Amarwatiwattiaga RESEARCH

DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED IN ENGLISH WRITING BY THE BACHELOR OF
SECONDARY EDUCATION MAJOR IN ENGLISH THIRD YEAR STUDENTS OF

MINSU BONGABONG CAMPUS
An Undergraduate Research Proposal

Presented to the Faculty of College of Teacher Education
Mindoro State University
Bongabong Campus
Labasan, Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Bachelor of Secondary Education
Major in English Language Teaching
by:
AMAR, CINDY G.
TIAGA, FRANCES VEVZ C.
WATIWAT, SHERLYN B.
July 2021
APPROVAL SHEET
i
This thesis titled DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED IN ENGLISH WRITING BY
THE BACHELOR OF SECONDARY EDUCATION MAJOR IN ENGLISH THIRD YEAR
STUDENTS OF MINSU BONGABONG CAMPUS prepared and submitted by CINDY
G. AMAR, FRANCES VEVZ C. TIAGA, and SHERLYN B. WATIWAT has been
examined and recommended for acceptance and approval for ORAL EXAMINATION.
EVA V. BRIÑOSA, Ed. D

Adviser
PANEL OF EXAMINERS
LORIE JANE R. DELOS SANTOS, MAEd ENRIQUE T. MAGALAY

Chairperson Major Critic
Date Date
MYLENE C. BRIÑOSA, Ed.D. REGGIE CARLO A. REAMOSIO

Statistician Grammarian
Date Date
Approved and accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree.
BACHELOR OF SECONDARY EDUCATION, major in English Language Teaching.
ROMEO C. CASTILLO, PhD.

Dean College of Teacher Education
Date
ABSTRACT
ii
The title of this study was “Difficulties Encountered in English Writing by the
Third-Year students of MinSU Bongabong Campus”, which was aimed at knowing the
students’ difficulties in English writing. The population of this research was the whole
students of third year major in English in Mindoro State University, they were 30
students. All of them are taken as a sample of this research. The data of this research
were obtained by identifying the level of students' performance through writing an essay
and identifying their difficulties encountered through providing a questionnaire. Writing
skill is an essential skill which includes all knowledge and abilities to express one’s
ideas through the written word. Most prominently, English writing skill is very much
indispensable to stamp an individual signature in the modern world. Nevertheless,
teaching and learning to write in English is considered a heavy task. The purpose of this
study is to find out the problems in acquiring English writing skill among the third-year
students of MinSU Bongabong Campus major in English. The study is a Descriptive
Survey conducted on the total population of 30 regular students of the above-mentioned
section. Various problems were identified in creativity such as the syntax, spelling,
punctuation and in choice of vocabulary, another is the writing style, writing techniques
and writing mechanics.
keywords: creativity, writing style, writing techniques, writing mechanics
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
iii
Beyond any words can say, we would like to express our ardent gratitude to
those who have been with us from the beginning of our journey in research writing until
the accomplishment of our study. Our heart is thumping in so much joy for without these
special persons, we have no idea what our journey would be like.
To our Almighty God, whom we know is always behind in our every

accomplishment; no words can describe how grateful we are under His guidance. The
rays of the brilliance of His power that gently and genuinely touch our hearts are what
empower us, strengthen us, and motivate us. For we know that He has so much plan for
us, we thank Him for the protection and guidance every day.
To our family who are always behind congratulating us in our accomplishments,

cheering us up in our failures, and supporting us in our decisions in life, we are
immensely grateful for the love and support you purely give us. The path we are taking
or rather about to take is undoubtedly will lead us to failures if we don’t have you who
serve as our beacon leading us on the right path.
To our friends and to those who have special space in our heart, we genuinely
appreciate everything you’ve done for us. Thank you for showing us support, for
cheering us up when we are about to give up, for always motivating us and giving us
reasons to continue. You made us believe that we are not fighting alone because you
are always there in our failures and victories.
To Dr. Levy B. Arago, Jr., the University President, for his brand of leadership
that imparted hope and inspiration to the researchers on the course of the study.
Dr. Nemesio H. Davalos, the Vice President for Academic Affairs, for the
knowledge and wisdom that helped the researchers;
Dr. Romeo C. Castillo, the Dean of the College of Teacher Education, for
accepting and approving the study;
To our thesis adviser, Dr. Eva Brinosa, who guided us in doing this research, we
know that words aren’t enough to express our sincere and deepest gratitude, however,
iv
we thank you from the very bottom of our heart. It is because of your patience, time and
effort that made this study be possibly done.
To BSE-ENGLISH III, who served as our respondents, we thank you for your
cooperation. Your time and effort you spent with us have boosted our will and
determination towards the completion of our study.
-THE RESEARCHERS
DEDICATION
v
To our beloved parents who have been supporting us and encouraging us every
day, we hereby dedicate this accomplishment of ours to the both of you. Without your
infinite support and strong motivations, this work wouldn’t be possible. It is your
understanding and compassion that pushes us and fortified our determination to
accomplish our research study.
And above all, it is to our Almighty God that we wholeheartedly dedicate this
research. For showering us with blessings and granting us wisdom, we thank that all to
Him. It is because of the wisdom that was poured upon us that we were able to
understand things better and clearer.
There is nothing I wish for to ourselves than having that courageous mind and
strong will to accomplish whatever task was given to us. This is what we waited for, to
finally dedicate this work to those who supported and cheered us up.
-THE RESEARCHERS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE i
vi
APPROVAL SHEET ii
ABSTRACT iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENT iv
DEDICATION v
TABLE OF CONTENTS vi-vii
LIST OF FIGURES vii-viii
LIST OF APPENDICES ix
CHAPTER I. THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND 1

Introduction 1
Statement of the Problem 5
Statement of the Hypothesis 6
Scope, Limitation and Delimitation 6
Significance of the Study 7
Theoretical Framework 8
Conceptual Framework 11
Definition of Terms 12
CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES 14-21
CHAPTER III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 22

Research Design 22
Research Locale 23
Respondents of the Study 23
Sampling Technique 23
Research Instrument 24
Scaling and Quantification of Data 24
Reliability of Research Instrument 25
Validity of Research Instrument 26
Data Gathering Procedures 28
Ethical Consideration 29
Statistical Treatment of Data 30
vii
CHAPTER IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 31-45
CHAPTER V. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS 46

Summary of Findings 46
Conclusions 49
Recommendations 49
REFERENCES
APPENDICES
CURRICULUM VITAE
LIST OF TABLES
Letter/Number Title Page
1 Factors Affecting the Oral 18
viii
Communication Skills, under the
Scaling and Quantification of Data
2 Level of Oral Communication Skills 19

Based on the Rubric, under the
Scaling and Quantification of Data
3 Reliability Result of the Instrument 19

4 Mean level of the factors affecting the 22
oral communication skills of the
student-respondents in terms of
attitude

student-respondents in terms of self-
confidence

student-respondents in terms of
environment
7 Level of oral communication skills of 26

the student-respondents in terms of
fluency
grammar

vocabulary

pronunciation
11 Correlational analysis between the 30

factors affecting the oral
communication skills and level of oral
communication skills of the student-
respondents
LIST OF APPENDICES
ix
Letter/Number Title Page
A Letter of Request to Conduct the Study 37

