DEVELOPMENTAL RUBRIC AS A FEEDBACK TOOL IN IMPROVING ACADEMIC WRITING SKILLS AT

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A CASE STUDY ON THE USE OF THE

DEVELOPMENTAL RUBRIC AS A FEEDBACK TOOL IN IMPROVING ACADEMIC WRITING SKILLS AT

TERTIARY LEVEL

BY

AINUL AZMIN MD ZAMIN

A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education

Kulliyyah of Education

International Islamic University Malaysia

SEPTEMBER 2015

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ABSTRACT

Academic writing is one of the most challenging skills for tertiary level students.

Providing feedback has been found to be an effective way to improve the process of academic writing, but there is often skepticism as to how the feedback is delivered. This qualitative study investigated the use of a developmental rubric in English for Academic Writing (EAW) as a means of providing feedback to help students improve their drafts. This qualitative study involved 8 classes where 13 informants were interviewed. A total of 4 classes used the developmental rubric in class for self-editing while another 4 used the peer feedback technique to provide comments on their classmates‘ drafts. Using the rubric, their instructors also provided feedback and guidance to improve their writing. The results that emerge from this study showed that in general, students admitted to having difficulties in writing. They also have a positive attitude towards the course and regarded academic writing as important for their future, despite having negative impressions of it prior to enrolment. The findings suggest that the developmental rubric can be used as a potential tool to provide feedback for the students and to create a learning environment that is conducive for achieving learning. Students who used the rubric for self-editing reported a lack of confidence when reflecting on their work while those in the peer feedback classrooms acknowledged that they are learning from their friends‘ errors. Suggestion to improve the content of the rubrics, especially in the language section, were made by the teachers. A framework for academic writing at tertiary level is proposed and recommendations were also made for future research to investigate the effectiveness of the rubric in the students‘ overall performance.

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ثحبلا صخلم

هيوو ل هنو ه ويرنيه كاُبوو هأويرميُذهًاكودتحذهننوونةهنههنونر هيوي نكميُذهيوواكلأنيذهانكواهننأو نورُهنُيوويذهاومهننوليلق ه ووووو ه ه يوووويكاع ه يوووووةُأ ه ووووومهيووووععذأيذهيوووووُيفلأيذهيبوووووةةهنهها ووووا اويمهبوووووقنهبَكوووووعيذهايوووولعلأيذ هيووووواكلأنيذهيووووويلم

ه كوووانهبيووععذأيذهيووُيفلأيذهًيوومهيبووةةهيوويييمهلنووذهه يوو ُاهنههلووو هةكووومهننوونُهكوو ه كوو يكاهنوونينهويووي نكميُذ هيواكلأنليهيوُزيلنجلإذهيفليذه ه"يُأُنطةهتكديعنة"همذبخلأسذهيي نويذهيسذابيذهًيمه يشنلأسذهلكم ههىل هيوووووي نكميُذ WAE

هًب كووووو تحهيوووووععذأيذهيوووووُيفلأيذهيبوووووةلأيهيليوووووسنمه) هبا ذن نووووو ر هأُنوووووطةهىووووول هيووووو لطيذ

هيينكثمهيي نويذهيسذابيذهًيمه اومضةن هيولاكة هكودي هفهتمويذنه ،نيوصه) 8

هب ك يالأو هأوش هيويملايمه) 31

هكووووووموياه " ذيوووووويذهأووووووُأ لأيذ"ههيوووووويلم ه ه"يووووووُأُنطلأيذهتكووووووديعنلأيذه"ه،نيووووووصهيووووووعااهه بخلأووووووسذهدوووووويذ هنوو هيووععذأيذهيووُيفلأيذهانلووسههاأووليُذهيووعاايُذه،نيووويذه بخلأووسذ هتكووةيلعةههيبووةلأاهووويكنه لا زوويذ

هيوععذاهيوُيفةهادمكوط تاهامنوساب همكوقه "يوُأُنطلأيذهتكوديعنلأيذه"همذبخلأوسكانهباودملا لاهتذنانو هىول هيوووسذابيذه مكوولأنهتأوووداههبادلأاكوولأمه ووو لأيه ذنكوو اإن -

مكووو هعنووشا -ه

هه هتكانعوووصهننووعناهيووو لطيذهاذأووقإ

هااأيكاهقك تحذهننحه كياكيجإه كدُّعنةهذنأداهنهبادلأاكلأم هوييومنه كواهقكو لأيلاذهعو قهيي لو يذهتك ك طنلاذهن

