Hanoi National University-College of Foreign Languages

Post- graduate studies department

Bi Th Phng Lan
The frst year language stuents! i"#ulties in $aragra$h
%riting an so&e a$$ro$riate strategies to solve these $ro'le&s
at the National (#ono&i#s University
M.A minor Thesis
Field: English Language Teaching Methodology.
Course: 13
Supervisor: L) Th* Nghi+$, -.

Hanoi, 2007
.'stra#t
Writing is a very important skill in teaching and learning English especially paragraph
writing. But or the irst ! year language students at "ational Economics #niversity $"E#%&
they still get many diiculties in paragraph writing. #nderstanding their pro'lems& ( decided
to do a research on teaching paragraph writing with the hope that ( can provide the teachers
o English at "EW with the real situation a'out their students) diiculties.
(n the study& ( try to ind out the students) common errors in language& idea
organi*ation& and content. With these indings& ( will recommend the 'est teaching
methodology to help teachers o English deal with their students) pro'lems like using
pictures and using readings with various activities such as working with the te+t using
copying& working with the te+t to e+amine cohesive links& working with the te+t to com'ine
sentence& etc. Moreover& ( will mentions to teachers) correction. ,ow to deal with students)
errors- Which errors teachers should correct- When to correct- ( mysel also will design a
check . list o paragraph writing or students can check 'y themselves or check or their
partners.
With my indings and my suggestions or teaching paragraph writing or the irst year
language students at "EW& ( hope that the teachers o English at "EW will have a 'asic
'ackground o students to apply a suita'le way o teaching in order help them to overcome
their pro'lems.


Ta'le of #ontents
/age
/ntrou#tion
0
1. Rational (Introduction, NEU students difculties, and Conclusion)

!. "#$ecti%es o& t'e stud( )

*. +cope o& stud( )
,. -et'od o& t'e stud( 1.
/. Contents o& stud( 1.
The Boy
Cha$ter /0 Literature revie1
I.1 Teaching writing
(.1.1. 2einitions o writing 10
(.1.0. The reasons or teaching writing 13
(.1.3. Approaches to writing teaching 13
(.1.4. /rinciples o teaching writing 15
I.2. Teaching paragraph writing
(.0.1. 2einition o /aragraph 16
(.0.0. 7lassiications o paragraph 18
(.0.3. Writing /rocess o paragraph 09
Cha$ter //0 -ethoology
II.1. Subjects. 03
II.2. escription o! the course o! "ng#ish !or writing paragraph
at $"% 03
II.3. ata co##ection 04
Cha$ter ///0 2ata analysis an is#ussions
III.1. &uestionnaire Surve' (na#'sis
(((.1.1. :tudents) 'ackground and attitude 06
(((.1.0. ;eneral E+pectation o the course 0<
(((.1.3. The 7hoice on teaching methodology 30
III.2. "rrors ana#'sis o! writing sa)p#es
(((.0.1. Errors in the paragraph content 38
(((.0.0. Errors in ideas organi*ation 49
3
(((.0.3. Errors in language 41
Cha$ter /30 /&$li#ations for tea#hing strategies an so&e
suggeste a#tivities an e4er#ises
I*.1. %sing pictures to teach paragraph writing 45
$=easons& strategies or using pictures& suggested activities and e+ercises%
I*.2. %sing rea+ings to teach paragraph writing 53
$=easons& strategies or using pictures& suggested activities and e+ercises%
I*.3. Correcting errors 56
Con#lusions
Su))ar' o! the stu+' >0
,eco))en+ations !or !urther research >3
-ib#iograph' >4
(ppen+ices
(ppen+i.1: ?uestionnaires or students >>
(ppen+i. 2: Error analysis in students) writing papers ><
.#5no1lege&ents
4
( would like to e+press my deepest thanks to my supervisor Mr. Le The "ghiep who
has enthusiastically helped and encouraged me during the period o writing this research
paper. Without his e+perienced guidance& valua'le comments and tireless help& ( cannot
complete the study on time.
My gratitude also go to all o the instructors in my MA. course at the /ost.;raduate
:tudies& 7ollege o Foreign Languages& ,anoi "ational #niversity. With their precious and
proessional lectures and tutoring& ( can understand diicult 'asic concepts related to English
teaching methodology&
( am also grateul to all my riends and colleagues and my 'eloved amily& who gave
me useul advice on writing process.
Finally& ( wish to acknowledge the kind help o the irst year language students at
"E# who helped me to collect data& and their valua'le support or inishing the study.
,anoi 2ecem'er& 0996
Bui Thi /huong Lan
List of .''reviations
NEU0 National Economics #niversity
E:/: English :peciic /urpose
5
M.A: Master o Arts
/ntrou#tion
1. ,(TI/$(0"
1.1. Intro+uction
>
The goal o teaching and learning oreign languages is providing the learners with a
means o communication or in other words& improving the communicative competence or
learners. To ac@uire the communicative competence& our language skills $reading& speaking&
listening and writing% are taught regularly at schools and universities& among which writing
skill is very important 'ecause it is a productive skill. (t is also 'ecause o the act that
'esides speaking& people re@uently have to communicate with each other in writing.
Moreover& writing helps learners learn other skills 'etter. AFirst& writing reinorces the
grammatical structures& idioms& and voca'ulary that we have 'een teaching our students.
:econd& when they write& they have a chance to 'e adventurous with the language& to go
'eyond what they have Bust learned to say& to take risks. Third& when students write& they
necessarily 'ecome very involved with the new languageC the eort to e+press ideas and
constant use o eye& hand and 'rain is the uni@ue way o e+pressing their idea. They discover
a real need or inding the right word and the right sentence. The close relationship 'etween
writing and thinking makes writing a valua'le part o any language coursesD $=aimes& 1<38:
3%.
2ue to the importance o productive skills& the course or the students at "E# pays
much attention to writing.
At "E#& paragraph writing is conducted or the irst.year language students 'ecause
it is one o the undamental and 'asic writing skills. /aragraph writing is the 'ackground or
students to learn other writing skills in the ne+t terms. For e+ample& they will learn to write
'usiness letters& 'usiness e.mails& and contracts.
1.2. $"% stu+ents1 +i!!icu#ties in paragraph writing
(t is the act that students at "E# in general and the irst.year language students in
particular are very weak at paragraph writing. There are some reasons why English maBor
students ace a num'er o pro'lems when studying paragraph writing. First& most students
were not amiliar with paragraph writing. When they were at high school& they only practiced
writing at a very low level like sentence.'uilding& sentence.rewriting. :econd& they Bust got
ac@uainted with very inormal writing styles like close.letters and close.e.mails& in the irst
semester. :o when they write a paragraph& they make many mistakes o voca'ulary&
grammar& organi*ation as well as the way o idea e+pression.
6
As revealed in the @uestionnaire& each student has his own diiculties. But the most
serious ones are limitations o English voca'ulary and grammar& weakness in e+pressing
ideas and using linking words.
The students) paragraph writing revealed that students always make voca'ulary and
grammatical mistakes. They use the wrong words when they write a paragraph 'ecause o
their misunderstanding the meaning o words so they ace a lot o conusion in voca'ulary
use. A student wrote: AMy most difficulty in paragraph writing is to choose the right wordsD.
E'viously& mastering the usage o English voca'ulary and structures is very diicult or
every student& so a new and appropriate teaching strategy needs applying soon in order to
help students enhance their knowledge o language.
Weakness in e+pressing ideas is also a 'ig pro'lem or the students. :tudents get
accustomed to the way o Fietnamese thought& so their ideas come out indirectly and
lengthily. They do not ocus on the main point o the pro'lem& they write a lot 'ut the
sentences are not connected& so their writings are vague and illogical. The students
themselves eel very diicult to write a good paragraph in English.
Moreover& linking words cause some diiculties or students. As we all know& linking
words play an essential part in writing 'ecause they are used to link the ideas in paragraph to
make the writing transparent and understanda'le. Without linking words& the writing is
conusing and illogical 'ecause the ideas in the paragraph are unconnected together. And
without using linking words such as and, but, however, although& etc.& the students cannot
compose a paragraph logically and clearly.
Last 'ut not least& there are students who eel it very diicult to make a good topic
sentence. They cannot write a sentence which includes all the ideas they want to mention
later. :o showing them the 'est way to write a topic sentence is also important element in
teaching paragraph writing 'ecause the writing is good or 'ad depends a lot on the topic
sentence.
1.3. Conc#usion
Because o those diiculties& teaching paragraph writing is really a challenge. What
the teacher should do now is to develop eective teaching strategies that help students work
out the way o writing a paragraph and help them avoid mistakes. (t is a 'ig pro'lem or
teachers o English at "E#.
