- A STUDY ON “ USING GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO TEACH WRITING FOR CLASS 10V” TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1.1 Rationale 1.2.Purpose of the study 1.2.1 Hypothesesof the study 1.2.2 Research Questions 1.2.3 Significance of the Study Literature review 2.1 Theoretical considerations 2.2 The reality of teaching and learning writing at Son La specialized high school Methodology Section 3.1 Participants and setting 3.2 Data sources and research material 3.3 Data collection procedure: Research Schedule: Intervention 4.1.1 Pre – intervention 4.1.2 Intervention 4.1.3 Post – Intervention Applications of the study in the Units Findings Closing Remark References Appendix Introduction 1.1 Rationale In the process of globalization, English plays an important role in enhancing economy, politics, culture and international relations between many countries Therefore, there is a great demand for teaching and learning English in the world as well as in Viet Nam English users today focus more on the ability to communicate in spoken and written languages However, according to Trang and Baldoff (2007), the education quality has not met the society’s expectation because mostly high-school graduates cannot communicate in English effectively in both oral and written forms Under the urgent demand of improving the qu lity, Vietn m’s English l ngu ge te ching h s recently undergone a comprehensive reform Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training has issued a new set of textbook for high school students in order to develop students’ communic tive competence he new textbook displ ys two new teaching approaches They are learner- centered and communicative ppro ches owever, reg rding Vietn m’s context, the ch nge will cre te lot of difficulties to teachers of English who are too familiar to the old teaching methods, especially in teaching writing skill, which seems to be the most difficult work in teaching English At Son La high school for gifted students, teaching writing skills is really a big challenge One of the major reasons for students' low performance in writing; however, is the traditional methods adopted to teach this skill In fact teaching writing in this part of the word does not go far beyond "the teacher assigns a topic, the students write and the teacher evaluates and (at his/her best) provides feedback"(Marshi&Henatabad, 2011 p.79 ) Such an approach to teaching writing, in the researchers' point of view, is very unproductive and demotivating It induces the learners to develop negative attitudes towards writing To make teaching writing more fruitful and less boring, more modern innovative techniques such as graphic organizers are worth considering and being utilized in teaching English writing Another problem is the students’ low level of English proficiency That is why they find it difficult to write Moreover, lack of motivation also faces the students They often get bored and indifferent in the writing lessons In my opinion, the current problem must be worked out and appropriate teaching techniques should be made Up to present, a few researches have been carried out on the teaching of writing for students in Son La As a teacher of English, who is aware of the fact, I wish to contribute some suggestions for possible improvements in the teaching and learning of writing skill by the means of graphic organizers 1.2 Purpose of the study In response to the problem of student' insufficient writing ability, comes this research as an attempt to determine whether using graphic organizers helps to improve Son La high school for gifted students' writing performance as measured by scores from a modified writing proficiency rubric developed by The Georgia Department of Education (2008) This research also intends to see how the use of such techniques impacts the students' attitudes towards writing 1.2.1 Hypotheses of the study Through the use of graphic organizers to teach writing, it is hypothesized that: 1.2.1.1 Students' writing performance will improve significantly This hypothesis is based on the assumption that graphic organizers provide scaffolding or support for new information, help to focus attention, organize information, select relevant vocabulary and offer a reminder for previous information 1.2.1.2 Students' attitudes towards writing will become more positive This hypothesis is based on the assumption that these organizers create an enjoyable learning atmosphere that enhances meaningful learning Hence they serve to improve performance and prevent frustration and boredom 1.2.2.Questions of the study This research is intended to answer two questions that are directly related to the above hypotheses 1- What is the effect of using graphic organizers on students' writing performance? 2- How does the use of graphic organizers impact the students' attitudes towards writing? 