Chapter 3

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

In reporting the results, the researchers stayed close to the statistical findings without

drawing broader implications or meaning from them. Further, this section includes summaries of

the data rather than the raw data (e.g., the actual scores for individuals). A results section

includes tables, figures, and detailed explanations about the statistical results.

Table 1

Mean and Standard Deviation Interpretation of the Perceived Challenges and Needs in Writing

in terms of the Writing Experience of the Junior High School Students

Items/Statements

N M VD SD

I have…

1. previous experiences of writing academic texts. 52 3.04 A 0.63

2. prior familiarity on how to systematically arrange the 52 3.08 A 0.59

ideas when writing a literary work.

3. already joined to academic activities that are related to 52 2.67 A 0.88

writing.

4. enjoyable experiences when I am writing literary 52 2.85 A 0.87

pieces such as essays, poems, critique papers,

analyses, etc.

Overall Mean 52 2.91 A 0.74

Legend: Rating scale Verbal Description (VD)
3.26 – 4.00 Strongly Agree (SA)
2.51 – 3.25. Agree (A)
1.76 – 2.50 Disagree (D)
1.00 – 1.75 Strongly Disagree (SD)
 Table 1 presents the perceived challenges and needs in writing in terms of the writing

experience of the Grade 10 Junior High School students based on their self-assessment. Based on

the data, the second statement “I have prior familiarity on how to systematically arrange the

ideas when writing a literary work,” got the highest mean (M=3.08, SD=0.59, N=52) verbally

interpreted as “Agree”. The first statement “I have previous experiences of writing academic

texts,” got the second highest mean (M=3.04, SD=0.63, N=52), also verbally interpreted as

“Agree”. The third statement, “I have already joined to academic activities that are related to

writing,” (M=2.67, SD=0.88, N=52), and the fourth statement “I have enjoyable experiences

when I am writing literary pieces such as essays, poems, critique papers, analyses, etc.,”

(M=2.85, SD=0.87, N=52) were both rated as “Agree”.

When interpreted, this means that many of the Grade 10 students in the four sections

agreed that they had previous experiences of writing academic texts. Furthermore, this indicates

that the respondents perceived that they have acquired the skills in logical presentation of ideas

when writing a literary work.

The overall mean (M=2.91, SD=0.074, N=52) with a verbal description of Agree,

indicates that the participants were given enough opportunities to write in their classes. Writing

activities were utilized by the teachers as a form of assessment, thus, they were given ample

experiences when it comes to writing. This means that the students might have acquired the

learning or the essential knowledge of having efficient experience when it comes to writing

academic texts.

In a study conducted by Picou (2020) entitled "Are Schools Making Writing Priority?",

they revealed that only about 25 percent of middle school learners and 31 percent of students in

high school write in a span of only 30 minutes a day, meeting the standard of the experts.
However, a high number of students did not meet this standard because 33 percent of middle

school students and 34 percent of high schoolers were writing for up to 15 minutes a day. This

indicates that some of the students were achieving the right amount of writing experience while

others were having difficulty attaining involvement.

Table 2

Mean and Standard Deviation Interpretation of the Perceived Challenges and Needs in Writing

in terms of the Topic Knowledge of the Junior High School Students

Items/Statements N M VD SD

I can…

1. easily understand the topics that are stated by the teacher 52 2.96 A 0.77

or in the book.

2. understand the content more accurately when I have 52 3.21 A 0.61

knowledge about the topic.

3. understand the topic, whether in Filipino or English. 52 3.19 A 0.72

4. use reading comprehension to understand a certain topic. 52 3.19 A 0.72

5. use some cognitive skills whenever I am reading and 52 3.02 A 0.70

understanding topics.

Overall Mean 52 3.11 A 0.70

Legend: Rating scale Verbal Description (VD)
3.26 – 4.00 Strongly Agree (SA)
2.51 – 3.25. Agree (A)
1.76 – 2.50 Disagree (D)
1.00 – 1.75 Strongly Disagree (SD)

Table 2 presents the perceived challenges and needs in writing in terms of the topic

knowledge of the Junior High School students based on their self-assessment. Based on the data,

the second statement “I can understand the content more accurately when I have knowledge

about the topic,” got the highest mean (M=3.21, SD=0.61, N=52) verbally interpreted as
“Agree”. The third statement, “I can understand the topic, whether in Filipino or English,”

(M=3.19, SD=0.72, N=52), and the fourth statement, “I can use reading comprehension to

understand a certain topic,” (M=3.19, SD=0.72, N=52) got the second highest means that were

both interpreted as “Agree”. The fifth statement, “I can use some cognitive skills whenever I am

reading and understanding topics,” (M=3.02, SD=0.70, N=52) was verbally interpreted as

“Agree”, and lastly, the first statement, “I can easily understand the topics that are stated by the

teacher or in the book,” (M=2.96, SD=0.77, N=52), which is verbally rated as “Agree”.