همذبخلأوووووسذهنووووون هكووووونكاهيوووووسذابيذه مكووووولأنه ووووو رةههبادل ةووووو ه هاووووو هيووووومد هيوووووي نكميُذهيووووواكلأنيذهذنلووووولأ ذ هيووومملا هيووو يمُّلعةهيووو ياه وووللنهيووو لطليهيوووععذأيذهيوووُيفلأيذهيبوووةلأيه يوووو نرته ييايةذمُوووسكمه"يوووُأُنطلأيذهتكوووديعنلأيذ"

ختحذه ية لأيهيع اش ن ه َكوعيذهايولعلأيذهانلأو ه هيي نكميُذهياكلأنليهاك إهعضنهفهبةيهبي يمرلعلأيذهتكعأ

هذنوومملاي يه ووسابمليهتكيووصنةه اعوو ضرننه"بتكووديعنلأيذ"هانوولأتنهايموووةه وو لأيهتكووذذمُقذهاإه ي كووضإ ب"كيعنلأيذ"هتذأة هع هسُابلأيذهانلأت

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APPROVAL PAGE

The thesis of Ainul Azmin Md Zamin has been approved by the following:

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Ratnawati Mohd Asraf Supervisor

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Ainol Marziah Zubairi Internal Examiner

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Imran Ho Abdullah Internal Examiner

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Nooreiny Maarof External Examiner

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Rafikul Islam Chairman

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DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this dissertation is the result of my own investigations, except where otherwise stated. I also declare that it has not been previously or concurrently submitted as a whole for any other degrees at IIUM or other institutions.

Ainul Azmin Md Zamin

Signature ... Date ...

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COPYRIGHT PAGE

INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA

DECLARATION OF COPYRIGHT AND AFFIRMATION OF FAIR USE OF UNPUBLISHED RESEARCH

A CASE STUDY ON THE USE OF THE DEVELOPMENTAL RUBRIC AS A FEEDBACK TOOL IN IMPROVING ACADEMIC WRITING SKILLS AT TERTIARY LEVEL

I hereby affirm that the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) holds all rights in the copyright of this Work and henceforth any reproduction or use in any form or by means whatsoever is prohibited without the written consent of IIUM.No part of this unpublished research may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder.

Affirmed by Ainul Azmin Md. Zamin

………. ………..

Signature Date

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This dissertation is for my parents; for their unceasing du’a

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Words cannot describe my gratitude to the Almighty Allah, for enabling me to complete this work, and peace and blessings of Allah be upon His messenger Muhammad.

My PhD journey has been a roller coaster ride , with joys and turbulences along the way. However, I was fortunate to have met many individuals, researchers, academicians, practitioners, and administrators who have uniquely inspired and contributed towards the development of my understanding, thoughts, and perspectives pertaining to this research study. I wish to express my sincere gratitude to my esteemed supervisor, Professor Dr. Ratnawati Mohd Asraf for her untiring effort, warm attention, patience, and understanding in guiding me to the right pathway to success. I am most grateful for the editing that you have done. I have learnt a great deal from your expertise. My heartfelt gratitude also goes to Associate Prof. Dr. Ismail Sheikh Ahmad, who is always confident in me as a qualitative researcher, and Associate Professor Dr. Ismail Ahamad Shah, whose feedback on my research has made me a better academic writer. A special thanks also goes to all my fellow teachers from CELPAD who were involved directly and indirectly in the study, without whom this research may not have been possible. A special gratitude also goes to all my students who participated in this study.

I would also like to thank all my gurus in the Kulliyah of Education, who had dedicated their time for me and inspired me to be the academician I am today.

A sincere appreciation also goes to all my fellow postgraduate friends and classmates with whom I have shed tears of joy and sorrow together. Sharing the student life with some of the most extraordinary people, especially during my tenure as the President of the Postgraduate Society, has taught me that my PhD endeavour transcends the completion of my dissertation.

Finally, but not the least, I am forever indebted to my loving husband, Ahmad Nizam Mahmod, and my three wonderful children; Muzakkir, Syakirin and Fauzan for their full support, understanding and absolute belief in me. Thank you for being by my side throughout this worthwhile journey. Not forgetting my parents, Haji Md. Zamin Muhammad and Hajjah Faridah Ibrahim, and my siblings, nieces and nephews, who constantly remind me that nothing is impossible to a willing heart, syukran jazilan, your du’as and prayers have been answered.

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LIST OF TABLES

Table No. Page No.

