WELCOME TO KENTERPRO:
EFFECTIVENESS OF POST-WRITING ACTIVITIES ON THE ACHIEVEMENT OF STUDENTS IN COMPOSITION WRITING IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN BOKKOS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Writing is a medium of communication that involves the representation of written symbols. It is said to be a very productive skill as different writers put their creative ideas and thoughts in written form. Gonzalez, as cited in Maolida and Musbika (2018), emphasises that writing is a cognitive activity which requires the writer the enablement to control several variables simultaneously. Thus, writing is a tool which can be used for encrypting and expressing individual thought and personal experiences that can eventually be retrieved and interpreted over time. At the level of narrative discourse, the process of writing involves gaining conscious control of content, format, sentence structure, vocabulary, spelling and letter formation. Thus, for one to be considered a good writer should be able to effectively structure and integrate various bits of information into cohesive and coherent sentences, paragraphs and meaningful texts. For Anyebe (2017) composition writing is an artistic medium through which human beings are able to develop ideas to produce different types of literary and scholarly documents pertaining to different spheres of life. In other words, writing can be viewed as an integral part of man’s desire to express himself and communicate with others who are not present with him. Therefore, writing is the process of human interconnection which is considered an imperative skill for good and successful language development.

Flower and Hayes, as cited in Din, Abdlatip and Ismail (2021), enumerates the components and stages that can help teachers to guide the students in composition writing process, namely, planning, drafting, revising, editing, proofreading, evaluating in a feedback loop. These can be completed by students to facilitating a proper understanding of the inherent dynamics of writing as a cognitive process. Flower and Hayes, as cited in Milaham (2023), additionally characterizes writing as a nonlinear, explanatory and generative process in which student-writers seek to discover and reformulate ideas as they strive to appropriate different types of meaning. In doing so, writing further allows them to be responsible for their own tasks and, at the same time, enabling them to identify and continuously benefit from their teachers’ corrections of errors pointed out in the course of their classroom writing tasks.

Writing could be perceived as a complex process that requires the acquisition of skills that have mental, psychological, rhetorical and critical dimensions. This is because writing, as defined by Epale (2020), is a system of written symbols which represents the sounds, syllables or words of a language. Writing also requires different mechanisms as; capitalization, spelling, and punctuation, word form and function. These convey the meaning of written statement or utterance clearly. As earlier mentioned, writing is the ability not only to put ideas from the mind to paper, but generally used to demonstrate and convey accumulated knowledge and mastery of curriculum content in all subject areas. Writing across the curriculum demands conscious intellectual effort which has become prevalent to be, as subjects like; Mathematics, performance Arts, and Sciences which were devoid of written expressions now use writing skills more effectively.

According to German and Welsheten, as cited in Hyland (2022), composition is “the production and arrangement of written sentence in a manner appropriate to the purpose(s) of the writer and the function of what is written”. This suggests that composition writing is a complex activity requiring a variety of skills. Hyland (2022) also states that composition is any organized, self-contained piece of writing intended for special purposes such as writing assignments where it usually means a self-conscious process in which students may make thoughtful decisions concerning what they say, and how to organize and develop their ideas. Ongwu (2015) argues that in addition to believing that writing composition is a natural gift, many people falsely believed that composition writing should flow in a sample, straight line from the writer’s head on to the written page. This implies that composition writing is seldom an easy, one step journey in which a finished paper comes out in a first draft, it can be deduced that, writing a composition is a process of discovery that involves a series of stages, and these stages(pre writing stage is considered the planning stage, it require critical thinking to brainstorm and generate adequate ideas for the whole writing process, the drafting stage denotes giving the composition its content and form, while the revising  stage is concerned with reconstructing a text for efficiency). These process writing stages are very often a zigzag or recursive in nature, whereby a writer revisits the stages of writing an indefinite number of times until there is satisfaction.

In addition, (Orju, 2015) describes the three preliminary tasks in which students would need to engage in before they start composition writing proper. These pre-writing tasks often involve trying to string their ideas into sentences, followed by attempting to organise such sentences into paragraphs to produce larger narrative texts. Thereafter, student-writers aim at engaging in post-writing exercises that would involve polishing their final composition texts by revising and making changes that are necessary to make the meanings of the generated ideas clearer to an intended reader. In addition, post writing also involves editing, which is an act of correcting, condensing, or modifying the written composition before submission or publishing to produce a final copy that is accurate, authentic and consistent. Again, post writing involves proofreading, which is careful reading of a composition, students need to read and re-read every word, phrase, clause, sentence, or paragraph they have written with specific intention to find errors. This description of composition writing process seems complete because it includes all the requirements of the activity of writing. This implies that the finished product should aim at achieving average levels of coherence, originality and creativity; thus, it should be capable of capturing and projecting own original their ideas, views or opinions in a clear and understandable fashion.