When interpreted, this means that many of the Grade 10 students in the four sections

agreed that they have efficient knowledge and could easily understand a topic. Moreover, they

have the ability to apply their learning about reading comprehension and cognitive skills to

analyze and understand a certain topic.

The overall mean (M=3.11, SD=0.70, N=52) with a verbal description of Agree, indicates

that the Grade 10 respondents experienced lesser challenges in terms of their topic knowledge.

This means that the students might have acquired the essential knowledge of learning how to

understand and analyze a topic, which was one of the factors that could contribute to their

difficulties in writing.

In research conducted by Proske and Kapp (2013) entitled “Fostering topic knowledge:

Essential for academic writing”, the results of the study revealed that learning and understanding

topic texts and studying questions caused in text products with enhanced readability and partly

better accuracy and coverage of content. This indicates that studying more about topic

knowledge could improve the learners’ ability to write and effectively understand a written

output.

Table 3
Mean and Standard Deviation Interpretation of the Perceived Challenges and Needs in Writing

in terms of the Linguistic Knowledge of the Junior High School Students

Items/Statements N M VD SD
I have…/I know…/I can…
1. prior knowledge about the uses of different citation styles 52 2.50 D 0.75
such as APA, MLA, Chicago/Turabian style, etc.
2. prior knowledge of the strategies that could help me gather 52 2.96 A 0.63
reliable references when writing.
3. how to use citations whenever I collect data from
primary/secondary sources. 52 2.83 A 0.71
4. how to paraphrase texts with correct grammar and without 52 3.06 A 0.75
forgetting to include all the important ideas.
5. easily make a grammatically correct sentence regardless of
thinking carefully about the right writing mechanics (e.g. 52 2.90 A 0.63
capitalization, punctuation, and spelling).
6. easily organize the ideas in a paragraph. 52 2.87 A 0.77
7. write essays easily. 52 2.58 A 0.80
8. use transitional devices correctly when I am writing 52 3.02 A 0.58
literary works (e.g. also, besides, furthermore, however,
still, therefore, hence, etc).
9. express the emotions, ideas, and information clearly when 52 3.02 A 0.78
writing.
10. strengthen my claims and arguments with valid and 52 3.15 A 0.67
reliable data.
11. analyze an academic text and make a critique/summary 52 2.96 A 0.74
about it.
Overall Mean 52 2.90 A 0.71
Legend: Rating scale Verbal Description (VD)
3.26 – 4.00 Strongly Agree (SA)
2.51 – 3.25. Agree (A)
1.76 – 2.50 Disagree (D)
1.00 – 1.75 Strongly Disagree (SD)
 Table 3 presents the perceived challenges and needs in writing in terms of the linguistic

knowledge of the Grade 10 Junior High School students based on their self-assessment. Based on

the data, the tenth statement, “I can strengthen my claims and arguments with valid and reliable

data,” got the highest mean (M=3.15, SD=0.67, N=52) verbally interpreted as “Agree”. The

fourth statement, “I know how to paraphrase texts with correct grammar and without forgetting

to include all the important ideas,” got the second highest mean (M=3.06, SD=0.75, N=52) also

verbally interpreted as “Agree”. Ten out of the eleven statements in this area of writing were

rated as “Agree,” while the other one, which is the first statement, was rated as “Disagree.”

When interpreted, this means that many of the Grade 10 students in the four sections

agreed that they had prior knowledge about the factors that could affect their linguistic ability.

However, there were also learners who did not have a proper understanding about the uses of the

different citation styles that were needed for the attainment of reliability of the academic texts

that they were writing.

The overall mean of (M=2.90, SD=0.71, N=52) with a verbal description of Agree,

indicates that many of the Grade 10 participants experienced lesser challenges in terms of their

linguistic knowledge. This means that the learners might have acquired knowledge or attained

learning on how they could improve their grammar and their ability to follow different writing

mechanics. Moreover, it means that the participants might also develop their knowledge about

the different strategies to make a text reliable and concise.

According to a study conducted by Razi and Grenfell (2013) about the impact of

linguistic knowledge on learner strategy deployment, the results revealed that in spite of the

weak linguistic knowledge of the students, they were still able to use strategies to cope with the

challenges. Moreover, the students who have developed vocabulary and widened their
understanding about this area of writing could easily employ different techniques and strategies

to successfully create and comprehend the text that they had written.

Table 4 presents the perceived challenges and needs in writing in terms of the writing

strategies of the Grade 10 Junior High School students based on their self-assessment.