in School
B Request Letter for Validation of 39

Research Instrument
C Validation of the Research Instrument 42
D Research Questionnaires 45
E Enhancement Activities 47
Chapter I
THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND
x
Introduction
Like all learning problems, difficulties in writing can be devastating to a student’s
education and self-esteem. As student progress through school, they are increasingly
expected to express what they know about many different subjects through writing. If a
student fails to develop certain basic skills, he will be unable to write with the speed and
fluency required to excel as these demands increase. Indeed, for a student struggling
with a writing problem, the writing process itself interferes with learning. The students
who are facing with such difficult odds have trouble to become motivated. Writing
problems rarely occur in isolation, and improvements in writing go hand in hand with the
development of other non-writing-specific skills. Thus, a problem with the development
in one of these areas is likely to interfere with a student’s progress as a writer.
Creativity is the ability to think about a task or a problem in a new or different
way, or the ability to use the imagination to generate new ideas. Creativity enables you
to solve complex problems or find interesting ways to approach tasks. If you are
creative, you look at things from a unique perspective. It affects the writing in way that it
develops creative thoughts, using their imaginations, suggest alternatives, broaden their
though process and problem-solving abilities. It also allows the child to show their
opinions and develop their voice. It also improves their logical skills. For you to improve
creativity through writing you should need everything you can find, use writing prompts
to inspire you. Another thing which possibly affects the students in writing are their style,
techniques and the mechanics which they must apply in a written context or output.
xi
A writing style is an author’s unique way of communicating with words. An author
creates a style with the voice, or personality, and overall tone that they apply to their
text. A writer’s style can change depending on the type of writing they’re doing, who
they’re writing for, and their target audience. When students lack these skills, their
writing might suffer from a variety of flaws, ranging from poor language and syntax to a
lack of structure to weak reasoning and arguments. The fact that many students’
reading skills are equally inadequate complicates problems. For example, if they cannot
see the main point of an argument while reading, they obviously cannot answer that
point as they write. In addition, students often lack metacognitive skills to recognize in
which areas their prior knowledge and skills are insufficient – and thus which skills they
need to improve. In a study at George Washington University (2013), first-year
undergraduates reported that the most frequently assigned high school writing tasks
required them to offer and support opinions, with a secondary emphasis on
summarizing and synthesizing information. Students were rarely required to criticize an
argument, define a problem and propose a solution, shape their writing to meet their
readers’ needs or revise based on feedback. Furthermore, according to a survey
conducted by The Chronicle of Higher Education (2016), 61% of high school teachers
said their students have never written a paper that was more than five pages. As a
result, students have not had enough practice to develop a set of sophisticated writing
skills, lack of executing own writing style and writing techniques including the essence
of mechanics in providing ideas related to a certain topic.
It has been a common complaint often heard that the BSE-English Third Year
College Students of MinSU Bongabong Campus are incapable of expressing
xii
themselves in a clear, correct and comprehensible manner in writing. Moreover, the
basis of this research was the two BSE-English third year students who have been
constantly asking for researchers' assistance about their written outputs. Students’
problems in writing occur because of many factors such as writing styles courses for
college students, it has still become an onerous skill for them. This phenomenon has
occurred in many different contexts around the world with several aspects of writing
difficulties committed by students in the following areas: (1) structural, (2) grammatical,
(3) mechanical, and (4) vocabulary (Ariyanti & Fitriana, 2017; Ginting, 2019; Sabarun,
2019; Toba et al., 2019). In other studies, writing difficulties are also affected by the
learning process and 62) E-ISSN 2621-6485 English Language Teaching Educational
Journal Vol. 4, No. 1, 2021, pp. 61-73 Bulqiyah, S., et al. (Investigating writing
difficulties in essay writing) strategy while writing (Bakry & Alsamadani, 2015).
Consequently, they could not produce their ideas in well-written paragraphs or essays.
One of the causes for the challenge might be the complex nature of the writing skill
itself. Byrne (2014) states that certain psychological, linguistic and cognitive factors
make writing a complex and difficult discourse medium for most people in both native
and second language. While, Raimes (2016) thinks that: “When students complain
about how difficult it is to write in a second language, they are talking not only about the
difficulty of finding the right words and using the correct grammar but also about the
difficulty of finding and expressing ideas in a new language.” When students lack skills
in these areas, their writing may be unsatisfactory in multiple ways – from poor grammar
and syntax to unclear organization to weak reasoning and arguments. Moreover,
students may have learned bad habits in high school that they need to un-learn. For
xiii
example, some students were taught in high school to avoid the first person and thus
may use awkward grammatical constructions to avoid it rather than learn the contexts
when its use is appropriate. Recognition of students’ prior experience with writing and
the complex nature of writing can help us to more effectively design assignments and
provide support as students continue to hone their skills.
The researchers were interested in identifying difficulties in English writing
among the Bachelor of Secondary Education Major in English Language Teaching third-
year students in terms of creativity, writing style, writing techniques, and mechanics
based on the writer's experience as a fourth-year English student at Mindoro State
University. The students faced many difficulties, especially in writing essays. For
example, students experience excessive anxiety during the writing process, lack of
motivation, and difficulty interacting with other people. The students also have difficulty
communicating with the supervisor because they are having a lot of difficulties during
the process of writing itself. Based on the foregoing explanation, the researcher was
inspired to conduct research in order to discover the students' problems in writing.
xiv
Statement of the Problem
The study aimed to determine the difficulties encountered in English writing skills
among Third Year ELT Students of MinSU Bongabong Campus.
Specifically, it sought to answer the following questions:
1. What are the difficulties encountered by the respondents in terms of:
1.1 Creativity;
1.2 Writing Styles;
1.3 Writing Techniques; and
1.4 Writing Mechanics
2. What is the level of performance in writing skills by the respondents in terms of:
2.1 Creativity;
2.2 Writing Styles;
2.3 Writing Techniques; and
2.4 Writing Mechanics?
3. Is there a significant relationship between the difficulties encountered and the level of
performance of the students in writing skills?
Statement of the Hypothesis
xv
There is no significant relationship between the difficulties encountered and the
level of performance of the students in English writing skills.
Scope and Limitation and Delimitation of the Study
This study focusses on difficulties encountered in English writing skills of 30
students of BSE-ELT III for Academic Year 2021-2022.
The difficulties encountered in English writing skills in MinSU – Bongabong
Campus confined with content, relevance, organization, and mechanics while the level
of performance in writing skills is limited to creativity, writing styles, writing techniques
and mechanics of the respondents in English.
On the other hand, each of the respondent were given validated self-made test
and an essay activity to answer relative to the specified indicators. The content of the
items in the survey questionnaire is crafted based on the most relevant situations being
experienced by the respondents answered thru Google forms.
Significance of the Study
The findings of the study would provide benefits to the following:
Students. The result of this study would help the students to properly cooperate
and would help themselves to appropriately enhance their writing skills.
English Teachers. The findings of the study would also help to motivate the
teachers to think different activities that are applicable for the Third-Year students for an
additional information what is the best technique that they need to use to enhance
writing skills.
xvi
School Head. The result of the study would reveal the preparations needed to
be done in the following school year by planning and preparing the learning materials
and faculty members for senior high school class in the future by continuously upgrade
their teaching skills and collaborative learning strategies.
Future Researchers. This research would be helpful to the future researchers
for it can help them guide and give additional information that pursue to the topics that
related to the difficulties encountered in English writing skills of the third-year students.
Theoretical Framework
This study was supported by the theories of well-known psychologist, authors
and educators.
The repetition theory according to Oberman&Kapka 2013, explained that writing
skills can be improved by learning through repetition. The common errors of learners in
writing are spelling, grammar, punctuation roles, accessing prior knowledge while
writing and etc. In addition, if the teachers would be aware of the writing process this
would help in teaching appropriate strategies in that would also improve the writing skills
of the students. Furthermore, these ideas suggests that through repetition the learners
can improve their writing skills. And it must be also to the teachers that they aware of
the writing process, so that the learners failed to improve their writing skills. This theory
focuses to the writing skills of the learners and it can use as a one-way process in order
to improve the writing skills of the learners. Good writing skills enable you to convey
your information with clarity and ease to a far larger audience than through face-to-face
xvii
conversation. Writing is the primary basis upon which you work, you learning, and your
intellect will be judged in college, in the workplace and community. Writing helps people
move easily among facts, interference and opinions without getting confused and
without confusing reader and it also helps you refine your own ideas when you give
other’s feedback.
Social learning theory seeks to explain that we learn through our interactions and
communication with others. As proposed by this social learning theory, teachers
understand how people learn in social contexts and to learn from each other and inform
us on how we, as teachers, construct active learning communities. It suggested that
learning takes place through the interactions students have with their peers, teachers
and other experts. Consequently, teachers can create a learning environment that
maximizes the learner’s activity to interact with each other through discussion,
collaboration and feedback. Moreover, Vygotsky (2017) argues that culture is the
primary determining factor for knowledge construction. We learn through this cultural
lens by interacting with others and following the rules and abilities shaped by our
culture. He also argued that “language is the mean tool that promotes thinking, develop
reasoning and supports cultural activities like reading and writing. Moreover, teachers
need to provide the opportunity to students for a manage discussion about their
learning. Discussion that has a purpose with substantive comments that build of each
other and there is a meaningful exchange between students that results in questions
that promote deeper understanding.
According to Fairclough’s theory entitled Genre theory for improving writing
proficiency skills “genres are the specifically discoursal aspect of ways of acting and
xviii
interacting in the course of social events.” Genre theory was adopted as a theory
wherein the students could become aware of the relationship between the structure and
shape of text in order to be effective in their context, and to achieve the goals of their
culture. Making genres explicit and showing how to write will help students to be aware
of how knowledge is structured in different written genres depending on the text type.
Genre theory uses materials and tasks based on authentic linguistic data in order to
promote student awareness of the conventions and procedures of the genre in question.
Moreover, the choice of vocabulary and grammatical patterns was not appropriate for
the register of text type. There were also ambiguities, referencing problems, and
redundancy issues. A coding scheme for grammar and textual errors was developed to
play attention to the main errors found to the students’ essays.
Conceptual Framework
The paradigm of the proposal study is presented below:
xix
IV DV
Difficulties Encountered by
Performance of Students in
the BSED Students
English Writing Skills.
 Creativity
 Creativity
 Writing Style
 Writing Style
 Writing Techniques
 Mechanics
 Mechanics
Basis for English Writing Skills
Figure 1. Hypothesized Relationship Between and Among Variables
The above figure shows the conceptual model of the study which presents the
two variables under study. The first variable is the independent variable which is
described as difficulties encountered by the BSE-ELT third-year students in MinSU
Bongabong Campus. It would be quantified in terms of creativity, writing styles, writing
techniques, and mechanics.
xx
On the other hand, the dependent variable is described as the level of
performance of students in English writing skills among the BSE-ELT third-year
students of MinSU Bongabong Campus. This will be measured in terms of creativity,
writing styles, writing techniques, and mechanics.
Moreover, as shown in the given figure, these two variables are connected by
one-tailed arrow which indicates the hypothesized relationship between them.
Meanwhile, the broken dashed lines represent the output of the study to enhance
be the English writing skills of the students.
Definition of Terms
To provide clear understanding on the study concluded, either conceptually or
operationally defined.
Creativity. It represents as to how does the students use creativity in any act, idea, or
product that changes an existing domain, or that transforms an existing detail.
Difficulties Encountered. It talks about the things or factors that affects the student’s
progress in terms of writing efficiently.
Mechanics- It is the understanding of both grammar and mechanics is required to
clearly communicate the student’s ideas in a paper.
Writing Skills. It pertains all the knowledge and abilities especially for the BSE-ELT III
related to expressing their ideas through the written word.
xxi
Writing Styles. It refers to the singular aspects of the student’s writing habits, spelling,
grammar, punctuation, writing style and choice of words.
Writing Techniques. It refers to the different strategies that is being used by the
students in organizing their ideas chronologically and logically.
Chapter II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES
xxii
This chapter presents concepts and findings both foreign and local related to the
present study on the difficulties encountered in English writing skills among the
Bachelor of Secondary Education major in English Language Teaching Third-Year
students of MinSU Bongabong Campus.
Related Literature
The succeeding notions and ideas of some authors are the literature which are
related to the present study. These are arranged according to the theme of the variables
included to find such legal basis to find the difficulties encountered in the study. The
students - respondents in English writing in terms of creativity, writing styles, writing
techniques and writing mechanics.
As Walsh (2012) says, writing is important because it’s used extensively in higher
education and in the work place. If students don’t know how to express themselves in
writing, they won’t be able to communicate well with their professors, employers, peers,
or just about anyone else.
Temizkan (2011) stated that creativity is the ability to bring some qualities such
as originality, extraordinariness, in a certain composition, creating a new experiences,
new ideas and thoughts. It centers on how the fresh thoughts and ideas come together
into a new information that makes sense. As a result, creativity and writing ability are
inextricably linked, leading to the name creative writing.
Writing in an open environment with infinite possibilities and freedom of