8
To ind the 'est answer& ( would like to search or the common errors and the causes
o those errors that the students are likely to make. Ater that ( recommend some appropriate
teaching strategies and useul e+ercises in my study with the hope that students at "E# can
only avoid their errors in writing paragraph 'ut also improve their paragraph writing skill.
67 8'9e#tives of the stuy
To 'e aware o the importance o paragraph writing and the weakness o
students at "E# in paragraph writing& ( mysel& a teacher o English at "E# want to
contri'ute a little part to improving students) writing skill 'y studying the issues related to the
ineectiveness in teaching paragraph writing at "E#.
The ollowing @uestions are given to ind out the students) diiculties in paragraph
writing. Firstly& the study will ind out the common errors that students are used to make&
students) 'ackground and students) recommendations though the students) compositions and
the @uestionnaires. :econdly& 'ased on data analysis and the students) 'ackground some
appropriate strategies in teaching paragraph writing and some kinds o e+ercises are
recommended in order to help the students overcome their diiculties in paragraph writing.
And research @uestions o the study are:
- How important is the paragraph writing for students at NEU?
- What are common errors made by students in writing English paragraphs?
- What are the causes of the common errors?
- What are effective strategies for teaching writing English paragraphs?
:7 ;#o$e of The stuy
The study is a'out teaching paragraph writing or students at "E#& 'ut due to the
limited scope and time& it is conined to inding out the students) errors in paragraph writing
and suggesting some new teaching strategies to solve the students) pro'lems.
(n the study& the author tries to ind out the errors derived rom writing tasks o the
irst year language students at "E#. From these errors& the writer investigates the causes o
those pro'lems 'eore giving solutions to them as well. The ocus will 'e placed on the orm
o English such as grammatical& le+ical errors and other errors related to paragraph writing in
order to help students learn how to write a paragraph well.
<
<7 -etho of the stuy
(n this study& the writer chooses the @uantitative research 'y using the students)
compositions as a techni@ue o eliciting data or the analysis and statistical counting. The
writer will collect the students) writing tasks to analy*e the most typical errors that students
make. And the analysis o @uestionnaires inormation is also conducted to seek students)
'ackground inormation& their diiculties& and their evaluation o eectiveness when the
teacher applies dierent teaching methods. En the 'asis o the data analysis& the writer will
has the right view on the students) diiculties in writing paragraph and 'asing on their
diiculties provide some appropriate teaching strategies and e+ercises.
=7 Contents of the stuy
There are three main parts in the study. The irst one is introduction& the second is the
'ody and the last one is conclusion. And in each part& the issues related to the study are
included.
T'e stud( starts 1it' an introduction t'at gi%es an o%er%ie1 o&
teac'ing paragrap' 1riting, t'e reason 1'( t'e issue is c'osen &or
researc' and t'e 1a( to conduct t'e researc'. 2&ter introduction, t'ere
are t'ree c'apters presenting t'e stud( in detail as t'e main part o& t'e
researc'.
In c'apter one, literature re%ie1 related to teac'ing paragrap'
1riting is conducted in order to 'elp students a%oid errors o& st(le in t'eir
1riting3 t'e di4erence #et1een 1ritten and spo5en te6ts and approac'es
in teac'ing Englis' 1riting are presented. 7esides, 1riting paragrap' is
care&ull( anal(8ed #ased on some t'eories to 'elp students understand
more a#out t'e classi9cations o& paragrap', t'e process o& paragrap'
1riting. In c'apter t1o, t'e met'od o& t'e stud( is presented. It includes
t'e care&ul descriptions o& su#$ects, sampling, and instrument and data
collection. :'e last c'apter presents data anal(sis and discussions. In t'is
part, ;uestionnaires and 1riting samples collected &rom students are
19
anal(8ed to 9nd out students t(pical errors and t'eir causes in order to
recommend e4ecti%e strategies &or teac'ing paragrap' 1riting at NEU.
<inall(, t'e stud( closes 1it' a conclusion, 1'ic' summari8es t'e
1'ole stud( issue, and pro%ides suggestions &or &urt'er stud(.
Cha$ter /
Literature revie1
I.1.Teaching 2riting.
I... !esearchers" opinions about writing.
11
There are various opinions o writing given 'y dierent researchers. Each one has
their own idea a'out writing.
Tri''le $1<<>: 3% considers writing as language skill involving not Bust a graphic
representation o speech& 'ut the development and presentation o though in a structured way.
But Byrne $1<88: 1% considers writing as the act o orming graphic sym'ol only such
as letters or com'ination o letters.
Besides& :okolik $0993:88% deined writing as a physical and mental act. (t means that
writing re@uires writers to commit words or ideas and to convent ideas& think a'out how to
e+press them& and organi*e them into statements and paragraphs. :he also considers writing
is a process and product& and writing aims at e+pressing and impressing. The writers have to
generate ideas& organi*e& drat& edit& read& re.read to produce a product.a paragraph& an essay
or a report and writers try to e+press their ideas& eeling to impress their readers in certain
ways
Writing involves many dierent aspects. According to =oger& ;& 2. /hillips& and :.
Walters $1<<5: 113%& writing involves seven aspects. They are handwriting& spelling&
punctuation& sentence construction& organi*ing a te+t and paragraphing& te+t cohesion and
style. All aspects are careully considered 'y any writers.
I..#. $he reason for teaching writing
According to ,armer& G& $1<<8: 6<%& teaching writing to students o English include
some reasons as ollows.
Firstly& it is reinorcement. Most o students gain great 'eneits rom seeing the
written language especially the visual demonstration o language construction is valua'le or
'oth their understanding and committing the new language to their memory. :o it is very
useul or them to write sentences using new language ater they have Bust studied it.
:econdly& language development is also a reason or teaching writing. (t seems that
the actual process o writing helps students to learn language 'etter. The highest level o
writing skill involves critical thinking. To deal with their mental activities& students have to
construct proper written te+ts using all their learning e+perience.
Thirdly& the most important reason or teaching writing is that it is a 'asic productive
language skill. E'viously& students need to know how to write a letter& how to write a report&
10
etc. Thereore& they need to know some writings) conventions such as punctuation& paragraph
construction& orms o paragraph.
I..%. &pproaches to writing teaching
(n the ield o writing& product and process approaches are the most popular.
I.1.3.1. Product approach .
/roduct approach is a largely Aprescriptive and product.centeredD way o teaching
writing $Apple'ee& 1<8>%.
/roduct approach pays much attention to the inal outcome o a writing process and
supposes that students need to produce only one writing version o the task (Adapted from
uong, !.!, Minh ".!.!.etal, #$$%& '%%.
(n general& product approach ocuses on the end result o the learning process . what
it is that the learner is e+pected to 'e a'le to do as a luent and competent user o language.
With this approach& the avorite class activities are engaged in imitating& copying& and
transorming models o correct language.
:teel $0990% provides our steps as a model or this approach:
:tage 1: :tudents study a model te+t and mimic its highlighted eatures.
:tage 0: :tudents are involved in controlled practice o the highlighted eatures&
usually in isolation.
:tage 3: :tudents work to organi*e ideas.
:tage 4: :tudents choose rom a choice o compara'le writing tasks. (ndividually&
they use the skills& structures and voca'ulary they have 'een taught to produce the product to
assess their English progress.
I.1.3.#. Process approach
/rocess approach encourages students) communication o ideas& eeling and
e+periences $:tanley& 0990%.
Writing is now multistage process with teacher intervention as needed& and is
evaluated according to how well it ulills the writer)s intentions $=eid& 1<<3%.
Also teaching and learning writing ocus on the process rather than the inal product.
$Adapted from uong, !.!, Minh ".!.!.etal, #$$%& '(%.
13
/rocess approach ocuses more on the various class activities which are 'elieved to
promote the development o skilled language use. With the process approach& writers are
encouraged to get their ideas on paper in any shape or orm without worrying too much a'out
ormal correctness. (t also encourages colla'orative group work among students as a way o
enhancing motivation and developing positive attitudes towards writing. Moreover& process
approach encourages the development o critical thinking skills& which help them to have
chances to challenge their social reality $"unan& 2& 1<<1: 86%.
=oger& ;& 2. /hillips& and :. Walters $1<<5: 115% provide some guidelines or a process
writing activity.
(ntroduction: Teachers create a piece o writing or students to write 'y the way o
stimulating students) interests through listening& speaking or reading activity. Then teacher
asks students to discuss the te+t type& deinite the readers who are they and deinite the
content that the writer is going to inorm& etc.