1.2.3.Significance of the Study This research is significant as it attempts to investigate the impact graphic organizers may have on the writing ability and attitudes towards writing English of the 10th grade students at Son La specialized high school towards this significant skill This study is also significant because its results would demonstrate the viability of using such an occidental innovative technique; the graphic organizers to improve the writing proficiency of a group of the 10th grade students as well as their attitudes towards this important skill If this technique proves to be useful, then it goes without saying that it will be adopted to teach this vital skill to attain better writing performance Better writing performance secures the academic future of the students and facilitates their educational progress Literature review 2.1 Theoretical considerations 2.1.1 Definitions of writing There are a lot of definitions of writing According to Byrne (1991), writing can be defined as the act of forming graphic symbols When we write, we use graphic symbol (alphabet, grammar, and structures) to make visual meaningful utterances Therefore, on one level, writing can be said to be the act of making marks on flat surface of some kinds However, writing is not just simply putting words, sentences together Many researchers tended to focus on the nature of writing as an entity of linguistic creation For example, Brannon, Knight and Neverow- urk ( 982, p 2) pointed out “ writing is cre tive rt, not as assembly line operation of locking words together into sentence and bolting sentences together into paragraphs in accordance with a predefined pl n.” Other researchers considered writing as a communicative process with purposeful interaction between the participants For example, NuNan (1999, p 100) st ted, “Writing is not solit ry ct, r ther, it is the result of the inter ction mong people, contexts, nd texts.” Oluw diy ( 990) considered the n ture of writing s “ process” of “vi -text communic tion” between n ddresser nd n addressee However, writing, in l ngu ge te chers’ opinions, is “ l ngu ge skill which is difficult to cquire” ( ribble, 996, p 3) t is “ process th t occurs over a period of time, particularly if we take into account the sometimes extended periods of thinking th t precede cre ting n initi l dr ft.” ( Harris, 1993, p 10) In short, the definitions of writing are various However, writing is characterized with some basic features, i.e being linguistics, creative, progressive and interactive Besides, the word “writing” itself m y imply n ct, a process, or a skill, which needs practice and study to develop It requires both physical and mental powers from the writers 2.1.2 The importance of writing NancieAtwel (1998) a leading writing practitioner reflecting on the importance of writing, referred to it as a way of life She explains that writing is a means to acquire and attain language, confirming that it is an important mode of communication through which life experience and personal views can be shared At another level, Graham and Perin (2007) describe writing as skill that draws on the use of strategies to accomplish a variety of goals They affirm that writing is a means of extending and reinforcing knowledge They add that writing acts as an effective tool for acquiring new information 2.1.3 Difficulty of teaching writing Albeit the importance of writing, many scholars and researchers admit that teaching this skill is a complex and cumbersome process (Calkins, 1994; Marten, Seagraves, Thacker & Young, 2005) Other researchers confirm that teaching writing is just as complicated as writing itself(Graham and Perin (2007) Ching and Chee (2010) admit that teaching writing is demanding and cumbersome As a teacher of writing for a long time, I acknowledge the difficulty and complexity of teaching English writing However, it should also be acknowledged that the traditional methods which are widely adopted to teach this skill in this part of the world is one of the major causes for the poor level of the students' writing performance 2.1.4 Effective writing teaching requirements Effective writing teaching requires the use of assistive devices to support and maintain the learning of this skill (Dell, Newton &Pertraff, 2008) It is not enough for the teachers of writing to be highly qualified, but that their practices of instruction follow scientific based research Strangman&Dalton (2005) outlines the major principles of effective writing instruction These involve providing support for recognition through (presentation), support for strategic learning through (expression) and support for affective learning through (engagement) Use of mind maps and graphics, says Strangman, provides the teacher with tools and strategies that help him/her to adhere to the above principles of effective writing teaching Currently, visual organizers are widely incorporated in teaching writing These tools areclaimed to provide learners with a concrete structural framework of information and help to focus the learners' attention on key ideas and the conceptual relations between these ideas rather than the apparently isolated facts (Delrose, 2011) In fact, the use of graphic organizers enhances understanding, organizing and meaningful learning, and in this way facilitates the complex task of learning writing while serving to prevent boredom (Janssen, Beissner&Yacci, (1993) Lee (2004) regards graphic organizers as the most effective tools for teaching and improving writing skills In fact, dozens of empirical studies were conducted to verify the efficacy of such organizers, and almost all of these studies asserted their viability for teaching writing It is found that these organizers help the students visualize the abstract ideas, divide the writing tasks into smaller palatable parts, and monitor their writing progress (Unzueta, 2009) 2.1.5.Graphic Organizers Graphic organizers are defined by Bishop (2013) as visual displays of key content information designed to guide learners and to enhance their comprehension They are sometimes referred to as concept maps, cognitive maps, or content maps, but they are all used to serve one purpose They are meant, says Baxendell (2003) to help students clearly see how ideas are organized within a text or surrounding a concept Through the use of organizers, learners acquire the structure of abstract