imagination is classified as creative writing. Tok and Kandemir 2015 explained that, it
requires learners to manipulate the language in attractive, interesting, and demanding
ways in an attempt to express uniquely personal meanings.
Lack of vocabulary has caused the students to face challenges in acquiring

writing skills claimed Misbah et al. (2017). Vocabulary is the fundamental element in
constructing sentences which is the core of effective writing skills Asep (2014).
xxiii
Everyday students utilize spoken and written words to communicate their thoughts,
opinions, and feelings to others around them. To communicate their concepts, kids
should have a good word repertoire. More reading activities and the use of an electronic
dictionary can assist kids with limited vocabulary.
Creativity is widely regarded as a crucially important skill in the teaching and

learning of English as a Second Language (ESL) because it is a comprehensive skill
that reinforces vocabulary, grammar, thinking, planning, editing, revising, and other
elements. Writing also helps to improve all the other skills of listening, speaking and
reading as they are all interrelated (Saed and Al-Omari in Yunus, and Chien 2016: 1).
Related to these empirical evidences are the studies of Muthusamy, Mohamad,

Ghazali, and Subrayan (2011) on how literature helps in developing the imagination of
second language learners, Cheung, Tse and Tsang (2016) on the relationship between
creativity and creative writing skills; and Coles (2015) on the potentials of literature in
stimulating the creative imagination of students. This is also affirmed in different
research such as the study of Adam and Babiker (2014) which tackled the role of
English literature in enhancing creative writing skills, Martino and Sabato (2014) on the
relationship between language and literature in educational contexts.
Moreover, Driscoll and Powell (2016) explained that, students’ emotions, such as
the interests in writing, anxiety, lack of self-efficacy and confusion play a pivotal role for
the development of individual learning. Teacher’s instruction can also shape the
students’ emotions and attitudes while writing. Foster (2015) explained that exposure to
different reading materials can help the readers to be aware with the language
awareness explained.
Ur (2017) suggested that the students should get the chance to increase their
curiosity and being ambitious. Even if they make mistakes while free writing, teachers
should encourage their learning. While giving feedback teachers should draw students’
attention in what they have written, that can be both right and wrong. He also pointed
out that teachers need to explain frankly to the students that mistake is nothing to be
ashamed of rather it plays an important role in learning.
xxiv
Within education, the importance of creativity is recognized as an essential 21 st
century skill. It can be considered as a piece of work that expresses thoughts, ideas and
feelings in an imaginative way. Weiss,et al (2015), Green (2013) revealed that there are
certain factors like insufficient practice in writing skill, insufficient time allocation,
language barriers ,improper language learning environment affecting the creative writing
ability.
Language is considered as one of the most substantial elements of education

