A Study of English Writing Skills of Master of Arts Second Year Students at Faculty of Education in Mahachulalonkornrajavidylaya University
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This study investigated the English writing skills of second-year Master of Arts students at the Faculty of Education, Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, and explored solutions to the problems they encountered in academic English writing. The study employed a descriptive research approach using a five-point Likert-scale questionnaire administered to 31 second-year students and in-depth interviews with five purposively selected key informants. The quantitative data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation, while the qualitative information from the interviews was synthesized descriptively.
The findings revealed that the students experienced English writing problems at a moderate level, with an overall mean score of 3.23 (S.D. = 1.066). The most prominent difficulties concerned developing specific reasons, examples, and supporting details for topic sentences, using sufficient evidence to support main ideas, selecting appropriate topic sentences, and varying sentence length and structure. Regarding solutions to these problems, the students reported a high level of ability, with an overall mean score of 3.58 (S.D. = 0.940). Most students indicated that they were able to organize evidence, use transitions and connecting words, apply appropriate grammar and punctuation, develop paragraphs, revise and edit their writing, and use strategies to overcome writing difficulties. However, moderate levels remained in logically organizing supporting materials and revising and editing sentences to make them effective and error-free.
The study suggests that students should place greater emphasis on the writing process, particularly content organization, coherence, revision, and sentence-level editing. Regular writing practice, together with constructive feedback from teachers and peers, may further strengthen students’ academic English writing skills.
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