The basic components of post-writing activities which students are expected to master in order to enhance their competence in writing composition include revising, editing, proofreading and publishing. Revising as a post writing activity is where students make changes, they feel are necessary to the composition writing. They can add phrases that would make the composition flow as well as eliminate unnecessary or redundant details, which can help make the meaning of the generated ideas clear and easier for the reader to understand. Editing (whether peer-editing or self-editing), on the other hand, is basically aimed at correcting, condensing, or modifying the written composition before submission or publishing. This is done to produce a final written composition that is accurate, authentic and consistent to the best of the students’ ability. Proofreading is also one of the post-writing activities which have to do with reading over the composition to check spelling, vocabulary and grammar errors. During proofreading, students required re-read every word in a completed composition text in order to ensure that the sentences it contains make overall sense. This makes composition writing a complex activity that both students and teachers have to often grapple with. Thus, it requires the deployment of considerable cognitive abilities by the average student-writer; often involving the use of such inherent mental skills as reflection, revision, editing, and proofreading which are designed to improve the final communicative impact of a finished composition text.

 However, many students are often faced with difficulties in learning how to become efficient composition writers due to different reasons. Some of the these include their inadequate mastery of the basic rudiments of English tenses and grammar; inability to generate and deploy creative ideas which are required for effective narrative composition; inadequate teaching exposure by inexperienced teachers who teach composition writing as a product rather than a process; students’ poor attitude to standard composition writing as a result of increasing exposure to and familiarity with social media short text messaging (SMS) ; limited vocabulary mastery or inappropriate use of specialised vocabulary, etc (Sawat, Uttah, Anjum Bhuttah, 2011).

Having established the significance of post-writing activities and in order to correct the anomaly often observed in students’ composition as stated above, the present study is aimed at  investigating the effects of post-writing activities, namely, revising, editing and proofreading based on content, organization of ideas, and mechanics on composition writing achievement of SSII students in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State, Nigeria and to make necessary recommendation(s) that would help students to considerably improve on their current levels of achievement in composition writing.

1.2       STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The study focuses on the importance of composition writing as an essential skill for ESL learners, particularly in Nigerian senior secondary schools. The researcher identifies several challenges faced by students in writing compositions, such as difficulties in idea generation, sentence construction, sentence structure, content control, format, vocabulary, spelling, punctuation, and revision. These challenges have a negative impact on students’ performance in internal and external examinations. Despite various interventions, including workshops and training for teachers, the failure rate in composition writing remains high. The researcher expresses concern that if these issues are not addressed, it may lead to increased denial of admission into tertiary institutions and poor writing proficiency among students. Therefore, the study aims to investigate the effect of post-writing activities, such as revising, editing, and proofreading, on students’ achievement in composition writing in Bokkos LGA, Plateau State, Nigeria.

1.3       AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The aim of this study is to ascertain the effects of post-writing activities on SS II students’ achievement in composition writing in Bokkos Local Government Area, Plateau State, Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study are to:

1. Determine the achievement mean score of SSII students in revising of composition in the experimental and control groups.
2. Ascertain the achievement mean score of SSII students in editing of composition in the experimental and control groups.
3. Establish the achievement mean scores of SSII students in proofreading of composition in the experimental and control groups. 

1.4       RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions are posed to guide the study:

1. What are the pre-test and post-test achievement mean scores of SSII students in revising composition in the experiment and control groups?
2. What are the pre-test and post- test achievement mean scores in editing of composition in the experimental and control groups?
3. What is the achievement mean scores of SSII students in proofreading of composition in the experimental and control groups?

1.5       HYPOTHESES 

     The following hypotheses will be tested at 0.05 level of significance in this study:

1. There will be no significant difference between the post-test achievement mean score of SSII students in revising composition in the experimental and control groups. 
2. There will be no significant difference between the post-test achievement mean score of SSII experimental and control groups of SS II students in editing composition in the experimental and control groups.
3. There will be no significant difference between the post-test achievement mean score of SSII students in proofreading composition in the experimental and control groups.

1.6       SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The beneficiaries of the would include:

Students: The primary beneficiaries of the study are the students themselves. By implementing effective post-writing activities, students can improve their composition writing skills, including organization, content development, grammar, and mechanics. This will enhance their overall academic performance and increase their chances of success in internal and external examinations.