Working with ideas: #sing maps& picture or sketch& etc. to ask students 'rainstorm in
order to get ideas. Ater noting down& students need to decide which ideas can 'e kept and
which ones should 'e reBected and develop them 'eore ordering them logically.
/lanning: Teachers ask students to remind the typical eature and structure o the te+t
type they are writing& or e+ample o paragraph: introduction to the topic with a topic
sentence& the supporting ideas or the topic sentence and the writer)s conclusion.
2rating: The students start to write the irst paragraph rom their plans. They may
use dictionary to ind words& grammatical structures i they need.
Editing: With the teacher comments& students correct and improve their irst
paragraph 'y looking at content& language accuracy& organi*ation& etc.
=e.writing: :tudents write out the inal version and teachers have to decide to give
the inal correction and responses to the students) writings.
I..' (rinciples of teaching writing
There are several principles o writing. But according to ,uong& T.T& Minh ".T.T.etal&
0996: 58%& teachers should consider some ollowing principles when teaching writing.
First o all& teachers should provide many opportunities or students to write.
:tudents) writing skills Bust improve when they practice writing a lot. :o& Bust asking students
14
to practice in writing lesson is not enough. Teacher can create writing tasks rom listening&
reading and speaking lesions with dierent style o writing such as letter writing& e.mail
writing& etc.
Then& teachers should make their eed'ack to students helpul and meaningul 'y the
way o giving comments in detail at the end o students) writings. And teachers) comments
should help students to 'e independent writers. (t means that teachers) comments should help
students to correct their errors instead o correcting their errors.
Moreover& to evaluate students) writings clearly and e+actly& teachers should make
criteria or each item such as spelling& accuracy o voca'ulary& use o cohesive devices& etc.
Besides& as oten as possi'le teachers should create the right conditions or students)
generation o ideas& and teachers always consider themselves as a resource or inormation
and language when necessary.
Lastly& teachers should provide students communicative writing activities. With this
kind o activities& students write with the answer to the three @uestions: What they are
writing- $genre%& or whom- $audience% and why $purpose%. This is useul or students
'ecause these writing activities in the class tend to resem'le communicative writing tasks in
the real lie.
I.2. Teaching paragraph writing
I.#.. )efinitions of (aragraph
There are various deinitions o a paragraph 'ut in general a paragraph can 'e
understood including topic sentence and supporting sentences $i necessary% to make the
main idea clearer.
According to E+ord Advanced ;enie $0990%& a paragraph is Aa section o a piece o
writing& usually consisting o several sentences dealing with a single su'Bect. The irst
sentence o a paragraph starts on a new lineD
But Alice H ,. Ann $1<<>: 0% think that AA paragraph is 'asic unit o organi*ation in
writing in which a group o some related sentences develop one main idea. A paragraph can
'e as short as one sentence or as long as ten sentences. The num'er o sentences is
unimportant. ,owever& the paragraph should 'e long enough to develop the main idea
clearlyD.
15
Besides& Feist $1<<>: >% reckons that AA paragraph as a group o sentences that
develop a single idea. We write in paragraphs to make the organi*ation o our ideas clear to
our reader. ( you think a'out paragraph writing as a step.'y.step process& it will help you
sort through the conusion. The irst step o the writing process is to gather your ideas and
actsD.
(n act& 'esides elements o unity and coherence& a paragraph should have three main
parts. They are the topic sentence& supporting sentences and the concluding sentence.
What is a topic sentence- A topic sentence is usually the irst sentence that
summari*es the main idea o a paragraph. (t states the most important thing that you want to
say a'out your topic. (n the other words& a topic sentence must 'e the controlling idea o the
paragraph $Feist& 1<<>: 16%. To write a good topic sentence& writer should put it in a complete
sentence.
What are supporting sentences- They are the sentences those include the ideas related
to the topic $Feist& 1<<>: 03%. :upporting sentences may develop various aspects o the topic
such as causes& eects& reasons& e+ample& etc. All the supporting sentences are connected
together 'y cohesive devices. What is a concluding sentence- (t is usually a single sentence.
But some paragraphs may re@uire more than one concluding sentence. The conclusion is
usually placed at the end o paragraph. (t summari*es or restates the main point you made.
I.#.#. *lassifications of paragraph
According to Feist& there are our main kinds o paragraph: inormative& descriptive&
narrative and persuasive.
I.#.#.1. Informative paragraph
An inormative paragraph is a paragraph that inorms inormation. For e+ample&
A)rite a paragraph to inform your friend about your missing a dateD To write a good
inormative paragraph& writers need to ask themselves three @uestions:
1 What do ( want to e+plain- $The answer is also the topic sentence%
0. What steps are needed to do this activity-
3. Who is my audience-
1>
Ater determining the topic sentence 'y answering the @uestion 1& students continue
with the answer to @uestion 0 to give the support sentence in chronological order using signal
words such as: first, then& etc. in order to complement the topic sentence
:ignal words or chronological order are:
*irst !hen +efore !o start
,econd "e-t After *inally
third )hile during In conclusion
$Adapted from *eist& .3/
I.#.#.#. 0escriptive paragraph
A descriptive paragraph tells what something or someone is like. For e+ample:
A0escribe your houseD or A0escribe your carD. (t helps readers see& eel& taste& smell and hear
the things 'eing descri'ed. The topic sentence gives the overall impression. :upporting
sentences include speciic details a'out the person or thing 'eing descri'ed. According Feist&
students may 'e guided to write a descriptive paragraph ollowing necessary steps.
1. E'serve the su'Bect o paragraph careully. Try to give sensory details. That is the
thing you can see& touch& eel& and taste.
0. Write a topic sentence that gives your overall impression o the su'Bect.
3. Write supporting sentences that contain vivid details.
I.#.#.3. "arrative paragraph.
A narrative paragraph is a paragraph that tells a'out something that happened. For
e+ample& A)rite a paragraph that tells what happened to you last wee1endD. This kind o
paragraph is used in newspapers& stories& and novels. A narrative paragraph is usually
arranged in chronological order. (t answers ollowing @uestions:
1. Who was involved-
0. What happened-
3. Where did it happen-
4. When did it happen-
I.#.#... Persuasive paragraph&
A/ersuasive writing convinces the reader to take action or to support an ideaD $Feist:
54%. (n this kind o paragraph& the main idea is your opinion on the topic. (t is usually stated
in a topic sentence. The others support the opinion with reasons& evidence.
16
The tone o persuasive paragraph should 'e strong& 'ut polite in oder to encourage the
reader to act.
I.2.3. 2riting process o! paragraph
To perectly complete a paragraph& the writer needs to conduct our main stages. The
irst is prewriting& the second is drat writing& the third is revising drats and prooreading is
the last one.
There are dierent ta'les& charts or articles showing the paragraph writing process
like Ann =aimes& Alice H ,. Ann. But in general& when a paragraph is written& the writer
needs to concern a'out some main steps that cannot 'e lacked. They are shown 'y the
ollowing chart.

Start Here 3
The graph o! writing process
(n the pre.writing stage& writers need to choose and narrow a topic to a speciic ocus
then they generate ideas. That is called 'rainstorming. This process can get them to start the
writing more easily and @uickly. (t means that i they conduct the stage& it helps them save
time in later stages o the writing process.
Proo&readin
g
18
Ater 'rainstorming& listing step is conducted. :tudents think a'out their topics and
make a list o any words and phrases coming into their mind on a paper. They think o as
many ideas as possi'le in a very short time. A2on)t stop ree low o ideas 'y Budging or
editing them 'eore you write them downD $Alice H ,. Ann. 1<<>:5%.
The ne+t step is ree writing. :tudents can write any ideas a'out their topics to ind
out a speciic ocus. While students are writing& their minds will come out other related ideas
rom the ones that they have. Writers should write the ideas down as many as possi'le
without worrying a'out any mistakes. When they run out o ideas& they need to reread their
paper and underline the main ideas that they think will develop. All o these activities are to
ensure that whether writers are looking or a narrow topic or not 'ecause to ind out a narrow
topic is very important. (t helps them to choose an appropriate and ade@uate idea to develop.
2rat writing stage is the actual writing stage. (t is Bust an e+tension o the pre.
writing stage. The students transer the inormation or issues they have gathered and
organi*ed them into a simple paragraph. #ntil this stage& they may not 'e e+actly certain
which direction their ideas will go. ,owever& this stage allows them to settle on the su'Bect
the paper will take.
=evising or editing is usually the most diicult stage o the writing process&
especially or 'eginning writers. =evising can include adding& deleting& re.arranging and
su'stituting words& sentences& and even making transparency. Even the most e+cellent
authors also need to spend the maBority o their time on this stage o the writing process to
read again and again in order to ind out and edit their writings 'etter& that will 'e easy or
them to remem'er the mistakes they make and avoid them in the ne+t writings.