Table 4

Mean and Standard Deviation Interpretation of the Perceived Challenges and Needs in Writing

in terms of the Writing Strategies of the Junior High School Students

Items/Statements

I can… N M VD SD

1. write a simple yet meaningful texts. 52 3.02 A 0.61

2. use figurative speech effectively (e.g. simile, 52 3.00 A 0.74

metaphor, personification, hyperbole, idiom, etc).

3. outline my paragraphs and ideas whenever I write 52 2.92 A 0.71

essays.

4. use important key terms consistently when writing 52 3.21 A 0.70

texts.

5. I know how to use simple and sophisticated language 52 2.94 A 0.67

in writing academic and literary works.

Overall Mean 52 3.01 A 0.69

Legend: Rating scale Verbal Description (VD)
3.26 – 4.00 Strongly Agree (SA)
2.51 – 3.25. Agree (A)
1.76 – 2.50 Disagree (D)
1.00 – 1.75 Strongly Disagree (SD)

Table 4 presents the perceived challenges and needs in writing in terms of the writing

strategies of the Grade 10 Junior High School students based on their self-assessment. Based on

the data, the fourth statement, “I can use important key terms consistently when writing texts,”
got the highest mean (M=3.21, SD=0.70, N=52), verbally interpreted as “Agree”. The first

statement, “I can write a simple yet meaningful texts”, (M=3.02, SD=0.61, N=52), and the

second statement, “I can use figurative speech effectively (e.g. simile, metaphor, personification,

hyperbole, idiom, etc),” (M=3.00, SD=0.74, N=52), were both interpreted as “Agree”. The fifth

statement, “I know how to use simple and sophisticated language in writing academic and

literary works,” (M=2.94, SD=0.67, N=52), and the third statement, “I can outline my

paragraphs and ideas whenever I write essays,” (M=2.92, SD=0.71, N=52), were also both

verbally rated as “Agree”. All statements in this area of writing were rated as “Agree”. When

interpreted, this means that many of the Grade 10 students in the four sections agreed that they

use writing strategies to produce excellent written outputs.

The overall mean of (M=3.01, SD=0.69, N=52) with a verbal description as “Agree”,

indicates that the Grade 10 respondents experienced lesser challenges in terms of their writing

strategies. This means that the learners might have the ability to create meaningful texts by using

figurative speech, sophisticated language, and more with the help of different writing strategies

and techniques to produce both academic and literary work.

According to a study conducted by Urbano et al. (2021) entitled “Reading and Writing

Needs of Senior High School Students: The Case of Filipino Students in The Philippines”, the

research revealed that many students have sufficient knowledge with writing strategies and

planning, which was mirrored by the results of 61 percent of the learners who find it easier to

plan first before creating a sentence or phrase and 55 percent of them agreeing that they could

revise their own written text, although writing strategies still needed to be followed through since

the rest of the population in the study was reflected with a percentage of 39% and 40%.

Table 5
Mean and Standard Deviation of the Perceived Challenges and Needs in Writing of the Junior

High School Students

Areas

N M VD SD

1. Writing Experience 52 2.91 A 0.74

2. Topic Knowledge 52 3.11 A 0.70

3. Linguistic Knowledge 52 2.90 A 0.71

4. Writing Strategies 52 3.01 A 0.69

Overall Mean 52 2.98 A 0.71

Legend: Rating scale Verbal Description (VD)
3.26 – 4.00 Strongly Agree (SA)
2.51 – 3.25. Agree (A)
1.76 – 2.50 Disagree (D)
1.00 – 1.75 Strongly Disagree (SD)

The table 5 shows the overall mean of each writing area relative to the perception of the

challenges and needs in writing of the Grade 10 high school students. Based on the data, Topic

Knowledge got the highest mean of (M=3.11, SD=0.70, N=52), verbally interpreted as Agree.

The second area was the Writing Strategies, which has the second highest mean of (M=3.01,

SD=0.69, N=52), interpreted verbally as Agree. Thirdly, Writing Experience got the mean of

(M=2.91, SD=0.74, N=52), which was verbally interpreted as Agree. Lastly, the Linguistic

Knowledge, got the lowest mean of (M=2.90, SD=0.71, N=52), which was verbally interpreted

as Agree.

The overall mean of (M=2.98, SD=0.71, N=52), with a verbal interpretation of Agree,

shows that the Grade 10 respondents often encountered difficulties in these four areas of writing:

Writing Experience, Topic Knowledge, Linguistic Knowledge and Writing Strategies. This

indicates that some of the Grade 10 students have insufficient experience in writing literary
pieces, knowledge about the different topics on every minor and major subject, knowledge in

using writing mechanics to write grammatically correct sentences and create valid and

plagiarism-free academic writings, and experience in using different writing strategies and

techniques.

