Investigating the Effect of Progressive Writing Program on Enhancing University Students Descriptive Essay

Abstract

The current study investigated the effect of the progressive writing program on enhancing the students' essay writing skill. The study adopted an analytical and descriptive methodology, using two tools: two tests (pretest and posttest) and a questionnaire. The subjects were randomly selected from the second year students majoring in English at the college of Sciences and Arts of Jouf University in Gurayat. Students were subjected to a pretest at the beginning of the course and a posttest after treatment to find out whether the intervention has made a difference in the subjects’ performance. A questionnaire for the instructors was also administered to find out about the students' attitudes towards essay writing from instructor’ prospective. A statistical package was used for data analysis and interpretation. The findings showed a noticeable improvement in the students’ performance after the intervention. These finding indicate a positive impact of the progressive writing program on enhancing the subjects’ essay writing skill. Interestingly, the results of the instructors’ questionnaire about the students’ attitudes towards writing was positive though this finding was in line with the subjects’ actual performance in the pretest. Based on these findings, the study recommends that Instructors should run the writing process completely in the class, monitor their students, check assignments and give feedback. They should also follow up their students and keep giving them feedback.