(t is important to gain prooreading skills or students as this improves a student)s
writing over time. /roo.reading stage is a chance or the writer to scan his or her paper or
mistakes in grammar& punctuation& and spelling.
Cha$ter //
-ethoology
II.1. Subjects:
1<
Because o time limitation& it is impossi'le to carry out the study with all language
students who are in the irst year in the population individually. :o the data collection in the
study is derived rom a su'set o the population 'y means o cluster sample.
There are 43 students who are e+amined and @uestioned. They are at the same age o
1<. They come rom dierent parts o Fietnam& 'ut most o them are rom "orthern Fietnam.
Their level o English proiciency is e@ual to intermediate that is shown 'y their result o
their English test in university entrance e+amination.
2uring the irst part o the course& they themselves revealed that their attitude o
learning English is very positive and their English is rather good& especially their reading
skills. ,owever& when they asked to write a paragraph& they still have dierent diiculties in
voca'ulary& grammar& and content as well as idea organi*ation.
II.2. The +escription o! the course o! "ng#ish !or paragraph writing.
"E# is one o the 'iggest universities in Fietnam and its Faculty o the Foreign
Languages was esta'lished in 1<5>. (t used to open language program or non. maBor
students o English. But in 099>& a part rom non.maBor programs& it started opening
language programs or maBor students o English. (t means that the students in the study are
o the irst course o maBor language program.
This is term 0 o the our. term. writing courses designed or the maBor students o the
Faculty o the Foreign Languages or Economics& whose level o English is intermediate.
They have completed period 1. (n period 1& students learned sentence writing. The course in
period 0 takes students through the process o writing a paragraph& a group o sentences that
develop one central idea.
Learning writing a paragraph plays an essential part in writing task in general and is
an important step in writing an essay& which students will learn in the ollowing section o
their maBor writing course. The course is ulilled within in iteen weeks. Each week&
students have three 45 minute writing periods. (n total& the course o paragraph writing takes
45 periods.
(n 45 periods& the course covers all the parts o paragraph writing& including
'rainstorming a topic& narrowing the topic& writing a simple paragraph outline& writing a
proper topic sentence& writing supporting sentences& writing concluding sentence& developing
09
the topic in logical order& unity& coherence& using writing acilities like logical order&
transition signals& etc.
Besides& /ortolio method is also used in the course. Teachers always let students
practice writing in conte+t and guide them step 'y step through the writing process. They
provide students with a'undant opportunities or writing practice and review.
II.3. ata co##ection proce+ures
The collection o data was carried out through the ollowing stages.
Stage 1: 7hoosing 45 language students who are in the irst year at "E# randomly to
conduct the survey o the study.
Stage 2: Asking the su'Bects to answer the @uestionnaire. The @uestionnaire content is
divided into three parts. The irst one is a'out 'ackground inormation o the respondent)s
English study. The second one includes @uestions a'out the respondents) general e+pectations
rom the course and the last one contains all @uestions on the respondents) preerence or the
teaching strategies or English paragraph writing. (n the last one& it is urther divided into
methods o presenting knowledge& methods o sampling model paragraphs& methods o
choosing e+ercises& and methods o showing and correcting errors in students) writing.
For the irst and the second parts& most o the @uestions are multiple.choice and open.
ended @uestions 'ut the @uestions in the third part mostly are scale @uestions that are ranged
according to high level& average level and low level o eectiveness. The multiple.choice
@uestions are chosen 'ecause they are easier to analy*e while open.@uestions allow
respondents to clariy their ideas and e+pectations speciically. And the scale @uestions are
used or Budging the eectiveness o dierent methods o teaching.
Stage 3: Asking the su'Bects to write a paragraph as the mid.term test to collect the
data. 43 e+am papers o the achievement assessment are e+amined and the errors in the
answers or the paragraph writing are counted and categori*ed.
The students) sample paragraph was a 45.minute test and the su'Bects were re@uired
to write a'out one o the ollowing topics:
a. Why do many people go to &ustralia to study?
b. $he best place to visit in +ietnam
c. Write a paragraph about a good or country to visit.
01
d. & famous person.
e. Eagle animal
There are several reasons to choose the topics. Firstly& through the task& the teacher
can reali*e whether his students improve their writing or not in order to have necessary
timely adBustment to help students overcome their diiculties. :econdly& students have
chance to choose the topic that they are interested in& so they can write the paragraph with
their own ideas 'asing on the topic they like& which helps the writer o the study to see the
typical errors o their writings.
The answers or this e+am will 'e analy*ed as writing samples and the errors in these
papers will 'e collected& categori*ed so that those errors can 'e e+plained and the teacher can
help students avoid them.
The errors analysis o the students) writings samples& together with the survey will
'uild up the data necessary or the study so that the writer can suggest certain strategies or
teaching paragraph writing. The analysis o these data will 'e presented in the ollowing
chapter.
Cha$ter ///
2ata analysis an is#ussions
III.1.The (na#'sis &uestionnaire Surve'
III... ,tudents" bac-ground and attitude
00
There are 10 @uestions in the @uestionnaire $see a Appendi+ 1% 'eing answered 'y 43
respondentsC o which 4 respondents are male and 3< the others are emale. The average o
years that they have 'een learning English is 19.0 years& ranging rom > years to 14 years.
The igure in 7hart 1 shows that most o them started learning English since they were at
lower secondary school 'ut some started learning English sooner& rom primary school.
2uring a long time o learning English& most students $<9I% have inished the course
o sentence writing and letter writing& ><I students have learned e.mail writing and even
06I students have inished an essay writing.course. Besides& there are 09I students who
have taken the course o memos writing& report writing& and note taking& among which there
are 5I or memos writing& 8I or note taking and 6I or report writing. =emarka'ly& >9I
students have learned paragraph writing. But students revealed that it was not a course& it is
Bust some instructions o paragraph writing given 'y teacher.
Chart 1: 4ercentage o! stu+ents having ta5en +i!!erent
2riting courses
With a large num'er o students who have already learn some 'asic writing courses
$sentence writing& letter and email writing%. :tudents are not likely to have many diiculties
in writing a paragraph.
There are some students who did not answer the @uestion o their motivation in
learning English. But in general& the language students have high motivation o learning
English& or in other words& they have a positive attitude toward studying English. >5.1 I
respondents choose English with the reason or having a good Bo' in the uture. And 18.>I
students decided to study English 'ecause o their passions. But there are only 5 out o 43
03
students& appro+imately 11.>I& who have a negative attitude toward studying English. They
think they had a wrong choice on learning English 'ecause ater the irst term they reali*e
that English is @uite diicult or them. They hardly meet the course re@uirement. And 4.6
students have reasons o discovering the native speakers) cultures. 7hart 0 shows the
percentage o students with dierent views on learning English.
Chart 2: 4ercentage o! stu+ents with +i!!erent views on "ng#ish
E'viously& most students learn English 'ecause o their uture Bo')s re@uirement so that apart
rom improving their language knowledge& teachers should provide them with social
knowledge 'y asking them to write some topics related to work.
III..#. .eneral E/pectation of the course
III.1.#.1. !he necessity of the paragraph writing course
There are 199I students answering AJesD when they are @uestioned A2o you wish to
learn paragraph writing at "E#-D But each one has his own motivation. 39.0I students
conirm it is necessary to study paragraph writing 'ecause it is very useul or their essay
writing and their thesis writing in the uture. The same percentage o students $39.0I% think
paragraph writing is good or their uture career. The proportion o students who think it is
essential to conduct a paragraph writing course 'ecause it is a 'ackground writing course or
any higher writing course accounts or 18.>I. >.<I students think it is the irst step in
learning English to improve other language skills. There are only 0.3I students conirming
that they need to learn paragraph writing 'ecause their English is still very poor.
04
Chart 3: The necessit' o! the paragraph writing course
(n short& the num'er o students who think paragraph writing is necessary or their
thesis writing and their uture Bo's are the same $39.0I%. (t shows that inding an appropriate
strategy o teaching paragraph writing to help students overcome their diiculties is an
urgent task.
III.1.#.#. ,tudents2 e-pectation of the course contents
7hart 4 presents the necessity o the paragraph writing contents. (n general& students
highly appreciate the elements in the given course contents. Most elements get more rates 4
or 5 $high scale% than 1 or 0 $low scale%. There are 38 out o 43 $88.3I% students who think
they really need to improve their voca'ulary and grammar ater inishing the paragraph
writing course. The proportion o students who are aware o high necessity o the paragraph
writing process account or >0.6I& and only 4.>I think it is low.necessary. For idea
organi*ation& >0.6I students choose highly necessary scale 'ut no one chooses low
necessary scale. Besides& E:/ knowledge also plays an important role in their writings with
><.6I students who choose highly.necessary scale and 51I others choose necessary.scale.
