proficiency and provides
various databases for learners to improve their listening, reading, and writing skills.
Vocabulary is considered one of the essential elements in learning a second language,
the vocabulary that the vocabulary source must always be present and complete for
its intended use.

31
 On the positive side of teacher feedback: Through the survey, two problems
can be seen. First, the lack of motivation accounts for the highest number of choices
(30%) in the 7th chart. Similar to Harmer's (2006a), participants in language teaching
often say that students succeed in any method of learning, even when using non-
standard learning methods, and it seems it is reasonable to assume that the motivation
students bring about the classroom is the most significant factor of their simplicity
that influences their success. ". Second, the vast majority of students choose the results
related to receiving valuable and positive feedback from teachers, which will increase
the motivation to correct mistakes and develop students' skills. The result is collected
quite similarly to Zamel's (1985) research, and the point of view of Byrne (1988)
found in chapter 2 on how receiving teacher feedback affects students' skill
development.

By looking at students 'questions and answers, research has uncovered factors

that lead to students' essay writing challenges and suggests that teachers understand
more about the problem, skills, and understanding of students' needs to develop
writing skills. From these survey and feedback questions, teachers will have practical
instruction and training, valuable to all other specialized students in the school.

32
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION

The final chapter of this report includes a summary of key findings, suggested
solutions, limitations, and future research direction.

5.1. Summary of key findings

This study aims to explore common challenges in Academic English Writing

skills in final-year student English major at UEF. Based on the data analyzed in
Chapter IV, it is found that each student has challenges and factors influencing their
academic writing skill. Besides, they recognize the importance of writing skills as
well as the factors for good writing. The survey results also show that their teacher's
positive feedback and an excellent job in the future are their primary motivation to
improve their English writing skill.

5.2. Implications

5.2.1. Implication for students

It is essential for students to learn and improve the proficiency of writing

specialized English in university subjects and use writing skills for future work
requires students to have a foundation of knowledge of grammar, useful vocabulary.
Once you have an excellent theoretical foundation, students should spend some time
practicing those theories, developing ideas, and using support structures to connect
ideas logically. Besides, students also need to listen to value feedback from their
teachers and learn from their friends to avoid writing mistakes. Only students
themselves understand where their strengths and weaknesses are to find the
motivation to study and develop their writing skills.

33
 Students should also gather the experiences accumulated through researching
specialized books in particular and books, articles, and external sources to develop
skills in the highest way.

5.2.2. Implication for Teachers

Motivating students to study, doing professional research, and navigating the

correct writing structure will take many teachers' time and energy. Teachers can help
students recognize their own mistakes and correct their own mistakes by giving
positive, valuable, and constructive feedback and, better yet, directly correcting
grammar, vocabulary, and structures for students. Teachers can also pair them
together to correct mistakes and find out what is right and wrong in their essays.
Finally, the teacher can guide students' initial logical outlines to model and develop
similar or more advanced problems to practice and develop their writing skills step by
step with quality and expertise.

5.3. Limitations and direction for future research

5.3.1. Limitations

This study was conducted with 50 final year students majoring in English at
UEF. However, the number of students participating and the professional knowledge
is limited, so this study cannot give all problems when implementing students' English
essay writing skills and increasing writing skills. Besides, if there is more time to
interview students directly, this study will have more convincing and practical
evidence.

5.3.2. Recommendations for future research

This research paper explores some of the challenges faced by senior UEF
students in English when faced with English essay writing skills and some suggestions
for developing students' writing skills. Hopefully, in the future, the next research
34
papers on this topic will supplement and update new challenges and analyze additional
limitations that this study still faces. Learn about the challenges of writing students'
essay skills and develop new suggestions, new learning methods to write with higher
applications and quality to help students majoring in the English language, and
students in other disciplines successfully use their English writing skills.

35
REFERENCES

[B]

Brown, G. & Yule, G. (1983). Teaching the spoken language. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.

Brown, H. Douglas. (2001). Teaching by Principles. New York: Longman, Inc.

Byrne, D. (1988). Teaching writing skills. (New ed.). Longman.

Bhatia, V. K. (2004). Worlds of written discourse: A genre-based view. London, UK:

Continuum.

[C] Cohen, A. D., & Cavalcanti, M. C. "Feedback on compositions: Teacher and

student verbal reports." In Second Language Writing: Research Insights for the
Classroom. Ed. B.Kroll. Cambridge: CUP, 1990. 155-77.

[D] Dwivedi, R. & Chakravarthy, R. (2015). Problems Encountered by Rural Students

in Writing English – Role of English Teacher - Some Solutions. International Journal
on Studies in English Language and Literature, 3 (7), 27-38.

Davis, S. (1988). “Creative Writing.” Forum V 36, No 4: p.44

[F] Ferries, D. (1995). 'Student Reactions to Teacher Response Multiple Draft

Composition Classrooms: TESOL Quarterly, Volume 29 No.1.

Flower, L., & Hayes, J, R. (1981). A Cognitive Theory of Writing. College

Composition and Communication, 32 (4), 365-387.

[G] Grab, W. and Kalan, R. (1996). Theory and Practice of Writing. London: Addison
Wesley Longman.

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[H]

Harmer, J. (1998). The Practice of English Language Teaching. Longman. Essex.