and literacy. In the language learning field, the researchers have shown interest in the
area pertaining to writing composition. Richards (2014) found that the students’
interaction helps in developing the cognitive skills that involves generating ideas.
Results from various language studies have shown that the teacher who emphasizes
and focuses on the writing skills on the study can bring about a change. Zampardo
(2016) stated that the student become efficient at generating and organizing creative
ideas as a result. The most adopted teaching model that helps in developing writing
skills in the balanced literacy approach is the method of writing process.
Writing style is much like any other type of style in that it helps us express who
we are. It is how the writer chooses to express himself or herself through writing. May
(2015) stated that sentence structure refers to how a person combines words, phrases,
and clauses in a sentence. Writers who do not vary their sentences use the same
subject, length, and the kind of sentence over and over again.
Writing style is much like any other type of style wherein it helps us express who
we are. It is how the writer chooses to express himself or herself through writing. It is
the most challenging area in learning second language. It is based on appropriate and
strategic use of language with structural accuracy and communicative potential. Kellogg
(2014) opines that the styles in writing is a cognitive process that tests memory, thinking
ability and verbal command to successfully express the ideas; because proficient
composition of a text indicates successful learning of a second language. Moreover,
being proficient in writing English will enable students to be professionals and action
researchers in the future. To improve your academic writing skills, you should focus
your efforts on three key areas about its structure and writing style: clear writing,
xxv
excellent grammar and consistent stylistic approach. The method of journal writing as a
style has been suggested as an unintimidating means of practice in writing. According
to Lee (2013), research along with classroom practices has shown how the
implementation of an interactive journal greatly benefits English language learners as it
motivates them to write more in length and richer in content.
Winarto (2015) revealed that EFL students’ writing techniques influence to their
writing performance. Various writing strategies have been applied by practitioners in
various realms: (1) direct strategies including memory, cognitive, and compensation
techniques, and (2) indirect strategies including metacognitive, affective, and social
strategies Winarto (2015). Those techniques can be implemented successfully
depending on each language learning context where they are integrated.
Gibson (2012) says that writing techniques in which the teacher transcribes the
entire text while engaging students in a rich discussion about how the text should be
composed. Heneman (2012) revealed that students are expected to write on their own
before their experiences. He also proposed the “we do it” part of the optimal learning
model (OLM) where an expert, usually the teacher, holds the pen and guides and
shapes the language with students is, too often, overlooked. This strategy allows the
students to gain competence and confidence in their writing skills while it allows the
teacher to demonstrate the usually internal thinking process that takes place as writers
write.
In order to improve writing skills of English language learners, educators must

consider new and innovative methods for their instruction. Having a good writing ability
in English is very important in the modern world.
Syntax and sentence construction are critical in academic writing. While this is
also true in informal writing, grammar errors in academic writing can rapidly detract from
the author’s reputation. As a result, it is critical to make sure that the subjects and verbs
always agree. The subject-verb relationship is at the basis of grammatically accurate
English writing (Walter, 2017).
xxvi
According to Muhammad Fareed et al. (2016) students make mistakes in
subject-verb-agreement, tenses, articles, prepositions, and basic sentence structures.
Poor spelling, as mentioned by Afrin (2016), the students have the habit to spell
according to their pronunciation and this will lead to wrong spelling. For an example
“pronunciation” instead of “pronunciation”. Students tend to forgot and add letters of the
word. Moreover, Ganobscik and Williams, (2013), on their recent studies, highlighted
that academic writing plays a major role in higher education both students’
understanding of the course content and the consequent assessments of students’
knowledge. Wang [2016] said that teachers observe that students’ compositions remain
non-idiomatic, poorly organized, and grammatically awkward.
Related Studies
The succeeding notions and ideas of some authors are the studies which are
related to the present study. These are arranged according to the theme of the variables
included in the study. The themes are creativity, writing styles, writing techniques,
mechanics.
One of the main problems among students is the fact that many of them cannot
develop their writing skills, mostly the ones who are making compositions in a foreign
language. (Aragon,Baires & Rodriguez, 2013) stated that this has become very difficult
not only for students but also for professors, because all of them are looking for good
results in every single step of the learning process.
Studies conducted by ahour (2015), Weiss, et al (2011), Green (2011), Alan

Maley (2013), Bartscher, et al (2015) reveal that there are certain factors like insufficient
practice in writing skill, insufficient time allocation, language barriers, cultural barriers,
emotional barriers, improper language learning environment affecting the creative
writing ability.
Piffer (2012) studied the ‘person’ and found that creative people in both the arts
and sciences tend to share certain personality characteristics. From this he concluded
that a person’s creativity is a biological phenomenon and as such cannot be measured
xxvii
with psychometric instruments and impersonal methods (such as standardized
surveys). He therefore suggests that researchers should only use unstructured or semi-
structured interviews to collect data.
It was further observed that errors still exist even for those students in the tertiary
level despite that they were already exposed to language courses in their academic
years (Lasaten, 2014). Richards (2012) found that that the students’ interaction helps in
developing the cognitive skills that involves generating ideas. Results from various
language studies have shown that the teacher who emphasizes and focuses on writing
skills on the study can bring about a change. The students become efficient at
generating and organizing creative ideas as a result. The most adopted teaching model
that helps in developing writing skills in the balanced literacy approach is the method of
writing process (Zampardo, 2014).
According to Graham and Harris (2013), “children who experience difficulty in

writing are unlikely to discover all they need to know just through frequent writing and
grading”. Researchers point out that workshop methods should not be abandoned, but
they may not be enough; many students do not acquire needed skills unless explicit
instruction is also provided.
According to Carrol (1990), writing is the most important invention in human

history because it provides relatively permanent record of information, opinions, beliefs,
feelings, arguments, explanation, theories, etc. moreover, writing allows us to share our
communication not only with the contemporaries but with future generations. Moreover,
Birjandi et al. (2004) also identified four distinct phases of good writing. However, they
carry different names from Davison’s model. Birjandi et al.’s phases of good writing are:
9a) pre-writing, (b) organization, (c) support and (d) grammar and mechanics. In the
pre-writing phase, a writer should think before writing.
Alinsunod (2014) mentioned that for the educators to be satisfied with the written
work of students, the latter should submit works which have “good grammatical
xxviii
structures, appropriate punctuation marks, verbs in their right tenses, pronouns in the
right case and correct spelling of words.” It was expected that these students would
have learned those skills after taking multiple English classes and would be able to write
well-written thesis proposals for their thesis writing class. However, this has always
been not the case.
xxix
CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents the research design, research locale, respondents of the
study, research instruments, data gathering and procedures and statistical treatment of
data.
Research Design
In this study, the researchers used Descriptive-Correlational design. The
Descriptive correlational design is defined as a research method that describes the
characteristics of the population or phenomenon studied.
According to Martyn Shuttleworth (September 26, 2011), the descriptive research
method primarily focuses on describing the nature of a demographic segment, without
focusing on “why” a particular phenomenon occurs. In other words, it “describes” the
subject of the research, without covering “why” it happens.
Meanwhile, Descriptive Correlational research design is concerned with
establishing relationships between two or more variables in the same population or
between the same variables in two populations (Silva, 2016). It was used to investigate
the difficulties encountered in English writing skills relate to the level of performance of
BSE-ELT III in English writing in MinSU- Bongabong Campus.
xxx
Research Locale
This research was conducted in MinSU Bongabong Campus located at Barangay
Labasan, Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro. The total population of the CTE were 451. The
total number of the students were 429 with 22 CTE teachers wherein there are 16
BSED teachers and 6 BEED teachers.
Population and Sampling
The researchers used non-probability sampling technique which is the availability
sampling to determine the value of respondents that will answer the given questions.
Availability sampling is a sampling that the respondent has a willingness of a person as
subject to interact because of knowledge about the technique and time of availability.
Respondents of the Study
The respondents of the study were the Third Year College students major in ELT
enrolled in the school year 2020-2021 at MinSU Bongabong Campus. These students
are composed of 30 regular students which has 4 males and 26 females.
Research Instruments
xxxi
The main tool which was used in gathering the data is consist of an activity to
determine the students’ difficulties in writing and the second part is a self-made test.
The first part of the self-made essay question was measured according to the rubrics
such as the content, relevance, organization and mechanics. The second part of a self-
made test was measured in terms of creativity, writing style, writing techniques and
mechanics. Each of this indicator has 5 questions for the students to answer.
Scaling and Quantification
The scale and quantification below employed to measure the difficulties
encountered in writing skills of BSE-ELT III of MinSU Bongabong Campus.
Table 1. Difficulties Encountered in English Writing Skills which was described
using the scale below.
Scale Statistical Limit Verbal Description