Based on the data above, the primary needs of the Grade 10 students in terms of writing

were focused on the area of Linguistic Knowledge which got the mean of (M=2.90, SD=0.71,

N=52), verbally interpreted as Agree. This simply indicates that the students had less

understanding and knowledge about the uses of different types of citation styles such as APA,

MLA, Chicago/Turabian style, etc., based on the statement that got the lowest mean in the

questionnaire that was focused on the said area. It also means that they did not have efficient

knowledge about the correct writing of academic and literary work since they did not have

enough understanding on how to write simple sentences and paragraphs that were grammatically

correct, to write an essay easily, to gather data from both primary and secondary sources, to

organize ideas in a paragraph, and to use strategies that could help them find reliable references.

In addition, the students also have essential needs in terms of their Writing Experience,

which has a mean of 2.91 (Agree). Based on the questionnaire some of the students confirmed

that they barely had an experience joining academic activities related to writing. It also implies

that these students also had no enjoyable experiences when they were writing literary pieces such

as essays, poems, critique papers, analyses, etc. In general, this could also mean that some of the

Grade 10 students were not focusing on having experiences in terms of writing different written

work to improve their ability of creating credible and great outputs, even though the school was

continuously providing enough activities that could develop this certain area of writing.
 In a study conducted by Urbano et al. (2021) about the reading and writing needs of

Senior High School students, the results revealed that the main difficulties of the learners in

writing were focused on their lack of topic-relevant background knowledge because of poor

reading comprehension, insufficient understanding and practice of writing with proper citation,

incorrect grammar, shallow vocabulary, and insufficient skills in creating diverse patterns of

development, such as comparison and contrast, definition, description, narration, etc. These are

the fundamental skills in making effective written outputs, which are crucial in several fields.

Table 6

Mean and Standard Deviation Interpretation of the Perceived Challenges and Needs in Writing

Items/Statements N M VD SD
1. I find writing simple sentences difficult. 52 2.56 A 0.85
2. Writing with correct grammar is difficult for me. 52 2.63 A 0.77
3. I find organizing a simple outline hard to do. 52 2.54 A 0.75
4. It is difficult for me to make a concise yet meaningful 52 2.48 D 0.85
written text.
5. Expressing my feelings through writing is hard for me. 52 2.48 D 0.75
6. I do not spend much time in understanding topics because 52 2.33 D 0.83
of laziness.
7. I do not usually join to writing activities that can develop 52 2.52 A 0.83
my writing skills.
8. Writing an essay is challenging for me. 52 2.81 A 0.84
9. I do not know how to strengthen my claims with valid and 52 2.37 D 0.74
reliable data.
10. Learning correct grammar, punctuation, and margins is 52 2.54 A 0.83
difficult for me.
Overall Mean 52 2.53 A 0.80
Legend: Rating scale Verbal Description (VD)
3.26 – 4.00 Strongly Agree (SA)
2.51 – 3.25. Agree (A)
1.76 – 2.50 Disagree (D)
1.00 – 1.75 Strongly Disagree (SD)
 Table 6 presents the perceived challenges and needs in writing of the Grade 10 students

toward writing based on their self-assessment. Based on the data, the eight statement, “Writing

an essay is challenging for me,” got the highest mean (M=2.81, SD=0.84, N=52), which verbally

rated as “Agree”. The second statement, “Writing using proper and correct grammar is difficult

for me,” (M=2.63, SD=0.77, N=52), and the first statement, “I find writing simple sentences

difficult,” (M=2.56, SD=0.85, N=52), were both verbally interpreted as “Agree”.

Six out of the ten statements in terms of the perceptions of the students toward writing

were rated as “Agree,” while the other four were rated as “Disagree.” When interpreted, this

means that many of the Grade 10 learners in the four sections agreed that writing simple

sentences, using proper and correct grammar, organizing simple outline, writing an essay, and

learning correct grammar, punctuation, and margins were difficult for them. Other students

disagreed that it is difficult for them to make a concise yet meaningful written text and express

their feelings through writing. Moreover, they also disagreed that they do not spend much time in

understanding topics because of laziness and do not know how to strengthen their claims with

valid and reliable data.

The overall mean of (M=2.53, SD=0.80, N=52), with a verbal description of Agree,

indicates that the Grade 10 participants experienced difficulties based on their perceptions

toward writing. This means that most of the students had undergone from different challenges in

terms of the four different areas of this skill, which were writing experience, topic knowledge,

linguistic knowledge, and writing strategies, that significantly affected their ability to improve

and develop their writing skills.

According to a study conducted by Khadawardi (2022) about the Saudi learners’

perceptions of academic writing challenges and general attitude towards writing in English, he
revealed that learners were likely to perceive academic writing as challenging. This specifies that

if a learner did not attain the right and sufficient understanding and knowledge about writing, he

could continuously face difficulties when it comes to different types of this skill, such as literary

and academic writing.