But there are only 03.0I students highly appreciate the using visual.aids while 51.1I think
it is necessary or paragraph writing.
05
Chart 6: The necessit' o! the paragraph writing contents
(n summary& most students highly appreciate the necessity o voca'ulary& grammar
and E:/ knowledge gaining ater the paragraph writing course. (t is understanda'le 'ecause
most o them revealed that they learn English or their uture Bo's.
III.1.#.3. ,tudents2 difficulties
Although some o students have learned paragraph writing& most o them still ace
many diiculties. All these diiculties are shown in 7hart 5.
Chart 7: The stu+ents1 +i!!icu#ties
(t can 'e seen that the num'er o students who have diiculty in voca'ulary and
grammar is the highest& accounting or >9.4I. Then& the diiculty in idea e+pressing is
48.8I. A part rom that& using linking word is also diicult or the students in paragraph
writing. (t accounts or 4>.>I. While there is 18.>I students who eel it diicult to write a
0>
topic sentence& 13.<I do not know how to organi*e ideas logically. The detailed analysis is
mentioned later.
(t is no dou't that the most diiculty o the students is voca'ulary and grammar.
>9.4I students make voca'ulary and grammatical errors. (t shows that it is necessary or
teachers to provide the students with dierent kinds o e+ercises that ocus on grammatical
aspect 'esides improving other paragraph writing skills such as logical idea e+pression or the
use o linking words.
III.1.#... ,tudents2 recommendations for the course
When 'eing asked or recommendations to overcome their diiculties& many students
did not recommend anything& 'ut 11.6I respondents gave dierent interesting ideas. The
students who are 'ad at voca'ulary and grammar recommend teacher)s provision o
voca'ulary according to topics& and teacher)s clariication or translation o diicult phrases
and structures into Fietnamese during the lesson.
,owever& 55.8I students think that in order to write a paragraph 'etter and avoid
mistakes o linking words& idea e+pression& and so on& it is necessary or teachers to provide
them with some reerence 'ooks& show them as many sample paragraphs as possi'le. And i
it is possi'le& teachers should design or change the current material 'ecause the material they
are using now contains so many ver'ose theories and complicated e+amples that it is too
diicult or them to understand.
Moreover& students desire to come in or the new method o teaching 'y using high
technology like proBector& computer& and video. They also suggested some game activities to
motivate them to practice their knowledge that they have learnt during the lesson.
Finally& students e+pect their teachers to check and correct all kinds o mistakes
careully and regularly in order to help them know how to correct their mistakes in order to
improve their writing skills.
III..%. $he choice of teaching methodology
7oncerning the choice o teaching methodology in the @uestionnaire& the writer o the
study wants to ind out the most eective methodology o paragraph teaching rom students)
needs. Three issues related to the teaching methodology are given or students to assess their
lesson understanda'ility.
06
III.1.3.1. !eacher2s presenting the 1nowledge.
7hart > presents students) preerence or dierent ways o teachers) presenting or
ver'ali*ing knowledge during the lesson. Four ways o teacher)s presentation are given. They
are material reading and @uestions& lecture and @uestions& group discussion and use o visual
aid. =emarka'ly& a large num'er o students $>9.4I% think teachers give some @uestions
during the lecture is rather eective. Ater that& using visual aids and group discussion are
also highly appreciated 'y students to 'e good ways to help them learn English successully.
Both account or around 48.5I. But material reading and @uestions do not seem to 'e an
eective way or them or 34.8I students.
Chart 8: Stu+ents1 pre!erence !or o! the teacher1s presentation
E'viously& the teacher)s role in lectures is really important. 2uring the lessons the
teacher should use visual aids and make some @uestions or students 'rainstorming 'eore
giving the answers. (t is an eective way or students to understand the lesson. Besides& the
teacher should give them chances to discuss the @uestions with their partners.
III.1.3.#. !eacher2s analy3ing sample paragraphs
To help students write a good paragraph& the irst thing the teacher needs to do is to
care a'out students) understanding o how to write through sample paragraphs. But how to
present the knowledge o language clearly and eectively is a 'ig pro'lem. :ome ways o
presentation such as teacher)s translation& student reading& group discussion and the teacher)s
08
e+planation are given in 7hart 6 and its analysis may help teacher ind out a good way o
teaching paragraph writing to the students at "E#.
Chart 7: So)e +i!!erent wa's to ana#'9e a sa)p#e paragraph
(t is clear that a large num'er o students $60I% think group discussion o sample
paragraph is rather eective in the process o understanding how to write a good paragraph.
All students need the teacher)s e+planation o the sample paragraph)s content: 51.1I
students highly appraise the teacher)s e+planation and 4<.<I think it necessary. For the way
o student sel.reading& only 48I students think it is eective while 3<.5I have an opposite
idea. And the sample paragraph translation 'y the teacher seems to 'e ineective way or
44.1I students.
With a'ove igures& we can see that the teacher should com'ine group discussion and
teacher e+planation to give the 'est way o sample paragraph analysis or students. The
teacher should let students discuss to ind out the eatures o a sample paragraph& and then he
or she can give some e+planations i necessary.
III.1.3.3. Practicing
There are useul kinds o e+ercises to assist students in improving their paragraph
writing skills. (t may 'e a illing.gap e+ercise& arranging sentences& or idea organi*ation in a
paragraph. (n 7hart 8& those kinds o e+ercises are divided into 0 categories: language
e+ercises and amiliar situation writing e+ercises. (n amiliar situation writing e+ercises&
students are asked to write paragraphs 'ased on given amiliar situations.
0<
We can see clearly that a large num'er o students $53.4I% like practicing English
with amiliar situations. They highly appraise this kind o e+ercises while there are only
09.<I students highly appreciate language e+ercises.
Chart :: Stu+ents1 pre!erence !or +i!!erent t'pes o! practicing
(t can 'e seen that& although students think language e+ercises eective in improving
the language elements 'ut they preer to do amiliar situation writing e+ercises 'ecause this
kind o e+ercises is highly eective. Besides providing language e+ercises in the class& the
teacher should provide them with dierent situations to write at home.
III.1.3... 4orrecting errors
Teacher)s error correction is also an important element to help students improve their
paragraph writing. The teacher has to know how to correct students) writings to help them
avoid those mistakes in their ne+t writings. To understand students) desire or their teacher)s
error correction& we have a look at 7hart <.
Chart ;: Stu+ents1 pre!erence !or teacher1s error correction
39
The chart shows students) preerence or the teacher)s error correction. (t can 'e seen
that students highly appreciate all error correction given 'y teacher. The num'er o students
who like the teacher)s correction o all errors is up to 8>I. En the contrary& 88.3I think it is
not eective i the teacher only chooses the common errors to correct& >6.4I students do not
e+pect the teacher to choose one type o error to correct. And >6.6I do not agree the teacher
Bust correct the common errors 'ecause 199I students $include 8>I choose highly.eective
and 11&>I chose eective% think that correction all errors is the most eective or them to
improve their paragraph writing skill.
(n act& the more errors are corrected& the more students understand& 'ut the teacher
cannot correct all kinds o errors or all students in the class 'ecause it wastes a lot o time.
:o teacher should choose one type o errors or common errors to correct only.
III.2. "rrors ana#'sis o! stu+ents1 writings
There are a lot o errors that are ound and counted in 40 paragraph writings. But all
errors are divided into three categories that are clearly shown in Ta'le 19. They are errors in
content& errors in organi*ation and errors in language. First o all& errors in content are all the
errors that show the students) lack o understanding the paragraph content and meaning.
These include the ailures in e+pressing the meaning intended& lack o inormation& and the
te+t)s understanda'ility which appear in topic sentence& supporting sentences and concluding
sentence o the paragraph. :econd& all elements restraining the smooth low o the paragraph
are called errors in organi*ation. These include illogical arrangements o ideas& overlapped
parts or ailures in the paragraph coherence or unity. Last& errors in language come out in
grammar errors& orthography errors $punctuation and spelling errors%& voca'ulary errors and
style errors.
Ta'le 19 shows the results o the error categori*ation. As we can see rom the ta'le&
the most common errors 'elong to language& which appeared on all the analy*ed papers.
Language errors accounted or 60.<I o all the errors counted. The ne+t common errors are
content ones accounting or 31.4I. Errors in the organi*ation seem to 'e ewer than the
others with only 16.5I. Ta'le 19 is or urther details a'out errors.