Harmer, J. (2006a). How to teach English (15th ed.). Longman.

Harmer, J. (2008). How to teach English: ELT journal,62 (3), 313–316.

Hedge, T. (1988). Writing. Oxford University Press.

Hadley, A. O. (2001). Teaching Language in Context. Boston, USA.

[L]

Leki, I. (1991). The preferences of ESL students for error correction in college-level
writing classes. Foreign Language Annals, 24, 203-218.

[N]

Nunan, David. 2003. A Practical English Language Teaching. Singapore. McGraw.

Hill Education.

Nunan, D. (2003) The Impact of English as a Global Language on Educational

Policies and Practices in the Asia-Pacific Region. TESOL Quarterly, 37, 589-613.

Nation, I. S. P. (2008). Teaching Vocabulary: Strategies and Teachnique . Boston,

USA: Heinle Publisher.

Nation, P. (2003) Vocabulary. In D. Nunan (ed.) Practical English Language

Teaching. New York: McGraw-Hill.

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Omaggio Hadley, A. (2001). Teaching language in context (pp. 116118).

Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary. (2021). Oxford University Press.

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[P]

Pincas, A. (1982). Teaching English Writing. London: MacMillan.

[R]

Raimes, A. (1983). Techniques in Teaching Writing. Oxford: OUP.

Richard, J. C. and Renandya, W. A. (2002). Methodology in Language teaching an

Anthology of Current Practice. New York, USA: Cambridge University Press.

[T]

Tribble, C. (1996). Writing. Oxford University Press.

Tribble, Christopher. (1990). Writing. (pp.37-44). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

[Z]

Zamel, V. (1983). The composing processes of advanced ESL students: six case
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Zamel, V. (1985) "Responding to student writing." TESOL Quarterly 19: 79-101.

38
APPENDICES

"A survey on common challenges in Academic English writing skills among

final-year students majoring in the English language at the University of Economics
and Finance (UEF) and some solutions for improvement "

I am currently doing research "A survey on common challenges in Academic

English writing skills among final-year students majoring in the English language at
the University of Economics and Finance (UEF) and some solutions for improvement
" I appreciate your assistance in filling out this survey questionnaire. This study hopes
to find some challenges in writing skills in English essays at university and
suggestions for some solutions to enhance final-year English students' English writing
ability. Your identity will be kept entirely confidential and your information provided
will be used only for research. Thank you very much for your cooperation. Below are
informational survey questions about your English writing skills and suggestion
methods you use. Please choose your right answer:

1. What is your gender?

a. Male

b. Female

2. How long have you been studying English?

a. For 3-7 years

b. For 8-12 years

c. For over 13 years

3. What is your current English level?

a. Beginning

39
 b. Pre-Intermediate

c. Intermediate

d. Upper Intermediate

4. On a scale of 1-5(Basic-Advanced), how would you rate your proficiency in

writing in your specialized subjects?

Basic (1) – Advanced (5)

5. How often do you practice writing English?

a. Once a week

b. 2-3 times a week

c. 3-4 times a week

d. Everyday

6. How important do you think is the writing skill in an academic essay?

a. Very necessary

b. Necessary

c. Neutral

d. Not necessary

7. What are the challenges encountered by you when writing?

a. Vocabulary range

b. Poor grammar and Syntax kills

40
 c. Brain-storming & Ideas Development

d. Lack of motivation

e. Inappropriate Teaching Method

f. Others

8. What are your common problems in paragraph writing?

a. Contains too many main ideas.

b. No topic sentence or concluding sentence.

c. Lack of transitions to the next paragraph.

d. Insufficient analysis of evidence.

e. Lack of transitions from one main idea to the next main idea within the
paragraph.

9. How do you improve your Writing skill?

a. On studying at school

b. Self-Learning

c. Learning through reading course books and novels

d. Learning with your friends

e. Have no idea about improving the writing skills method

10. What will motivate you to learn and practice your academic writing skills?

a. Get high marks in a specialized subject

41
 b. Pass professional exams

c. Have friends to learn and practice skills together

d. Valuable and Positive Feedbacks

e. Use for future jobs

11. What can teacher help you to improve writing skill?

a. Correct errors (in vocabulary, grammar, and sentence structure)

b. Developing ideas, make outline summary

c. Introduce relevant specialized materials

d. Pair with other students (to correct mistakes, make feedbacks, practice
together)

12. Grammatical mistakes always prevent a successful essay

a. Agree

b. Disagree

c. Don’t know

13. You often have trouble in using specialized vocabulary

a. Agree

b. Disagree

c. Don’t know

14. You always feel confused about using words that match the context of your
essay

42
 a. Agree

b. Disagree

c. Don’t know

15. You have difficulties developing and organizing ideas

a. Agree

b. Disagree

c. Don’t know

16. You recognize mistakes in your essay and absorb corrective ideas through
the comments of your teachers and your friends

a. Agree

b. Disagree

c. Don’t know

17. You will be satisfied to receive positive and valuable feedback from your
instructor

a. Agree

b. Disagree

c. Don’t know

18. Spelling correction tools, providing useful vocabulary in improving writing

skills

a. Agree

43
b. Disagree

c. Don’t know

44