4 4.50-5.00 Often
3 3.50-4.49 Sometimes
2 2.50-3.49 Rarely
1 1.50-2.49 Never
Table 2. Level of performance in writing was described using the scale below:
Scale Statistical Limit Verbal Description

4 4.50-5.00 Outstanding
3 3.50-4.49 Very Satisfactory
xxxii
2 2.50-3.49 Satisfactory
1 1.50-2.49 Needs Improvement
Reliability of the Instrument
Test-retest was used in testing the reliability of the test. It was administered to 10
non respondents of the study. The scores were collated, tabulated, and treated using
Pearson’s r.
Table 3. Reliability Result of the Instrument
Variable r-value Description Interpretation
Creativity .7963 High Reliability Reliable
Writing Style .7365 High Reliability Reliable
Writing Techniques .7335 High Reliability Reliable
Writing Mechanics .8125 High Reliability Reliable
Overall Coefficient .726 High Reliability Reliable
Table 3. presents the reliability result of the questionnaire. Since, all the
indicators fall under the range of moderate and high correlation, then the instrument is
reliable.
Based from the results, all variables in the items were reliable as manifested by
the computed r- values. The question in creativity, writing style, writing techniques, and
writing mechanics got a high reliability. However, writing techniques got the lowest
xxxiii
coefficient with 7335 as r-value. The overall coefficient was .726 indicating a high
reliability relationship. Generally, therefore, all questions are reliable.
Validity of the Research Instrument
To establish the validity of the research instrument, the researchers sought the
assistance of three (3) experts. The research instrument was validated by two language
experts and a statistician of Mindoro State University- Bongabong Campus who earned
Masteral and Doctoral degree. Corrections and suggestions were used to finalize the
essay writing activity and perception test before administering.
Data Gathering and Procedure
In conducting the research study, the researcher employed the following steps:
The researcher secured a written permission that was sent to the CTE Program Chair to
solicit her support. A schedule was arranged with the Department Heads and teachers
in order for the researcher to conduct the study through Google form to assure reliability
of responses. Then the respondents will inform and given a time to answer the
questionnaire since it was online. Also, instructions were given to administer the
questionnaire through messenger where the link was sent. Respondents were assured
of the confidentiality of their responses. Data were encoded and tabulated for statistical
analysis.
xxxiv
The researchers have prepared topic for Essay Writing activity, distributed to the
respondents and sent their outputs through email. They were graded or rated based
from the specific criteria used.
Ethical Consideration
All of the participants were guaranteed confidentiality and hence, names were
omitted and changed into Respondent 1, Respondent 2 etc. and abbreviated to R1, R2
etc. The informed consent, which means that the respondents must at all times, be fully
informed about the research process and purposes, and must give agreement to his/her
participation in this research. Safety in contribution put inversely, that researchers
ensured that respondents should not place in risk or harm of any kind. The privacy of
the students should ensure confidentially, and anonymity of the respondents should be
protected all the time. And trust, which implies that the respondents who were subjected
to any acts of deception or betrayal in this research process or its published outcomes
and has the right to know the conclusion of the study. Information on school names and
other personal facts, which could cast hints on the identity of the students were
removed when the Google form response were used.
Also, the researcher understand what plagiarism entails and are aware of the
school policy in these regards. They accepted not make use of another person’s
previous work without acknowledgement or to submit it as their own. They also
undertake not to allow anyone not to copy our work with the determination of using it as
their effort.
xxxv
Statistical Treatment of Data
The data were interpreted with the use of the following statistical tools:
Frequency and Percentage. This was used to describe the level of performance
in English writing activity of the students-respondents.
Weighted Mean. This was used in describing the difficulties encountered by
English writing skills.
Pearson’s Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient (Pearson’s r). This was
used in determining the significant relationship between problem encountered by BSE-
ELT III students in enhancing English writing skills and the level of performance in
technical writing.
xxxvi
CHAPTER IV
PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA
This chapter presents the analysis and interpretation of the gathered data.
1. Difficulties encountered by the respondents
1.1 Creativity
Table 4 shows the mean difficulties encountered in English Writing Skills in terms of
creativity.
Table 4. Mean Difficulties Encountered in English Writing Skills in terms of
creativity.
ITEM MEAN RANK DESCRIPTION
1. I am not always sure about revising my output. 2.53 1 Rarely
2. I don’t write authentically that reflects my 2.10 3 Rarely

interests.
3. I don’t write genuinely that reflects my values. 1.97 4 Never
4. I don’t use highfalutin words in my writings. 2.50 2 Rarely
xxxvii
5. I don’t enjoy using heretical thinking to develop 1.96 5 Never
ideas in writing.
OVERALL MEAN 2.21 Rarely
As shown on the table, item 1 which states that I am not always sure about
revising my output obtained the highest mean of 2.53 described as rarely. On the other
hand, item 5 which states that I don’t enjoy using heretical thinking to develop ideas in
writing ranked fifth with the mean of 1.96 described as never having the overall mean of
2.21 with the verbal description rarely, this result shows that students-respondents
rarely experience difficulty in English writing in terms of creativity.
The findings of the study support the study of Driscoll and Powell (2016) which
explained that, students’ emotions, such as the interests in writing, anxiety, lack of self-
efficacy and confusion play a pivotal role for the development of individual learning.
Teacher’s instruction can also shape the students’ emotions and attitudes while writing.
1.2 Writing Styles
Table 5 presents the mean difficulties encountered in English Writing Skills in
terms of writing style.
As shown in the table, item 2 which states that I can’t easily find a point to
improve in my disorganized writing ranked first with the highest mean of 2.53 described
as rarely. The analysis showed that most students-respondents rarely can’t easily find a
point to improve in their disorganized writing.
xxxviii
On the other hand, item 5 which states that, I can’t write descriptive essay with
accuracy ranked fifth with the lowest mean of 2.13 described also as rarely. This means
that some students-respondents can’t prefer using their own experiences as their
writing’s basis.
writing style.
ITEMS MEAN RANK DESCRIPTION
1. I can’t adjust something I've written to fit the 2.27 3 Rarely

needs of the readers.
2. I can’t easily find a point to improve in my 2.53 1 Rarely
disorganized writing.
3. I can’t prefer using my own experiences as 2.13 5 Rarely
my writing’s basis.
4. I can’t notice firm points in my writing and 2.33 2 Rarely
figure out its causes.
5. I can’t write descriptive essay with accuracy. 2.20 4 Rarely
Overall Mean 2.29 Rarely
In summary, the overall computed mean was 2.29 with verbal description of
rarely indicates that difficulties encountered in terms of writing style plays a vital role
towards English writing of BSE-ELT III students of MinSU Bongabong Campus.
xxxix
. May (2015) stated that sentence structure refers to how a person
combines words, phrases, and clauses in a sentence. Writers who do not vary their
sentences use the same subject, length, and the kind of sentence over and over again.
Writing style is much like any other type of style in that it helps us express who we are.
It is how the writer chooses to express himself or herself through writing.
1.3 Writing Techniques
Table 6 presents the mean difficulties encountered in English Writing Skills in
terms of writing techniques.
writing techniques.
1. I don’t ask my teacher to review my writing. 2.67 1 Rarely
2. I don’t use a dictionary when revising. 2.30 3.5 Rarely
3. I don’t apply recall and process technique to 2.10 5 Rarely