concepts A graphic organizer is a visual graphic display that shows the relation between facts, terms or ideas within a learning task (Hall &Strangman, 2002) The visual representation of graphic organizers provides learners with a structural framework of information to be learned This helps to direct the learners' attention to key concepts and conceptual relationships The use of such organizers, thus promotes understanding, and enhances organization and long term retention of information It stresses meaningful learning which serves to facilitatelearning and minimize boredom (Janssen, et al, 1993) 2.1.6 Students' attitudes towards writing The ability to write clearly, consciously and efficiently is important to achieve academic success However, many students have limited writing abilities and struggle to write compositions that adequately convey their thoughts and ideas (Unezueta, 2009) Indeed, the writing process can be very cumbersome and difficult to master Actually many students are classified as low achievers in this skill This situation is quite frustrating and leads many students to develop negative attitudes towards this essential skill Educators can play a major role in helping students overcome this problem It is important for teachers to provide students with interesting, authentic and meaningful writing experiences (Chohan, 2011) When these types of experiences are provided for the students, they become more engaged and interested in their learning According to Chohan (2011), writing is better learned when students are engaged, helped to organize their thoughts, and allowed to express their own experiences Lancaster (2013) reports that when students have the chance to participate in writing workshops and used a variety of graphic organizers, writing becomes meaningful, creative and more enjoyable Furthermore, when learners are offered the opportunity to practice writing under stress-free conditions, they become more comfortable and confident in the writing process Marten ,L Seagraves ,R Thacker, S &Young, L (2005) add that teaching writing via the use of graphic organizers is meaningful and interesting because it effectively shows students' growth with respect to their writing abilities Lancaster (2013) confirms that the use of graphic organizers in teaching is one way to create a learning atmosphere where students love writing Teachers can prevent writing failure and students' frustration when successful, meaningful ways of teaching are used 2.2 The reality of teaching and learning writing atSon La specialized high school 2.2.1 The teacher’s and students’ attitudes towards the teaching and learning of writing Writing is not highly appreciated by the students and even the teachers not take the importance of writing seriously This is because of the main purpose of teaching and learning English at Son Laspecializedhigh school The results of the final exam and university entrance exam are considered the most importance of teaching and learning English at school so both the teachers and students there focus mostly on grammar and reading skill rather than on other skills such as speaking, listening and writing This cert inly ffects the students’ writing competence and prevents the improvement of their writing ability onsequently, most of the te chers nd the students think the students’ writing competence is bad 2.2.2 Students’ difficulties in learning writing The 10th form students at Son La Specialized high school are sixteen years old Although they have been learning English for four years at lower-secondary schools, their English knowledge is still limited Besides, they have no clear determination on English learning goal Students have to face many difficulties that are from two causes: (1) from the students themselves, and (2) from the te chers’ lectures In terms of the first cause, the majority of the students have trouble with writing because of their low level of English proficiency Their vocabulary and sentence structures are poor Grammar mistakes and spelling are also a common fear for many of them Besides, their low background knowledge also makes them feel stressed when writing Many of the students said they found it hard to generate ideas and make an outline because of their low background knowledge 10 There were two post-writing test, the first one was conducted at the end of the first term and the second was at the end of the second term.The scores of the students were averaged and recorded to be compared to their scores before the intervention or before they received their graphic organizer's training Results of this comparison would help to answer the major question of this study and to reject or verify its main hypothesis In the second lesson of this last week of the study, the students were administered the writing attitudes survey It was the same survey which was given to them during the baseline period The students’responses to this questionnaire were used to check if the use of graphic organizers had changed their attitudes towards writing Applications of the study in the Units Unit 3: MUSIC Writing a biography Early life: Name of the Person: Typical works: Important achievements: 16 Conclusion: Unit 4: FOR A BETTER COMMUNITY Writing an application letter for volunteer work Writer’s address Date Employer’s title Company/ Organization Address Dear Paragraph 1: Mentioning the job you are applying for and where you found the job Paragraph 2: Telling why you are right for the job mentioning your experiences and responsibilities Paragraph 3: Listing your personal qualities and offering to send references Paragraph 4: Saying you are available for