2.1 Writing situation in college 12

2.2 Six features of Academic Writing 14

2.3 Stages in Process Writing 21

2.4 Summary of Principle Orientations to the Teaching of Writing 26

2.5 Process approach in contrast to product approach 27

2.6 The advantages and disadvantages of peer feedback 41

2.7 Sample of generic rubric 49

2.8 Sample of task-specific rubric 52

2.9 A sample of analytic rubric 54

2.10 A sample of holistic rubric for writing 57

2.11 A developmental rubric for school improvement 58

2.12 Steps in rubric design 64

2.13 Steps in designing effective rubrics 65

3.1 EAW language focus according to subtopics 75

3.2 Identifications of informants (students) 78

3.3 Identification of informants (teachers) 78

3.4 Components of drafts in EAW 79

3.5 7 stages of an interview inquiry 86

3.6 Excerpt of rubrics from RMIT University 98

3.7 Excerpt of rubrics for literature review 99

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3.8 Excerpt of rubrics for research design 100

3.9 Excerpt of rubrics for analysis 101

3.10 Excerpt of rubric for discussion 102

3.11 Excerpt of rubrics for conclusion 103

3.12 Excerpt of rubrics for language 104

4.1 EAW weekly schedule 132

4.2 Summary of subtopics of EAW 133

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure No. Page No.‎

2.1 Dynamic and unpredictable models of process writing 22

2.2 Framework for process writing 24

2.3 Keh‘s process of providing feedback 29

2.4 Sentence skills checklist 53

2.5 Types of scoring instruments for performance assessments 53

2.6 RMIT academic writing hierarchy triangle 66

3.1 The flow for the use of developmental rubrics in academic writing 82 3.2 Sample of original developmental rubric Draft 1 92

3.3 Sample of original developmental rubric Draft 2 93

3.4 The ESL composition profile 97

3.5 Developmental Rubric for Academic Writing Draft 1 Peer Feedback 107 3.6 Developmental Rubric for Academic Writing Draft 2 Peer Feedback 109 4.1 Framework for Acadecmi Writing using the developmental rubric 154

4.2 Opinions towards the developmental rubric 158

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

IIUM International Islamic University Malaysia

CELPAD Centre for Languages and Pre-Academic Development CILLC CELPAD Independent Language Learning Centre EAW English for Academic Writing

ELD English Language Division ESL English as a Second Language EOP English for Occupational Purposes L1 First Language Learner

L2 Second Language Learner

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CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Writing is at the very heart of academic life. At tertiary education where English is used as the main medium of instruction and communication, students are required to produce academic papers not only in English classes, but also in all disciplines. Thus, the ability to write effectively is becoming more and more important as it prepares university students for the global community. Academic writing is often developed through formal instructional settings, where guidance is given in the class over a period of time (Giridharan & Robson, 2012). Generally, it is a common practice for students to attend classes through intensive English courses, pre-sessional programs, or writing courses that offer academic writing. According to (Hyland, 2002, p.1092),

―academic writing, like all forms of communication, is an act of identity: it not only conveys disciplinary ‗content‘ but also carries a presentation of the writer‖. A writer‘s authorial identity, or authorship, therefore, entails the manifestation of the writer‘s stance, confidence, and commitment to ideas (Hyland, 2002), or ―the writer‘s ‗voice‘

in the sense of the writer‘s position, opinion and beliefs‖ (Ivanic, 1998, p. 26). As Myles (2002) describes it, writing involves composing, developing, and analysing ideas.

Academic writing is a difficult task for most students. It demands conscious effort and practice in composing, drafting, revising and analysing ideas. In comparison to the first language learners, second language learners have to acquire proficiency in the use of the language. Although second language learners use similar strategies as first language learners, Beare (2000) stressed that this was only true for those who

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have possessed the grammatical proficiency. First language learners seem to support less teacher intervention and also less attention is paid to form (Myles, 2002).

Students at tertiary level need to advance their ideas in the form of writing; and their ability to do this demonstrates their in higher education. Consequently, academic writing is often perceived to be the most difficult skill in learning the English language. Poor academic writing often contributes to failure in academic achievement and this is what most second language learners are struggling with (Olivas & Li, 2006). For many of them, the process of writing in an academic environment is very challenging (Myles, 2002). Writing an academic paper remains a difficult, trying and intimidating task for these learners (Abelos, Basbas, Gamboa, Alfonso, & Ligawen, 2008; Giridharan & Robson, 2012), and they sometimes associate the writing of research papers with voluminous references and a semester of burning the midnight oil. In the Asian context where English is spoken mainly as a second or foreign language, the problem can be compounded by the grammatical, structural, and syntactic errors made by the students. In countries such as Singapore and Hong Kong where English is dominantly spoken, higher institutions establish language centres to provide specific linguistic support for students entering their first degree programs.