encourage in-depth evaluation of critical thought.
4. I don’t write concepts rhetorically to persuade 2.30 3.5 Rarely
people.
5. I don’t go through multiple rounds of revisions 2.60 2 Rarely
to improve my work.
Overall Mean 2.39 Rarely
xl
As the table presents, item 1 which states that I don’t ask my teacher to review
my writing ranked first with the highest mean of 2.67 described as rarely. This analysis
means that most students-respondents rarely asked their teacher to review their writing.
On the other hand, item 3 states that I don’t apply recall and process technique
to encourage in-depth evaluation of critical thought with the mean of 2.10 ranked fifth
and was still described as rarely. This explains that some students-respondents rarely
don’t apply recall and process technique to encourage in-depth evaluation of critical
thought.
Thus, the difficulties encountered in English writing in terms of writing techniques
has an overall mean of 2.39 described as rarely. This clearly shows that students-
respondents rarely encounter difficulties in English writing in terms of writing techniques.
In support to this, Winarto (2015) revealed that students writing techniques influence to
their writing performance. Heneman (2012) revealed that students are expected to write
on their own before their experiences. He also proposed the “we do it” part of the
optimal learning model (OLM) where an expert, usually the teacher, holds the pen and
guides and shapes the language with students are, too often, overlooked. This strategy
allows the students to gain competence and confidence in their writing skills while it
allows the teacher to demonstrate the usually internal thinking process that takes place
as writers write.
1.4 Mechanics
xli
Table 7 presents the mean difficulties encountered in English Writing in terms of
mechanics.
Table 7 presents the mean difficulties encountered in writing skills in terms of
Mechanics. As shown in the table, item 1 which states that I can’t pinpoint errors in my
writing ranked first with the highest mean of 2.43 described as rarely. This result shows
that most students-respondents rarely experienced difficulty in pointing out errors in
their writing.
mechanics.
1. I can’t pinpoint errors in my writing. 2.43 1 Rarely
2. I can’t put appropriate title in my output. 2.40 2 Rarely
3. I can’t include the right set of examples and 2.33 3 Rarely

supporting details.
4. I don’t know how to prepare an outline before 2.10 5 Rarely
writing.
5. I can’t make my writing more concise and 2.13 4 Rarely
engaging through displaying clarity and vividness.
Total Mean 2.28 Rarely
On the other hand, item 4 which states that I don’t know how to prepare an
outline before writing ranked fifth with the lowest mean of 2.10 described also as rarely.
xlii
This result shows that some students-respondents rarely can’t make their writing more
concise and engaging through displaying clarity and vividness.
In general, the difficulties encountered in English writing in terms of writing
mechanics has an overall mean of 2.28 described as rarely. This result clearly shows
that students rarely encounter difficulties in English writing in terms of writing
mechanics.
In support to this, Muhammad Fareed et al. (2016) stated that students make
mistakes in subject-verb-agreement, tenses, articles, prepositions, and basic sentence
structures. Poor spelling, as mentioned by Afrin (2016), the students have the habit to
spell according to their pronunciation and this will lead to wrong spelling. For an
example “pronunciation” instead of “pronunciation”. Students tend to forgot and add
letters of the word. Moreover, Ganobscik and Williams, (2013), on their recent studies,
highlighted that academic writing plays a major role in higher education both students’
understanding of the course content and the consequent assessments of students’
knowledge.
2. Level of performance in writing encountered by the respondents
2.1 Creativity
Table 8. Frequency and percentage distribution on the level of performance
in writing encountered by the respondents in terms of creativity.
Score Frequency Percentage Verbal Description

4 0 0 Outstanding
xliii
3 11 36.7 Very Satisfactory
2 18 60 Satisfactory
1 1 3.3 Needs Improvement
Total 30 100
Mean=2.33 Needs
Improvement
Table 8 presents the frequency and percentage distribution on the level of
performance in writing encountered by the respondents in terms of creativity.
As shown on the table, the level of performance in writing encountered by the
respondents in terms of creativity, 18 or 60% of 3rd year English major students were
found to be at the satisfactory level. This proves that some students-respondents
provided most supportive details accurately and some sensory development is used.
Results further show that 1 or 3.3% of the respondents were found to be at
needs improvement level. This states that only one student reported few details
accurately. Inappropriate sensory development was used and 1 transition device.
Generally, the level of performance in writing encountered by the students-
respondents in terms of creativity was at the needs improvement level as revealed by
the overall mean of 2.33. This further shows that some students-respondents provided
few details accurately. Inappropriate sensory development and 1 transition device was
used.
In the same sense, studies conducted by ahour (2015), Weiss, et al (2011),
Green (2011), Alan Maley (2013), Bartscher, et al (2015) reveal that there are certain
factors like insufficient practice in writing skill, insufficient time allocation, language
xliv
barriers, cultural barriers, emotional barriers, improper language learning environment
affecting the creative writing ability.
2.2 Writing Styles
Table 9. Frequency and percentage distribution on the level of
performance in writing encountered by the respondents in terms of writing
style.

4 7 23.3 Outstanding
2 12 40 Satisfactory
1 0 0 Needs Improvement
Total 30 100
Mean=3.6 Satisfactory
xlv
performance in writing encountered by the respondents in terms of writing style.
As shown on the table, the level of performance in writing encountered by the
respondents in terms of writing style, 12 or 40% of 3rd year English major students were
found to be at the satisfactory level. This proves that some students-respondents
provided no clear integration of related ideas and pieces of information related to the
topic presented.
On the other hand, 7 or 23.3% of the respondents were found to be at
outstanding level. This states that only seven students reported an effective integration
of important concepts related to the topic and in-depth discussion of the topic is evident.
few details accurately.
Overall, the level of performance in writing encountered by the students-
respondents in terms of writing style was at the satisfactory level as revealed by the
overall mean of 3.6. This shows that these students provided no clear integration of
related ideas and pieces of information related to the topic presented.
Similarly, this issue is also emphasized by Graham and Harris (2013), “children
who experience difficulty in writing are unlikely to discover all they need to know just
through frequent writing and grading”.
2.3 Writing Techniques
performance in writing encountered by the respondents in terms of writing techniques.
xlvi
in writing encountered by the respondents in terms of writing techniques.

4 4 13.33 Outstanding
2 16 53.33 Satisfactory
1 0 0 Needs
Improvement
Total 30 100
There are 16 out of 30 respondents or 53.33% of the total respondents were
classified as satisfactory in terms of writing techniques. From the result, these students
showed in their essays that they are having a hard time organizing their ideas. Topic
sentence is not concise and clear.
However, 13.33% of the total respondents or only four students were classified
as outstanding. It means that these student-respondents knows how to convey their
message in a cleat and logical manner.
In general, the level of performance in writing encountered by the respondents in
terms of writing techniques was at the satisfactory level as revealed by the overall mean
of 3.47. It reveals that these students showed few ideas that are not in in a logical order
and somehow distract the reader. Topic sentence was formed in a simple way.
Moreover, various writing strategies have been applied by practitioners in various
realms: (1) direct strategies including memory, cognitive, and compensation techniques,
and (2) indirect strategies including metacognitive, affective, and social strategies
Winarto (2015). According to Winarto, those techniques can be implemented
successfully depending on each language learning context where they are integrated.
xlvii
2.4 Mechanics
in writing encountered by the respondents in terms of writing mechanics.

4 0 0 Outstanding
2 17 56.7 Satisfactory
1 0 0 Needs
Improvement
Total 30 100
performance in writing encountered by the respondents in terms of writing mechanics.
On the table, 17 students or 56.7% of the overall respondents were labeled with
satisfactory. This result means that most of the respondents provided 1-2 incomplete
sentences or fragments. They were also just used basic word choice.
On the other hand, 13 students or 43.3% of the total respondents got the level of
very satisfactory, the result shows that the students used complete sentences and a
variety of sentence types and word choice is effective
As an overall result, the level of performance in writing encountered by the
respondents in terms of writing mechanics satisfactory level as revealed by the overall
mean of 3.43. The result denotes that most of the respondents provided 1-2 incomplete
sentences or fragments. They were also just used basic word choice.
xlviii
On top of that, Alinsunod (2014) mentioned that for the educators to be satisfied
with the written work of students, the latter should submit works which have “good
grammatical structures, appropriate punctuation marks, verbs in their right tenses,
pronouns in the right case and correct spelling of words.” It was expected that these
students would have learned those skills after taking multiple English classes and would
be able to write well-written thesis proposals for their thesis writing class.
3. Correlation of difficulties encountered and the level of performance of student-
respondents in English Writing.
Table 12 shows the correlational analysis between the difficulties encountered and
the level of performance in English writing of BSE-English Language Teaching Third-
Year Students of MinSU Bongabong Campus.
Table 12. Correlational Analysis of Difficulties Encountered and the Level of
Performance of the Students-Respondents in English Writing
Difficulties Level of Performance