an interview and when you could start work I look forward to hearing from you Yours 17 Unit 5: INVENTIONS Writing about the benefits of an invention Topic sentence Benefit 1: further explanation: Benefit 2: further explanation: 18 Benefit 3: further explanation: Unit 6: GENDER EQUALITY Writing about the disadvantages of working mothers Topic sentence: Supporting idea 1: Explanation 2: Explanation 1: Supporting idea 2: Explanation 1: Explanation 2: Supporting idea 3: Explanation 2: Explanation 1: Concluding sentence: 19 Unit 7: CULTURAL DIVERSITY Writing about some typical characteristics of Vietnamese people Introduction: is is characteristics 1: characteristics 2: is characteristics 3: because because Conclusion: 20 because Unit 9: PRESERVING THE ENVIRONMENT Writing about environmental problem and give some practical advice on how to preserve the environment Solution 1: Solution 2: Environmental problem: (what and why?) Solution 4: Solution 3: 5.1 When to use graphic organizers Graphic organizers enable the students to organize material logically and to see relationships between and among ideas Effective use of graphic organizers can help the students to present his or her ideas in an effective and persuasive manner, resulting in a focused and coherent text Graphic organizers can be used during the pre-writing stage or at any other time during the writing process For example, a student who has written a draft lacking in coherence and purposeful organization could benefit from using a 21 graphic organizer during conferencing with the teacher or peers The perspective gained from graphically visualizing ideas should persuade even the reluctant user of graphic organizers that some method of organization is necessary for effective communication Teachers can provide printed or electronic templates for all students to use individually as graphic organizers during the writing process These templates can be used during a demonstration lesson as well The teacher-student conferencing process, including the results of formative assessment, can help both teacher and student to determine which graphic organizer is best for each particular student during a specific writing assignment This instructionallearning strategy also addresses the various learning styles that each student prefers No matter the style or method, graphic organizers serve a critical role during any writing process Findings Results of the attitude survey The attitude survey was administered twice once before and once after the participants had completed the graphic organizers' intervention Responses to the survey questions were compared and summarized in the table below: How you rate writing in term of difficulty? * Before graphic organizer training * After graphic organizer training Easy Difficult Medium 16 11 12 12 How you feel when it is time for writing? Excited * Before graphic organizer training * After graphic organizer training 15 Nervous 16 10 Neutral 13 Do you think writing is fun or boring? * Before graphic organizer training * After graphic organizer training Do you often try your best to accomplish your writing task? * Before graphic organizer training * After graphic organizer training Fun 14 Yes Boring 15 No Not sure 13 10 Sometimes 13 18 12 What is the most difficult part of writing for Planning Writing 22 Organizing you? * Before graphic organizer training * After graphic organizer training 10 20 14 Table : Writing attitude survey The above data which were generated through the attitudinal survey can be used to verify the second hypothesis of this study which stated that the use of graphic organizers will positively impact the attitudes of students towards writing This is clearly shown in the students' responses which changed radically after they had completed their graphic organizers training and used them as instruments for writing For instance, when the participants were asked to rate writing in term of difficulty, almost half of the participants ranked writing as difficult, but when asked the same question after the graphic organizers' intervention (28 %) ranked it as easy When asked about their feeling when it was time for writing only (9.4 %) of the participants said they felt excited when it was time for writing However, after the intervention more than (47 %) of the participants said they found writing exciting Before graphic organizers' training, only (12.5 %) said writing was fun and (43.8 %) said it was boring This feeling towards writing had changed dramatically after the graphic organizer intervention and (47 %) rated writing as fun and only (28 %) said it was boring The above data can be used to verify and accept the second hypothesis of the study that the use of graphic organizers has positively impacted the student's attitudes towards writing The same data can be used to answer the second question of the study "What is the impact of using graphic organizers on students' attitudes towards writing? Obviously, the use of graphic organizers has a positive impact on students' attitudes towards writing Results of the tests The scores of the students’ in writing before and after they received their graphic organizers' training are shown in figure below: It shows the participants' level of performance in the five traits of writing according to the rubrics suggested by the Georgia Department of Education 23 Figure 1: A graph for the mean scores for writing with and without graphic organizer A- Content, B-organization, C-word choice, D-sentence fluency and Econvention All - the average mean performance of all participants' in the five writing traits The above graph reveals that the mean