31
Content I+ea /rgani9ation 0anguage
/ro'lem
areas
4 topic sentences 11 logical order 131 grammar
45 supporting sentences 18 coherence >4 voca'ulary
> concluding sentences 1 ormat 34 orthography
"um'er o
errors 77 30 22;
/ercentage 31,6< 17,7< 72,;<
Tab#e 10: Stu+ents1 error ana#'sis.
III.#.. Errors in the paragraph content
(n the writing sample& students are re@uired to compose a paragraph with three main
parts: topic sentence& supporting sentences and conclusion sentence. :tudents must write a
logical and understanda'le paragraph a'out the given topics. ,owever& some paragraphs
have 'een inished without some e+pected parts.
Firstly& there are our students who do not include a statement o purpose nor give a
clear one. (n other words& these students do not know how to write a topic sentence when
writing a paragraph. For e+ample& the topic sentence or the @uestion AWhy do many people
go to Australia to study-D: A)hy do many people go to Australia to study5 +ecause of
learning style, finding 6ob easily and the peopleD. E'viously& the topic sentence is
unsatisactory enough. The topic sentence is divided into two parts. Ene is a @uestion and the
other is the answer. The student should not give a @uestion in the topic sentence. (t must 'e a
positive orm to airm his opinion a'out the given @uestion. Er another e+ample rom paper
90: A)hy do they choose Australia as their overseas study destination5. Indeed, Australia is
one of the best place for students from all over the world7. As can 'e seen& it is not a good
topic sentence 'ecause it does not include speciic idea. The topic is too 'road.
:econdly& a great num'er o supporting sentences are vague. There are 45 sentences
in 43 papers that are not really good supporting sentences or the topic sentence& which
resulted in illogical content ideas. Ene e+ample o these is in paper 9>& the student wrote:
8"owadays, many people go to Australia to study because of its ideal studying conditions,
valuable living cost and career prospects in future. Australia provides a uni9ue 1ind of
education and a learning style that encourage you:7 We can see that studying conditions
30
and uni@ue kind o education is two dierent terms. :o in this conte+t two sentences do not
modiy each other. The second sentence which ollows is not connected to the irst one.
Finally& writing a conclusion sentence is also a 'ig pro'lem or the students. There are
si+ students) conclusions which are weak in meaning e+pression and there is one without the
conclusion due to the poor understanding o how to write it. For instance& in paper 91 AIt is
not surprising that so many people go to Australia to studyD. (t cannot 'e said that it is a good
conclusion sentence. (t does not restate the a'ove mentioned issues& nor reconirm the
opinion again in the conclusion. Another e+ample is @uoted rom paper 94 or urther
illustration A;ou2ll be a luc1y person if you have a opportunity to go to Australia to study7.
To sum up& in most o the cases& the errors are caused 'y lack o understanding o
how to write a paragraph. Thereore& one important task o the teacher is to amiliari*e
students with dierent paragraph writing activities or chance o practice.
III.#.#. Errors in idea organi0ation
(t seems that students do not master the logical idea organi*ation o the paragraph.
There still ade@uately e+ist some pro'lems out o 39 errors o idea organi*ation& the num'er
o coherence errors is the 'iggest . 18 mistakes are counted in 43 writing papers. Most errors
are caused 'y students) lack o understanding the use o linking words. They ace many
pro'lems in connecting the idea smoothly. The connection among dierent sentences is very
weak& so the ideas are unconnected. Ene o these is @uoted rom paper 95:
AK so it2s easy to find good 6obs and help professional positions worldwide after graduating
from Australia. )onderfully, <angoroos2 country is very safe, dynamic, vibrant with beautiful
beaches= famous sports and its people are friendly, society, energetic. Moreover, Australia
offers :7
E'viously& the sentences in this part o the paragraph are not logically ordered
'ecause o wrong use o linking words. The irst and the second sentences are incoherent. (n
this paragraph& the student should se@uence the ideas more clearly using AfirstlyD& AsecondlyD&
etc. Another e+ample is in paper 93 when the student is asked to write a paragraph a'out a
good city to visit: A>isitors to anoi can find any weather they li1e. *or e-ample, in the
summer, the hottest month, averages 3?4= the coldest month, averages #$4. ,o, they can find
cool temperatures or warm weather in the winterD.
33
We can see that when reading the sentences& no one can understand what the writer)s
intention is. The sentences are unconnected and not clear enough to understand.
Beside coherence errors& the logical order errors are 11 mistakes. The students who
make this kind o errors do not have enough e+perience in arranging the ideas chronological
and logically. They write as many sentences related to the topic as possi'le without putting
them in the logical order. The ideas are arranged disorderly& that results in idea conusing in
the paragraph. For e+ample& in paper 90& the student wrote:
AK. ,econd, you needn2t worry too much about studying and living costs because they
sound cheaper than other countries which are popular with international students, such as
@< or @,. !herefore, this ma1es Australia a very economic choice, for instance study abroad
programs2 costs you around A ?$$$ per semester.7
(t is very diicult to understand the writer)s intention 'ecause the main idea and its
supporting e+ample (A?$$$ per semester% are placed too ar rom each other and readers
cannot see the connection 'etween the two sentences.
Ene more kind o mistakes is ound& that is ormat mistake. ,owever& the ormat o a
paragraph is very simple and there is only one student who made this kind o mistakes. ,e
does not keep the lines in one paragraph& 'ut he skips them to create 0 dierent parts in the
paragraph.
III.#.%. Errors in language
=rammatical errors& voca'ulary errors and orthographical errors are always the most
common or second language students in general and or language students at "E# in
speciic 'ecause most o them learn oreign language 'y sentence transormation. (n addition
to lack o native teachers& they do not have chance to practice& or in other words& the students
do not have a good environment to practice English regularly remem'er voca'ulary and
structures they meet when reading 'ooks.
There are 00< language errors in total& out o which the num'er o article errors is the
'iggest. Most students are still weak in using articles. They seem not to 'e sure o how to use
Athe7. For e+ample ABapan is the wonderful country for visitorsC in paper 96. (n this
sentence& the student used the wrong article 8the7. (t should 'e Aa7 'ecause the sentence has
a general meaning& and it is a'out the truth at present. Er in paper 98& when the student wrote
34
a'out ,anoi ! an interesting place to visit. ,e wrote A,ome prominent places are& temple of
literature:7 The student wrote Temple o Literature without using Athe7. That is wrong
'ecause in Fietnam& there is only one Temple o Literature& so 8theD has to 'e used here.
Ether common grammatical errors include those with ver' orms $34 errors%& plural
and singular nouns $31 errors%. An e+ample or ver' orm is @uoted rom paper 11 AK And
4alifornia coast, Dong +eaches is 1nown as the most beautiful place:D We can see that
8are7 and AplacesD must 'e used. (t cannot 'e AisD and AplaceD here. And some e+amples or
plural and singular noun: 81$ yearD in paper 10& or A@nli1e the other colorful bird, eagle is
greyD is @uoted rom paper 13.
Errors in pronoun& word order& position& passive and active voice occur less oten& 'ut
they also show us the students) weakness in the use o English language.
The analysis o students) writing shows that voca'ulary is also one o the students)
weaknesses. A great num'er o voca'ulary wrong.choices $>4 errors% occur in their writing.
For instance& A4alifornia has a vary temperaturesD in paper 14. (n this sentence& the student
should use AvariousD instead o AvaryD 'ecause Avary7 is a ver'. 2ierent rom the errors
a'ove& however& there are some mistakes o voca'ulary that causes the vagueness o the
sentence even sometimes it changes the meaning o sentences and. For e+ample: Athey don2t
celebrate wedding in the church, only in two families7 The sentence has wrong meaning
'ecause the wrong use Aonly in two families7 in this conte+t. (t should have 'een written:
Aonly at home7 (n short& the main reason o this kind o errors may 'e misunderstanding the
meaning o words.
:tyle is another area with a great num'er o errors. Most students do not understand
that academic writing that needs 'eing ormal. They always use contraction like: AI2mD&
AI2llD& Adon2t7, and etc& in their writings. The reason or those errors is not only their lack o
English knowledge 'ut also their 'ad ha'its o carelessness.
#nderstanding the a'ove analy*ed errors& the instructor will reali*e the students) lack
o knowledge and skills. This will lead to ind an eective teaching strategy or writing at
"E#.
35
III.3. Conc#usion
Ater collected data has 'een analy*ed& it can 'e seen that the respondents are really
aware o the importance o learning paragraph writing and they have positive attitude toward
the paragraph writing course.
,owever& when comparing 'etween @uestionnaire survey and the sample writings&
there is a conliction 'etween the duration o English studying and students) perormances.
