Common writing problems and writing self-efficacy among freshman college students from three (3) major universities in Metro Manila: An exploratory study

• Main Author: Ramos, Eduardo Teodoro Bañez, Jr.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2015
• Subjects: English language—Writing; Language and Literacy Education
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/5145
• Institution: De La Salle University

E. Teodoro Ramos, Jr.s MA thesis is an exploratory study on college freshmens writing problems in relation to their attitudes towards writing. The writing problems that were explored were the following, as identified by Yates and Kenkel (2002): a) Surface writing problems and b) Global writing problems. The problems were found in the essays of the participants. In conjunction with the writing problems that the author identified, attitudes towards checking and revising ones work, towards writing, and towards receiving feedback on ones writing were also identified through the writing attitude scale adopted from Erkan and Saban (2011) and re-worded by the researcher to suit the Philippine college context. The results of the study revealed that the majority of the writing problems were surface problems, particularly those related to verbs, nouns, and prepositions. As for writing attitudes, the participants of the study generally manifested positive attitudes, especially in terms of their beliefs in their writing skills, their willingness to re-edit their work when necessary, and their acceptance of feedback. Two of the pedagogical implications that have arisen from this study are the intensive teaching of writing fundamentals and the implementation of writing workshops. One of the recommendations for further research is the utilization of other major universities, especially those located in other metropolitan areas in the country, in order to have a more thorough exploration of Filipino freshman students writing problems.