score for writing was increased in all five traits after the graphic organizers intervention; however, the maximum increase was observed in organization reaching (75.5%) instead of( 48%) and word choice reaching (75%) instead of (48.5%) The overall mean score for writing after the participants had received their graphic organizers' training did increase significantly to approach (68.88%) It was only (45%) before intervention The difference in mean between the writing of students before and after they received the graphic organizers' training was almost (24%) This finding clearly indicates that students' writing has shown a higher mean than their writing before this intervention 24 Closing Remark From the results of this study, it can be concluded that graphic organizers are effective instruments to develop the students' writing ability The use of such organizers with a group of 32 students at Son La Gifted high school did have a significant positive impact on students' writing as well as on their attitudes towards this skill Students' mean score in writing increased from (45%) to( 68.88%) with a difference of (25%), and that it is due to the graphic organizers' intervention Furthermore, the students' attitudes towards writing have changed dramatically The students started to view writing as easy, exciting and interesting after they had completed their graphic organizers training 25 Reference Tribble, C.(1996) Writing Oxford: Oxford University Press Teaching English Forum 30, (4), 12- 15 Oluwadiya, A.(1992) Some prewriting techniques for students for students writers Henle Publisher Nunan, D (1999) Second language teaching and learning.Hongkong: Heinle& Harris, J (1993) Introducing writing London: Penguin.London: Longman Byrne, D (1991) Teaching writing skills- Longman handbook for language teachers Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/ Cook Publishers Brannon, L., Knight, M., &Neverow-Turk, V (1982) Writers Writing Heinemann 7.Atwel, N (1998) In the middle: New understanding about writing, reading and learning Portsmouth N.H.: Boynton/cook Baxendell, B (2003) Consistent, coherent, creative: The 3Cs of graphic organizers Council for Exceptional Children, 36(3), 46-53 Calkin, L (1994) The art of teaching writing (new Ed.).Portsmouth, NH, Heinemann 10 Ching, L &Chee, T (2010) Scaffolding writing using feedback in students' graphic organizers: Novice writers' relevance of idea and cognitive load Educational Media International, 47(2)135-152 11 Chohan, S (2011) Any letter for me?Relationship between an elementary school letter writing program and students' attitudes, literacy achievement and friendship culture Early Childhood Education 39(1) 39-50 26 12 Dell, A Newton, D &Petroff, J (2008) Assistive technology in the classroom: Enhancing the school experience of students with disabilities Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson / Merrill Prentice Hall 13 Delrose, L (2011) Investigating the use of graphic organizers for writing.Unpublished doctoral dissertation.Louisiana State University 14 Graham, S Perin, d (2007) Writing next: Effective strategies to improve writing of adolescents in middle and high schools; A Report to Carnegie Corporation of New York, Washington DC: Alliance for Excellence Education 15 Hall, T &Strangman, N (2002) Graphic organizers Wakefield MA: National Center on Assessing the General Curriculum 16 Janssen, D., Beissner, K., &Yacci, M (1993) Explicit method for conveying structural knowledge through concept maps.Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates 17 Lancaster, K (2013) An examination of using graphic organizers to teach writing: A case study ELE 5900.Eastern Illinois University 18 Marten, L Seagraves, R Thacker, S & Young L (2005) The writing process: Three first grade teachers and their students reflect on what was learned Reading Psychology 26: 235-249 19 Abdul-MajeedTayib (Ph.D Applied Linguistics) THE EFFECT OF USING GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS ON WRITING (A CASE STUDY OF PREPARATORY COLLEGE STUDENTS AT UMM-ALQURAUNIVERSITY).International Journal of English Language and Linguistics Research Vol.3, No.1, pp.15-36, January 2015 20 Internet: http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/writing-process/5809 http://www.enchantedlearning.com/graphicorganizers/ http://www.graphic.org/ http://www.inspiration.com/visual-learning/graphic-organizers 27 oàngVănVân, oàng hịXuân o , gọcLộc, ặngHiệpGiang, PhanHà, HoàngThịHồngHải, KiềuThị hu ương, Vũ hịLan David Kaye TiếngAnh 10: Volume and Teacher’s Book Vietnam Education publisher Appendix A Writing rubric Category Content Paper is clear and focused It holds the re der’s attention Some details are extraneous Development is weak Details are spotty and/or poorly developed Details are lacking There seems to be no purpose or central theme Organization The introduction is inviting, Conclusion is strong Body paragraphs have clear transition, and are in a powerful order , but is not particularly inviting to the reader The conclusion ties things up pretty well The introduction states the main topic Conclusion , but fails in providing details There is neither clear introduction of the main topic nor any clear conclusion Paper begins and end in limbo Word choice Writer uses vivid words and phrases that linger or draw pictures in the re der’s mind Writer uses a few vivid words and phrases that linger or draw pictures in the re der’s mind, Writer uses words that communicate clearly, but the writing lacks variety, punch or flair Writer uses a limited vocabulary that does not communicate strongly or capture the re der’s interest 