(n the @uestionnaire survey& the students o the course airm that they have studied
the English language or a long time ! 19.0 years on average. But their perormances in the
writing are still very poor. They make many kinds o mistakes and one o the most common
mistakes is the use o language.
The @uestionnaire survey or students also asks students to give their opinions a'out
some suggested methodology o teaching. Most o them preer the teacher)s presentation and
e+planation o language knowledge. The indings show that students) suggestion or
designing a 'etter paragraph writing course is their e+pectation o having more chances to do
homework.
:tudents do not highly appreciate the eectiveness o sel.studying through reading
materials. (n my opinion& it may 'e 'lamed or the inactiveness o Fietnamese students who
are used to listening to teachers and doing the dictation in the class. They also preer the
teachers) e+planation o sample paragraphs and group discussion to students) reading.
Moreover& they also revealed that they are longing to have lesson with some o
modern teaching and learning methods.
The indings are really signiicant in adBusting the content and teaching strategies or
paragraph writing at "E#. All these strategies will 'e discussed in the ne+t chapter.
3>
Cha$ter /3
/&$li#ations for tea#hing strategies an so&e suggeste
e4er#ises7
The analysis o students) writings reveals some o students) weakness in paragraph
writing. A large num'er o errors are in grammatical aspects. Areas o diiculty such as
prepositions& articles& passive voice& and voca'ulary as well as structures should 'e the ocus
o teachers) attention during the teaching process.
I*.1. %sing pictures to teach paragraph writing.
I+... $he reasons for using pictures in teaching paragraph writing
#sing pictures in teaching paragraph writing is very useul. (t not only helps students
to enrich their voca'ulary and sentence structures according to the topics 'ut also helps them
to have more motivation during the lessons 'ecause pictures or paragraphs are very attractive
or every student.
Firstly& using pictures makes the lesson more vivid 'ecause pictures can 'ring the
outside world into the classroom and every student likes looking at pictures& which stimulate
students to pay more attention to the lesson. As a result& students are more interested in
paragraph writing.
:econdly& with a picture& student will immediately need the appropriate voca'ulary&
idioms or sentence structures to write a paragraph a'out what they o'serve it.
Thirdly& pictures provide a shared e+perience or all students in the class to write a
paragraph. (t is very diicult or a teacher who provides them with a personal topic like:
A;our last holidayD. (t is not shared e+perience. Apart rom preparing the use o the past
tense& teachers cannot help whole the class deal with the voca'ulary and grammatical
structures that student writers will need. Because each student has dierent ideas so they
need dierent voca'ulary& grammatical structures.
I+..#. ,ome suggestions for general strategies for using pictures in teaching paragraph
writing
Beore giving some suggested e+ercises that can help teachers to conduct paragraph
teaching& some most useul strategies or using pictures are suggested.
36
Teachers can use many types o pictures& such as te+t'ook pictures& maga*ine
pictures& posters and paste them around the wall or on the 'oard. :tudents discuss the
pictures in small groups o our or ive and each one has to write a paragraph a'out his
chosen picture. This strategy will help poor students learn idea generation& voca'ulary and
sentence structures rom the 'etter students 'eore they start writing a paragraph.
A paragraph writing task can 'e developed 'y using the classroom pictures that the
students themselves provide. There are two advantages when we apply this strategy. That is
the teacher is relieved o the task o inding a picture and the students have something that
has personal meaning or them to answer @uestions and write a'out what in the classroom.
:tudents can 'e asked to provide their avorite advertisements& their own drawings or their
amily pictures.
#sing dierent types o pictures in order to do the whole class discussion& which then
leads to paragraph writing can help students understand the meaning o the pictures. :tudents
can make inerences& predictions and suppositions a'out the world 'eyond the rame o the
picture. :tudents should 'e asked to use their imagination to visuali*e what happened Bust
'eore the moment in the picture and what will happen ne+t& or to iner what caused the
situation and so on.
I+..%. ,ome suggested activities and e/ercises
I>.1.3.1 @sing a s1etch
=aims $18<3C 39% suggests the ollowing sketch $chart 11%:
We can see& the sketch is very easy to draw on the 'oard& and it can 'e clearly
understood 'y every student in the class. Looking at all the urniture rom the sketch students
can reali*e an apartment loor plan. (t is very easy or teachers to convey the language
elements through dierent series o e+ercises not Bust only though the mundane e+ercise:
A)rite a paragraph to describe the picture7.
38
Chart 11: ( sa)p#e s5etch in teaching paragraph writing
#sing this picture& teachers can ask students to write a paragraph descri'ing the
picture. Beore writing& students are asked to provide related words and sentence structures in
order to help them enrich voca'ulary& preposition $ne+t to& on the right& etc.%& articles $a& an&
the%& and grammatical structures $there is& there are% to write a good paragraph.
Basing on this sketch& students can provide their room.arrangement to descri'e their
rooms or their houses using dierent sentence structures.
E'viously& it is a very simple picture& 'ut students can learn and practice many
language elements& which can help them to reduce the errors o language remarka'ly.
I>.1.3.# Paragraph writing basing on a paragraph model
A paragraph sample or the picture may 'e provided to provide students with a model
to descri'e their rooms:
0ebbie Bohnson2s bedroom in her home in 4ats1ill is small but practical. !he room is
only 1$2-1.2, but the furniture is conveniently placed. As you wal1 through the door, you see
the des1 on the right side of the long wall. !o the left on the des1, there is a boo1case with
four shelves. In the farther left corner of the room, there is a chest of drawers. !he rest of the
short wall on the left is occupied by the bed. !hen, on the wall ne-t to the bed there is a big
Bed
7hest
2esk Bookcase
7loset
2oor
W
i
n
d
o
w
W
i
n
d
o
w
7hair
3<
closet with two shelves and space to hang clothes. It is ne-t to the door. En the right hand
wall there are two windows, which ma1e the room very light and airy.
(Adapted from Faims 1(G3& 3#/
This kind o e+ercises attracts 60I students at "E#. According to the @uestionnaire&
they e+pect their teachers to provide a paragraph sample to consult. But to 'e rank& this
method is not highly eective 'ecause students will depend upon the sample& and they are
not creative while they are writing. A paragraph sample is useul or students when they want
to see the ormat o the writing task only.
,owever& the paragraph sample can 'e very useul or students i teachers design it
under dierent kinds o e+ercises as ollows.
Teachers can ask students to complete the paragraph with linking words to help them
practice com'ine the sentences together.
0ebbie Bohnson2s bedroom in her home in 4ats1ill is small ... (1/ practical. !he room
is only 1$2-1.2, : (#/ the furniture is conveniently placed. As you wal1 through the door, you
see the des1 on the right side of the long wall. !o the left on the des1, there is a boo1case with
four shelves. In the farther left corner of the room, there is a chest of drawers. !he rest of the
short wall on the left is occupied by the bed. :(3/, on the wall ne-t to the bed there is a big
closet with two shelves and space to hang clothes. It is ne-t to the door. En the right hand
wall there are two windows, which ma1e the room very light and airy.
Teachers can also ask students to complete the paragraph with articles to help them
reduce this kind o errors.
0ebbie Bohnson2s bedroom in her home in 4ats1ill is small but practical. :(1/ room
is only 1$2-1.2, but :(#/ furniture is conveniently placed. As you wal1 through :(3/ door,
you see the des1 on the right side of the long wall. !o :(./ left on the des1, there is a
boo1case with four shelves. In the farther left corner of :('/ room, there is :(?/ chest of
drawers. !he rest of the short wall on the left is occupied by :(%/ bed. !hen, on :((/ wall
ne-t to the bed there is :(G/ big closet with two shelves and space to hang clothes. It is ne-t
to the door. En the right hand wall there are two windows, which ma1e:(1$/ room very light
and airy.
49
Teachers also can ask students to complete the paragraph with prepositions to help
them reduce this kind o errors.
0ebbie Bohnson2s bedroom in her home :(1/ 4ats1ill is small but practical. !he
room is only 1$2-1.2, but the furniture is conveniently placed. As you wal1 :(#/ the door,
you see the des1 :(3/ the right side of the long wall. !o the left :(./ the des1, there is a
boo1case with four shelves. In the farther left corner :('/ the room, there is a chest of
drawers. !he rest of the short wall on the left is occupied by the bed. !hen, on the wall :(?/
the bed there is a big closet with two shelves and space to hang clothes. It is ne-t to the door.
:(%/ the right hand wall there are two windows, which ma1e the room very light and airy.
I>.1.3.3. Paragraph completion
Write a part o paragraph on the 'oard& ask students to discuss how to end the
paragraph in small groups then write and compare their versions with each other)s and with
the model.