Encountered
Creativity Writing Style Writing Writing
Techniques Mechanics
xlix
r-value result r-value result r-value result r-value result
Creativity 0.2556 NS 0.2063 NS 0.1339 NS 0.0773 NS

Writing Style 0.2855 NS 0.122 NS 0.007 NS 0.1766 NS
Writing 0.027 NS 0.0023 NS 0.2693 NS 0.2323 NS

Techniques
Writing 0.0651 NS 0.1798 NS 0.0622 NS 0.2165 NS

Mechanics
Critical r value = 0.361

Degree of freedom: 28
Level of Significance:0.05
There is no significant relationship between the difficulties encountered in English
writing in terms of creativity and the level of performance in terms of creativity, writing
style, writing techniques, and mechanics of the respondents as indicated by the
computed r-value of 0.2556, 0.2063, 0.1339 and 0.0773 which is lesser than the critical
r-value of 0.361 using 28 degrees of freedom at 5% level of significance. Thus, the null
hypothesis is accepted.
writing in terms of writing style and the level of performance in terms of creativity, writing
style, writing techniques, and mechanics of the respondents as indicated by the
computed r-value of 0.2841, 0.122, 0.007 and 0.1766 which is lesser than the critical r-
value of 0.361 using 28 degrees of freedom at 5% level of significance. Thus, the null
l
writing in terms of writing techniques and the level of performance in terms of creativity,
writing style, writing techniques, and mechanics of the respondents as indicated by the
computed r-value of 0.027, 0.0023, 0.2693 and 0.2323 which is lesser than the critical r-
writing in terms of writing mechanics and the level of performance in terms of creativity,
writing style, writing techniques, and mechanics of the respondents as indicated by the
computed r-value of 0.0651, 0.1798, 0622 and 0.2165 which is lesser than the critical r-
According to Fairclough’s theory entitled Genre theory for improving writing
proficiency skills “genres are the specifically discoursal aspect of ways of acting and
interacting in the course of social events.” Genre theory was adopted as a theory
wherein the students could become aware of the relationship between the structure and
shape of text in order to be effective in their context, and to achieve the goals of their
culture. Making genres explicit and showing how to write will help students to be aware
of how knowledge is structured in different written genres depending on the text type.
Genre theory uses materials and tasks based on authentic linguistic data in order to
promote student awareness of the conventions and procedures of the genre in question.
Moreover, the choice of vocabulary and grammatical patterns was not appropriate for
the register of text type. There were also ambiguities, referencing problems, and
li
redundancy issues. A coding scheme for grammar and textual errors was developed to
play attention to the main errors found to the students’ essays.
Chapter V
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This chapter presents the summary of findings, conclusions and
recommendations derived from the analysis and interpretation of the data in the
preceding chapter.
Summary of Findings
lii
1. Difficulties encountered by the respondents
1.1 Creativity
The computed overall mean of 2.21 described as rarely which resulted from the
highest and lowest mean of 2.53 and 1.96 shows that the respondents rarely
encountered difficulties in English writing in terms of creativity.
1.2 Writing Style
encountered difficulties in English writing in terms of writing style.
1.3. Writing Techniques
encountered difficulties in English writing in terms of writing techniques.
1.4. Mechanics
encountered difficulties in English writing in terms of writing mechanics.
2. Level of Performance of BSE-English Third Year in terms of;
liii
2.1 Creativity
The performance of the students in terms of creativity was at the needs
improvement level as revealed by the overall mean 2.33. Students are having difficulty
in writing creatively wherein they reported few details accurately and used inappropriate
sensory of development.
2.2. Writing Style
The overall mean of 3.6 reveals that the students are at the level of satisfactory
in terms of writing style. Students were observed as having difficulty in attempting to
integrate relevant ideas to the topic presented. Likewise, some ideas integrated are not
clearly relevant.
2.3. Writing Techniques
The performance of the respondents in terms of writing techniques was at the
satisfactory level with the overall mean of 3.47. Students were observed as having
difficulty in attempting to integrate relevant ideas to the topic presented. Likewise, some
ideas integrated are not clearly relevant
2.4. Mechanics
The performance of the respondents in terms of mechanics was at the
satisfactory level with the overall mean of 3.43. Students were observed as having
difficulty in attempting to integrate relevant ideas to the topic presented. Likewise, some
ideas integrated are not clearly relevant
liv
3. Relationship between the Difficulties Encountered and the Level of
Performance of the Students in Writing Skills
writing skills and the performance of BSE-English third-year since the computed r-
values failed to exceed the critical r-value of 0.361 with 28 degrees of freedom at 5%
level significance. Thus, the null hypothesis was accepted.
Conclusions
Based on the findings, the following conclusions are given:
1. The difficulties encountered by the students in terms of creativity is they rarely
are not sure in revising their outputs, in writing style, they cannot easily find a
point to improve their disorganized writing. Likewise, in terms of writing
techniques, they do not used to ask for their teacher's help in revising their
outputs and lastly, the student-respondents encounters such difficulties in writing
mechanics wherein they can't pinpoint errors in their writing. Therefore, based on
the result, the student-respondents rarely encounters difficulties in their writing.
2. The level of performance of the students in terms of creativity revealed that it
needs improvement. Moreover, in terms of writing style, writing techniques and
writing mechanics these are at the level of satisfactory. Therefore, the students
lv
need to exert more effort in creativity aspect of their writing enabling them to
provide more accurate details.
3. The two variables which are the difficulties encountered and the level of
performance of the students in English writing has no significant relationship as
the tabulated result revealed. Therefore, the null hypothesis is accepted.
Recommendations
1. Based on the revealed result, the researchers recommends that the student-
respondents must be given daily sessions regarding with writing activities to
improve their English writing. It is also recommended that the students must be
guided in consciously using vocabulary as an extensive practice for effective
writing aptitude.
2. To effectively communicate the student-respondents' ideas in writing
creatively, it is recommended that they must have good word repertoire and
continuously monitoring their performance while they are being exposed with the
most effective materials such as writing enhancement activities.
3. Other studies along with this study having different included variables must be
conducted.
lvi
Part I
QUESTIONNAIRE
Name: __________________________________
Section: _________________________________
Direction: Put a check mark (/) if the question is match on your answer.
Please rate your use of each Difficulties Encountered in English Writing Skills below on
a scale between 1 to 4. Circle your choice.
1 = Never
2 = Rarely
3 = Sometimes
4 = Often
lvii
 Creativity
4 3 2 1
1. I am not always sure about revising my output.
2. I don’t write authentically that reflects my interests.
3. I don’t write genuinely that reflects my values.
4. I don’t use highfalutin words in my writings.
5. I don’t enjoy using heretical thinking to develop ideas in

writing.
 Writing Style
4 3 2 1
1. I can’t adjust something I've written to fit the needs of

the readers.
2. I can’t easily find a point to improve in my disorganized
writing.
3. I can’t prefer using my own experiences as my writing’s
basis.
4. I can’t notice firm points in my writing and figure out its
causes.
5. I can’t write descriptive essay with accuracy.
4 3 2 1
1. I don’t ask my teacher to review my writing.
lviii
2. I don’t use a dictionary when revising.
3. I don’t apply recall and process technique to encourage

in-depth evaluation of critical thought.
4. I don’t write concepts rhetorically to persuade people.
5. I don’t go through multiple rounds of revisions to improve

my work.
 Mechanics
4 3 2 1
1. I can’t pinpoint errors in my writing.
2. I can’t put appropriate title in my output.
3. I can’t include the right set of examples and supporting

details.
4. I don’t know how to prepare an outline before writing.
5. I can’t make my writing more concise and engaging