28 Sentence fluency All sentences are wellconstructed with varied length, structure and beginnings Most sentences are wellconstructed with varied structure and length or sentences begin the same Most sentences are wellconstructed but have a similar structure, length, and/or beginning Sentences lack structure and appear incomplete or rambling Conventions Writer makes no errors in spelling, capitalization, grammar, paragraphing or punctuation, Writer makes or errors in spelling, homonyms, grammar or punctuation, Writer makes a few errors in spelling, paragraphing, grammar, homonyms and/or punctuation Writer makes many errors in spelling, homonyms, grammar, and/or punctuation The paper is difficult to read 29 Appendix B Writing attitude survey How you rate writing in term of difficulty? * Before graphic organizer training * After graphic organizer training Easy Difficult Medium How you feel when it is time for writing? Excited * Before graphic organizer training * After graphic organizer training Nervous Neutral Do you think writing is fun or boring? * Before graphic organizer training * After graphic organizer training Fun Boring Not sure Do you often try your best to accomplish your writing task? * Before graphic organizer training * After graphic organizer training Yes No Sometimes What is the most difficult part of writing for you? * Before graphic organizer training * After graphic organizer training Planning Writing 30 Organizing [...]... the participants said they found writing exciting Before graphic organizers' training, only (12.5 %) said writing was fun and (43.8 %) said it was boring This feeling towards writing had changed dramatically after the graphic organizer intervention and (47 %) rated writing as fun and only (28 %) said it was boring The above data can be used to verify and accept the second hypothesis of the study that... Report to Carnegie Corporation of New York, Washington DC: Alliance for Excellence Education 15 Hall, T &Strangman, N (2002) Graphic organizers Wakefield MA: National Center on Assessing the General Curriculum 16 Janssen, D., Beissner, K., &Yacci, M (1993) Explicit method for conveying structural knowledge through concept maps.Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates 17 Lancaster, K (2013) An examination... and Econvention All - the average mean performance of all participants' in the five writing traits The above graph reveals that the mean score for writing was increased in all five traits after the graphic organizers intervention; however, the maximum increase was observed in organization reaching (75.5%) instead of( 48%) and word choice reaching (75%) instead of (48.5%) The overall mean score for writing. .. of graphic organizers has positively impacted the student's attitudes towards writing The same data can be used to answer the second question of the study "What is the impact of using graphic organizers on students' attitudes towards writing? Obviously, the use of graphic organizers has a positive impact on students' attitudes towards writing Results of the tests The scores of the students’ in writing. .. of using graphic organizers to teach writing: A case study ELE 5900.Eastern Illinois University 18 Marten, L Seagraves, R Thacker, S & Young L (2005) The writing process: Three first grade teachers and their students reflect on what was learned Reading Psychology 26: 235-249 19 Abdul-MajeedTayib (Ph.D Applied Linguistics) THE EFFECT OF USING GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS ON WRITING (A CASE STUDY OF PREPARATORY... from using a 21 graphic organizer during conferencing with the teacher or peers The perspective gained from graphically visualizing ideas should persuade even the reluctant user of graphic organizers that some method of organization is necessary for effective communication Teachers can provide printed or electronic templates for all students to use individually as graphic organizers during the writing. .. spelling, homonyms, grammar or punctuation, Writer makes a few errors in spelling, paragraphing, grammar, homonyms and/or punctuation Writer makes many errors in spelling, homonyms, grammar, and/or punctuation The paper is difficult to read 29 Appendix B Writing attitude survey 1 How do you rate writing in term of difficulty? * Before graphic organizer training * After graphic organizer training Easy Difficult... mothers Topic sentence: Supporting idea 1: Explanation 2: Explanation 1: Supporting idea 2: Explanation 1: Explanation 2: Supporting idea 3: Explanation 2: Explanation 1: Concluding sentence: 19 Unit 7: CULTURAL DIVERSITY Writing about some typical characteristics of Vietnamese people Introduction: is is characteristics 1: characteristics 2: is characteristics 3: because because Conclusion: 20 because... quantitative and qualitative methods are employed to carry out the study The study used two major instruments for data collection: a writing rubric (see App A) and an attitudinal survey (see App B) The writing rubric based on The Georgia Department of Education Scale was selected and modified by the researcher to assess the various traits of students' writing The second instrument used in this study was the attitude... attitudes towards writing which could be attributed to the graphic organizers' intervention In the second lesson of this phase, the participants were informed that they were going to do their first writing assignment Evaluation was carried out by using the writing rubrics designed for this study 4.1.2 Intervention I applied graphic organizers in teaching writing skill for 10V in Unit 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 and