Teachers: The study findings can provide valuable insights to English language teachers in senior secondary schools. Teachers can gain a better understanding of the importance of post-writing activities and how to effectively integrate them into their teaching practices. The study can guide teachers in developing appropriate instructional strategies and materials to support students’ composition writing skills.

School Administrators: School administrators can utilize the study results to inform curriculum development and instructional planning. They can identify areas of improvement in composition writing instruction and allocate resources to provide professional development opportunities for teachers. The study can help administrators in making informed decisions regarding teaching methodologies and interventions to enhance students’ composition writing achievement.

Educational Researchers: The study contributes to the existing body of knowledge in the field of composition writing instruction. Educational researchers can use the findings as a basis for further research and exploration in related areas. The study provides insights into the effectiveness of post-writing activities, contributing to the broader understanding of effective pedagogical approaches in English language education.

Policy Makers and Curriculum Planners: The study can inform policy makers and curriculum planners in designing guidelines and frameworks for English language instruction. The findings can influence policies related to the teaching and assessment of composition writing skills in senior secondary schools. The study can contribute to the development of evidence-based practices and initiatives aimed at improving students’ language proficiency.

Parents and Guardians: The study’s outcomes can benefit parents and guardians by providing them with information about effective strategies to support their children’s composition writing development. Parents can collaborate with teachers and reinforce post-writing activities at home, thereby fostering a positive learning environment and enhancing their children’s writing abilities.

1.7       THEORETICAL/CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

The Cognitive Process Approach (CPA) theory of writing can serve as a theoretical framework for studying the effectiveness of post-writing activities on students’ achievement in composition writing in senior secondary schools in Bokkos Local Government Area.

The CPA theory emphasizes the cognitive processes involved in writing, including planning, translating, and reviewing. According to this theory, writing is a complex cognitive task that requires students to generate ideas, organize them coherently, and revise their work for clarity and coherence. The theory posits that effective writing instruction should focus on developing students’ cognitive processes and metacognitive awareness.

In the context of the study, the CPA theory provides a framework for understanding how post-writing activities can enhance students’ achievement in composition writing. These activities involve reflective processes, such as revising, editing, and proofreading, which align with the reviewing phase of the writing process outlined by the CPA theory. Through post-writing activities, students have the opportunity to engage in metacognitive reflection, evaluate their own writing, and make improvements based on feedback and self-assessment.

The CPA theory also emphasizes the importance of explicit instruction and scaffolding in the writing process. Teachers can provide explicit guidance on the strategies and skills involved in post-writing activities, such as effective revision techniques and editing strategies. By providing scaffolding support, teachers can help students develop their metacognitive awareness and self-regulation skills, enabling them to become more proficient writers.

Furthermore, the CPA theory recognizes the role of feedback in the writing process. Post-writing activities often involve peer feedback and teacher feedback, which align with the cognitive processes of evaluation and monitoring outlined in the CPA theory. Feedback provides students with valuable information about the strengths and weaknesses of their writing, helping them make informed revisions and improvements.

By adopting the CPA theory as the theoretical framework, the study can investigate how post-writing activities, rooted in the cognitive processes of planning, translating, and reviewing, contribute to students’ achievement in composition writing. The theory provides a lens through which to analyze the specific cognitive and metacognitive strategies employed by students during post-writing activities and their impact on writing outcomes. It also guides the design and implementation of effective instructional practices that support students’ cognitive processes and metacognitive development in composition writing.

1.8       SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope of the study focuses on investigating the awareness and implementation of current methods and strategies related to post-writing activities, specifically revising, editing, and proofreading, and their impact on the achievement levels of SSII (Senior Secondary II) students in composition writing. The study excludes the first two stages of the composition writing process and does not assess students’ achievement in reading, speaking, or listening. The chosen sample is limited to SSII students due to their cognitive development stage and lack of external examinations during that time. The study is geographically limited to Bokkos Local Government Area in Plateau State, Nigeria, and is conducted in public secondary schools to address observed underperformance in composition writing in recent years. The aim is to enhance effective composition writing by promoting process-based approaches, strategies, and techniques among English teachers in these schools.

1.9       OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

The following terms used in the study are defined operationally:

Achievement: This refers to the level of literary performance of Senior Secondary School students in composition writing as measured by a scale as follows: 0-39 (fail), 40-49 (Pass), 50-59 (Good), 60-69 (Very Good), and 70-above (Excellent).

Composition: This refers to the act of putting ideas, and words together into sentences and paragraphs to communicate the ideas to an imagined audience, on a given topic in writing in the class.

Composition writing: This refers to the totality of the cognitive activities implemented by student-writers in generating, outlining and organising relevant ideas, coherent sentences, and developing cohesive paragraphs in a piece of written composition.