Unfortunately, countries such as Malaysia and China are still confined to textbooks and grammar drilling in preparing students for college English (Bee, 1991; Cai, 2013;

You, 2004). This does not help the students in mastering the writing skill. Hence, there is an urgent need to look into the approaches and techniques that would help students to perform well in academic writing.

Giving feedback can be regarded as a potential technique to help the students improve their writing. Feedback as defined by Keh (1990) is the ―input from a reader to a writer with the effect of providing information to the writer for revision‖( p. 294).

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The feedback can be provided by any agent such as teachers, peers, own self and even parents (Hattie & Timperley, 2007). In academic writing, feedback comes at the drafting stage where students are given the opportunity to improve their drafts and it is crucial for them to incorporate the revision for subsequent drafts (Furneaux, 1995).

Feedback provided by teachers can help students to improve their writing. Providing feedback on learners‘ writing is a key pedagogical practice in higher education (Coffin et al., 2003). It is seen as a way to improve the communication effectiveness of a given written piece by correcting and guiding students so that their ideas are effectively communicated to the readers (Ashwell, 2000). The primary role of providing feedback has always been to improve skills in writing (Hyland & Hyland, 2006). In the area of assessment, Weigle (2009) acknowledges the fact that evaluators are constantly concerned with the writing process itself rather than just the written product. This poses a challenge to teachers who want to see the students pre-write, revise, and edit; rather than to just produce a single final draft. Providing individualized feedback may not be a common scene in a normal class, therefore, the importance of feedback is highly recognized; especially by language educators who subscribe to the process writing approach. In process writing, summative feedback has been replaced by formative feedback (Hyland & Hyland, 2006). Although Ferris (2010) questions some of the methods used in giving feedback to second language learners, she stressed that feedback is indeed crucial in improving their academic writing.

Because feedback can potentially improve students‘ writing skill, many innovative ways of providing feedback have been applied in the writing classroom—

and the use of rubrics is one strategy to effectively provide this feedback. Indeed, rubrics, which are a set of precisely defined criteria that can be used to judge the

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quality of performances or projects (Arter & McTighe, 2000), have become popular with teachers as a means of providing focused feedback on works in progress (Andrade, Du & Wang, 2008). Harrell (2005) advocates that rubrics can be used to help to achieve the educational objectives, instructional activities, and assessment based on Bloom‘s taxonomy of knowledge transfer and cognitive processes, and can make it easier for instructors to grade consistently across the many sections of the same course (Stevens & Levi, 2005).

In many Malaysian universities, English remains a language used during lessons but not outside the four walls of the classroom (Hashim & Leitner, 2014).

Many students of higher institutions were found to be weak in terms of the conventions of academic writing (Krishnakumari, Paul-Evans & Selvanayagam, 2010). This was corroborated by Isarji et al. (2008) in their studies on English language proficiency among Malaysian students in higher learning institutions (as cited in Zuraidah Mat Dom et al., 2008). In an effort to address the issue, the Ministry of Education introduced the Malaysian University English Test (MUET) in 2000 to test the students‘ level of proficiency before entering university. The objective of the MUET syllabus is to bridge the gap between secondary and tertiary education by enhancing students‘ language competency. However, the results revealed that many candidates passed only with a Band 2 (limited user) and Band 3 (modest user) (Pawancik, 2010). The results are unsatisfactory, and are a clear indication that steps need to be taken to improve the situation with regard to students‘ proficiency. The Ministry of Education Malaysia (2003) in its report, encouraged teachers to change the ‗teacher-centred‘ and ‗talk and chalk‘ method to a more student-centred approach.

At tertiary level, students are found to be lacking the conventions of academic writing;

and with limited vocabulary—hampering their ability to write well in an academic

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discipline. In learning a second language, it is of utmost importance that learners receive maximum support in terms of a conducive learning environment as well as adequate a meaningful language experience. Teachers should also use the techniques and approaches that would help to improve the students‘ skills. As more and more students enter universities and colleges than ever before, there is a need for new pedagogical ideas and innovations. Hence, new approaches, methods, and techniques that can enhance the learning process will be crucial to improve the teaching methodology for academic writing.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Tertiary level writing requires students to be critical and careful in their ideas and arguments. It is important for them to be involved and engaged in arguments and issues in their respective disciplines. Students are often confused about what is expected of them and they are not certain about learning objectives. They are left with no clear and specific guidelines as to what needs to be improved and rectified with regard to their drafts. A careful review of the existing research on academic writing in second language contexts reveals several issues: students often face problems in developing their ideas and thoughts while writing their drafts; they fail to substantiate certain points; or they simply do not succeed in supporting their case (Krishnakumari et al., 2010). Thus, providing feedback is a key element in helping students improve their composing skills. It is evident that feedback plays an important role in ESL students‘ writing process (Berg, 1999; Guangwei, 2006; Hyland, 2010). Hence, it is important that teachers find ways to provide feedback in an efficient and timely manner, so that they may help their students to improve their drafts.