through displaying clarity and vividness.
Part II
lix
Essay Writing
Directions: Write at least two paragraphs expressing your own perspective on the topic
“Mandatory Vaccination”. Each paragraph should have at least s3-5 sentences in it.
Please do not plagiarize any of your ideas from the internet. To find out how you will be
graded, look at the rubrics below.
To determine the students’ difficulties, the researchers provided an activity in a
form of essay writing using the rubrics below:
CRITERIA 4 3 2 1
(Outstanding) (Very (Satisfactory (Needs Improvement)
Satisfactory) )
All supportive Almost all Most Few details are reported
details are supportive supportive accurately. Inappropriate
Creativity reported details are details are sensory development was
accurately reported reported used. At least 1 transition
and vividly accurately accurately. device was used.
with sensory with a few Some
details. examples of sensory
Transitions sensory development
are indicated details. is used.
between and Some At least 3
among transitions transitional
sentences. were used. devices were
used.
There is an Provides There is no The writer shows an
effective meaningful clear attempt to integrate
integration of presentation integration of relevant ideas to the topic
important of concepts related ideas presented. Some ideas
concepts that are and pieces integrated are not clearly
related to the related to of relevant.
Writing Style topic the topic information
developed. presented. related to the
lx
topic
In-depth presented.
discussion of
the topic is
evident.
Ideas are in Ideas are in
Few ideas Some ideas are not in
logical order logical are not in in logical order. There is
with clear order, but it
a logical little sense that the writing
Writing topic is evident
order and is organized. Topic
Techniques sentence and that thesesomehow sentence is vague.
the way they ideas weredistract the
are not vividly
reader.
presented presented.Topic
effectively sentence
keeps the Topic was formed
sentence
interest of the in a simple
reader. was clearly way.
formed.
Mechanics Uses Uses There are 1- There are 3-5 incomplete
complete complete 2 incomplete sentences or fragments.
sentences sentences sentences or
and a variety and a fragments.
of sentence variety of There are 3-5 run-ons.
types. sentence Dull words are used.
types. Basic word
Vibrant, choice is
effective Word observable.
vocabulary choice is
included. effective
lxi
Frances Vevz C. Tiaga
Cambunang, Bulalacao Oriental Mindoro
Mobile No. 09751506869
OBJECTIVE: To be an effective teacher that will cater the needs of the students to
develop holistically and to help them preparing themselves for the future.
Personal Information
Age : 23
Sex : Female
Civil Status : Single
Date of Birth: February 03, 1999
Religion : Roman Catholic
lxii
Nationality : Filipino
Father : Arnaldo Tiaga (DECEASED)
Mother : Frelina C. Tiaga (DECEASED)
Brother(s) : Wenzur C. Tiaga Age: 36
John Arnold C. Tiaga Age: 34
Sister (s) : Kleian May T. Selosa Age: 30
Trinalyn C. Tiaga Age: 28
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
Tertiary: MinSU- Bongabong Campus
Labasan, Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro
S.Y. 2021-2022
Course- Bachelor of Secondary Education
Major: English
Secondary: Bulalacao National High School
Campaasan, Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro
S.Y. 2014-2015
Primary: Cambunang, Elementary School
Cambunang, Bualacao Oriental Mindoro
S.Y. 2010-2011
lxiii
Cindy G. Amar s
Camantigue, Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro
cindyamar18@gmail.com
OBJECTIVE: To be a passionate teacher who influences the
students not only with good deeds but also touching their hearts, keeping them inspired
to keep them going and made them excel in different aspects of their lives.
EDUCATION
 2018-2022 Bachelor of Secondary Education Major in English Language Teaching

Mindoro State University-Bongabong Campus
 2012-2018 Secondary
Dayhagan National High School
 2006-2012 Elementary
lxiv
Camantigue Elementary School
SKILLS AND PERSONAL TRAITS
 Able to handle Junior High School class during the Pre-Service Teaching
 Utilize instruction and assessment tools appropriately
 Determined and hardworking
 Unusual social ease with a good sense of humor
 Computer literate
 Leadership skills
 Communication skills
 Open for improvements
SEMINARS AND TRAINING ATTENDED
 “Labor Education for Graduating Students”

Webinar
March 09, 2022
 Off-Campus Practice Teaching Training

Cawayan National High School
Cawayan, Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro
March 22, 2022 – June 30, 2022
PERSONAL DATA
Age: 22
Civil Status: Single
Religion: Roman Catholic
Birthday: February 03, 2000
Birthplace: Camantigue, Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro
Height: 144 cm
lxv
Weight: 40
Father’s Name: Joey C. Amar
Mother’s Name: Zheenah G. Amar
CHARACTER REFERENCES
Mrs. Marissa E. Blasurca Cesar G. Castillo

0967 7593 865 0991 7646 332
lxvi

Amarwatiwattiaga RESEARCH

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Amarwatiwattiaga RESEARCH

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED IN ENGLISH WRITING BY THE BACHELOR OF

SECONDARY EDUCATION MAJOR IN ENGLISH THIRD YEAR STUDENTS OF

An Undergraduate Research Proposal

EVA V. BRIÑOSA, Ed. D

LORIE JANE R. DELOS SANTOS, MAEd ENRIQUE T. MAGALAY

MYLENE C. BRIÑOSA, Ed.D. REGGIE CARLO A. REAMOSIO

ROMEO C. CASTILLO, PhD.

and identifying their difficulties encountered through providing a questionnaire. Writing

indispensable to stamp an individual signature in the modern world. Nevertheless,

students of MinSU Bongabong Campus major in English. The study is a Descriptive

Survey conducted on the total population of 30 regular students of the above-mentioned

and writing mechanics.

keywords: creativity, writing style, writing techniques, writing mechanics

To our Almighty God, whom we know is always behind in our every

To our family who are always behind congratulating us in our accomplishments,

CHAPTER I. THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND 1

CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES 14-21

CHAPTER III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 22

CHAPTER V. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS 46

1 Factors Affecting the Oral 18

2 Level of Oral Communication Skills 19

3 Reliability Result of the Instrument 19

5 Mean level of the factors affecting the 23

6 Mean level of the factors affecting the 25

7 Level of oral communication skills of 26

9 Level of oral communication skills of 28

10 Level of oral communication skills of 29

11 Correlational analysis between the 30

A Letter of Request to Conduct the Study 37

B Request Letter for Validation of 39

C Validation of the Research Instrument 42

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Like all learning problems, difficulties in writing can be devastating to a student’s

development of other non-writing-specific skills. Thus, a problem with the development

in one of these areas is likely to interfere with a student’s progress as a writer.

Creativity is the ability to think about a task or a problem in a new or different

need to improve. In a study at George Washington University (2013), first-year

required them to offer and support opinions, with a secondary emphasis on

summarizing and synthesizing information. Students were rarely required to criticize an

readers’ needs or revise based on feedback. Furthermore, according to a survey

of mechanics in providing ideas related to a certain topic.

College Students of MinSU Bongabong Campus are incapable of expressing

and syntax to unclear organization to weak reasoning and arguments. Moreover,

provide support as students continue to hone their skills.

The researchers were interested in identifying difficulties in English writing

based on the writer's experience as a fourth-year English student at Mindoro State

inspired to conduct research in order to discover the students' problems in writing.

among Third Year ELT Students of MinSU Bongabong Campus.

Specifically, it sought to answer the following questions:

1. What are the difficulties encountered by the respondents in terms of:

1.2 Writing Styles;

1.3 Writing Techniques; and

1.4 Writing Mechanics

2.2 Writing Styles;

2.3 Writing Techniques; and

2.4 Writing Mechanics?

performance of the students in writing skills?

Statement of the Hypothesis

level of performance of the students in English writing skills.

Scope and Limitation and Delimitation of the Study

This study focusses on difficulties encountered in English writing skills of 30

students of BSE-ELT III for Academic Year 2021-2022.

The difficulties encountered in English writing skills in MinSU – Bongabong