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Rubrics can be utilized to make students‘ work more efficient and consistent.

They can help students to be more objective and quick in completing their written work. The use of a rubric may potentially provide the kind of help students need in terms of getting feedback and identifying the weak areas in writing. A rubric also serves as a standard guideline for students so that they will have a clear direction about what makes a good piece of writing. With the rubric, students will be aware of know what is expected of them and they are able to reflect on the learning process.

The rubric will also serve as a standard guideline for teachers when making comments and giving remarks to the students‘ drafts. It aims at highlighting the efforts of second language learners of English in writing academic papers in English. In this study, the developmental rubric is explored using the peer feedback as well as self-editing in the process writing approach. In light of that, a comprehensive understanding of the potentials of using the developmental rubric as a teaching tool in academic writing classrooms is necessary.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The objective of this classroom-based study was to explore the pedagogical potential of using the developmental rubric as a tool in enhancing students‘ academic writing skills. More specifically, the first and primary aim was to find out the students‘

perceptions and the challenges they faced in writing. Secondly, it aimed at understanding the students‘ feelings toward the course English for Academic Writing.

Thirdly, it sought to investigate the teachers‘ understanding of English for Academic Writing and the challenges they faced in teaching the course. And finally, it sought to explore the strengths and weaknesses of the rubric as a tool for providing feedback,

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through the students and teachers‘ recommendation to improve the teaching of English for Academic Writing.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

This study sought to answer the following questions:

1. How do the students feel about writing? Specifically, how do they feel about, and what do they understand by academic writing?

2. What do the students feel about the course, EAW? Specifically, what is the importance of EAW to them, and what are their perceptions toward EAW?

3. What do the teachers understand by academic writing, and what are the challenges they face in teaching academic writing?

4. What are the students‘ and teachers‘ perceptions of the developmental rubric? Has the rubric helped to improve their academic writing in English and has it helped the teachers to make their teaching of academic English more effective? What strengths and weaknesses do they see in the developmental rubric and what are their suggestions to improve it?

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study contributes to the area of teaching English as a second language;

specifically, in the field of academic writing. At a theoretical level, it adds to the body of literature related to academic writing, providing an insight into the difficulties teachers and students respectively face in teaching academic writing and producing a good academic writing paper, specifically at tertiary level.

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This study will also contribute to the field of curriculum and instruction.

Specifically it will help to provide input for the curriculum for academic writing. It is imperative that courses be designed to fulfil the academic requirements of the students, as studies conducted in the second language learning context indicate that serious problems occur in the way English language is taught in academic institutions (Matsuda, 2003; Silva, 1990; Johns & Dudley-Evans, 1991). At the practical level, the findings of this study will help the curriculum designers at higher learning institutions to make an informed decision in selecting the right content to facilitate the students in their academic writing. The approach used in providing feedback needs to be comprehensive, and yet manageable for the students as well as the teachers. The practitioners in the second language-teaching context who share similar interests in academic writing will have the opportunity to learn how to use feedback as a technique in improving the students‘ work, specifically at tertiary level.

In this study, the developmental rubric was designed to provide a form of feedback for students while they are in the process of writing. The rubric functions as a tool for the students to grasp the nuances of language in writing and improve their level of performance as academic writers. This study will report on the feasibility of using the developmental rubric in enhancing academic writing. It is hoped that the present study will help both university instructors and students of English to become more aware of the role of rubrics in improving students‘ writing.

Finally, this study will also contribute to the field of second language writing.

It will add to the body of knowledge on the various approaches to the teaching of writing at tertiary level. Although there is a burgeoning number of studies on the teaching of writing, not many focus on the approaches in second language writing classrooms at tertiary level, especially in the local context. The present study will

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help teachers to gain more insights into second language writing and the advantages of using rubrics for the improvement of writing skills. In addition, the procedures used in this study could inform future research on possible ways of implementing the developmental rubric as a teaching and learning tool in second language writing. In addition, the procedures used in this study could inform future research on possible ways of implementing the developmental rubric as a teaching and learning tool in second language writing classrooms. This will in turn, help teachers to plan and come up with effective teaching styles.

DEVELOPMENTAL RUBRIC AS A FEEDBACK TOOL IN IMPROVING ACADEMIC WRITING SKILLS AT

A CASE STUDY ON THE USE OF THE