0ebbie Bohnson2s bedroom in her home in 4ats1ill is small but practical. !he room is only
1$2-1.2, but the furniture is conveniently placed. As you wal1 through the door, you see the
des1 on the right side of the long wall. !o the left on the des1, there is a boo1case with four
shelves. In the farther left corner of the room, there is a chest of drawers. !he rest of the
short wall on the left is occupied by the bed. !hen, on the wall ne-t to the bed::
I>.1.3. .. Paragraph assembly
Teachers prepare inde+ cards with one sentence on each& which together orm a
paragraph a'out the picture& hand out one inde+ card to each pair or small group o students.
The task or the whole class is to put the sentences on the cards in order on the 'oard so that
they orm a paragraph.
1. KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK..
0KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
3KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
4KKKKKKKKKK.KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
5KKKKKKKKKK.KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
>KKKKKKKKKK.KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
6KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
8KKKKKKKKKK.KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
41
Ater discussion& teachers ask students to put the correct order on the 'oard 'y using
some @uestions: AWho has a sentence that could 'e the irstLsecondLthirdK sentence o the
paragraph-D This kind o e+ercises makes students more interested in the class activities to
ind the right order o a paragraph sample.
I>.1.3.'. 4ontrolled composition.
Teachers ask students to imagine that they are 2e''ie Gohnson. "ow in her house&
every thing changed 'ecause she has Bust repaired& and she is writing a paragraph to descri'e
the old one using present simple and past simple tense. The paragraph starts with A!he old
house was very small but the new one is biggerKD This e+ercise helps students practice
grammatical elements and stimulate their imagination when they descri'e the new house.
I>.1.3.?. Huided composition
Teachers ask students to widen the topic 'y using guided composition. (t lets students
work in team eectively and stimulates their critical thinking.
Ask students to discuss in groups o ive what they would write in a paragraph with
the 'eginning A0ebbie Bohn2s house is very colorful:7 With the topic sentence& students
!he room is only
1$2-1.2, but the
furniture is
conveniently
placed
As you wal1
through the
door, you see
the des1 on the
right side of
the long wall
!he rest of
the short wall
on the left is
occupied by
the bed
!hen, on the wall
ne-t to the bed there
is a big closet with
two shelves and
space to hang
clothes. It is ne-t to
the door
En the right hand
wall there are two
windows, which
ma1e the room very
light and airy.
In the farther
left corner of
the room, there
is a chest of
drawers
0ebbie
Bohnson2s
bedroom in her
home in
4ats1ill is
small but
practical
!o the left on
the des1,
there is a
boo1case
with four
shelves
40
imagine every color to descri'e urniture in the room. Then students in groups write a
paragraph together including details that develop the main idea in the irst sentence $=aims%
I>.1.3.%. @sing a pictureItopic
#sing a picture as a topic can gives us the chance to develop many kinds o e+ercises&
which help students gather more voca'ulary& idioms& sentence structures as well as
organi*ational skill. For e+ample& the ollowing picture can create dierent tasks.
:tudents discuss in small groups the @uestion: A)hat is happening in the picture5D
The task o students is to write down all the possi'le answers and the words or
phrases to prepare the description.
:tudents write a paragraph in the same groups 'ased on the given @uestions:
)hat are their 6obs5
)hat are they discussing5
ow do they wor15
)hat does the picture infer to5
:tudents need to think o dierent words and phrases to answer the @uestion or
descri'e the picture 'eore writing.
I*.2. %sing rea+ings to teach paragraph writing
Besides using pictures or sketches& reading a short story& a part o newspaper or a
letter to lead paragraph writing helps students deal with dierent contents. :tudents will 'e
provided with real inormation rom the reading when they write a paragraph.
43
I+.#.. $he reasons for the use of readings
#sing readings lead to paragraph writing is very eective. Firstly& i students work
with variety o readings while they are writing& they will 'e dealing with dierent contents
and all the things they write will 'e authentic 'ecause the inormation that they get rom the
readings is plenty and reali*a'le. The readings taken rom newspapers& maga*ines& te+t'ooks&
etc. are various a'out the content. :econdly& when students read& they will 'ecome amiliar
with the voca'ulary& idiom& sentence patterns& organi*ational low and cultural assumptions
o native speakers o the language& which can help students a lot when they 'egin to write a
paragraph. Lastly& students who read a te+t or interact with a te+t that 'elongs to someone&
they can learn his or her writing style& which positively aect students) writings.
I+.#.#. ,ome suggestions for general strategies for using readings in teaching paragraph
writing
Teachers can ask students to read a short passage and pay attention to all the choices
that the writer uses& such as content& voca'ulary& organi*ation and e+amples.
Teachers can ask students to do dierent activities in the classroom. Ask them to
work with the te+t to e+amine the writer)s choices o linguistics& logical eatures& such as
cohesive links& punctuation& grammar& and sentence arrangement.

I+.#.%. ,ome suggested activities and e/ercises
I>.#.3.1. )or1ing with the te-t using copying.
7opy gives all students practice with punctuation& spelling& capitali*ation& and
paragraph indentation. (n the classroom& it is very useul or students to remem'er the words&
structures i a teacher asks students to copy down some inormation that they will really use.
The teacher writes new voca'ulary words on the 'oard while students are
discussing the reading. The students copy any new words into their 'ook or
onto cards& and write a sentence or each new word in order to enrich their
voca'ulary and sentence structures 'eore writing a paragraph a'out anything
related to the te+t topic.
44
:tudents read a story at home and copy one sentence they like 'est. Then& in
class& they discuss with their classmates to analy*e the idea o the sentence
'eore writing a paragraph.
A good piece o paragraph writing 'y one student is written on the 'oard and
then all the students copy it down as a model. And then a student can use that
version to read to the class or practice in dictation or summary writing.
Ater reading& group discussion to write the answer or the given @uestions on
the 'oard is conducted. All the students in the class copy these answers& so
that they can assem'ly chains o ideas 'eore they 'egin to plan and organi*e
their paragraph writing.
I>.#.3.#. )or1 with the te-t to e-amine cohesive lin1s.
Writing a paragraph is dierent rom writing a series o sentences in an e+ercise. (t is
a piece o connected sentences& or in the other words& there are logical and linguistic links
'etween sentences. :o learning how to use these links is an important part o learning how to
write a language.
E'viously& students need to learn the way o using devices or a paragraph cohesive
such as personal pronoun and adBectives& demonstrative pronouns and adBectives& deinite
article& and linking words. With 18 counted errors o linking words are counted& it seems that
students at "E# need to pay more attention to this area.
:tudents can e+amine a paragraph model. While they are reading the
paragraph model& the teacher asks them to underline the devices that the writer
uses to connect one sentence with another in order to make the te+t cohesive.
For e+ample& students underline words or phrases to show se@uence (firstly,
secondly, lastly, first, after that, then, ne-t, finally%& to show contrast $however,
on the other hand, but, on the contrast, nevertheless%& to show the result $so,
therefore, conse9uently%& to show addition $also, furthermore, in addition,
moreover, and/.
2raw a line to connect the underlined words to the words they reer to. For
instance&
8!he teacher called two students but they did answer her7
45
Teachers copy a paragraph and leave 'lanks or any connecting words& then
ask students to complete the paragraph with cohesive devices.
:tudents are asked to read a passage and underline the instance o =the>, then
determine in which cases Athe> provide as a cohesive device. For e+ampleC AI
have a new house in "ew ;or1. $he house is very beautiful and comfortable.
Jspecially, there is a garden in front of the house:7
I>.#.3.3. )or1 with the te-t to combine sentence.
According the study)s indings& we can see that the students) writings are illogical in
content. (t is due to lack o using connectors to com'ine sentences. To help students write a
logical writing& it is necessary to provide them with sentence.com'ining e+ercises that can
improve their sentence structure& length o sentence and sentence variety. For e+ample&
students are given the ollowing pair o sentences taken rom a student)s writing or te+t 'ook
paragraph. Ask them to com'ine two sentences using dierent connectors
e did not meet her.
e missed the flight.
:tudents can discover the variety o sentence com'ining using the connectors like:
,inceKAsK+ecause he missed the flight, he did not meet her
e did not meet her because he missed the flight
e missed the flight, so he did not meet her
e did not meet her because of missing the flight, etc.
I*.3. Correcting errors
7orrecting errors is part o the process o teaching paragraph writing 'ut how to
correct them is still an argumentative @uestion: correcting every error or some in students)
paragraph writings- Teachers should indicate where errors occur and let students correct
them or not- There are dierent @uestions related to the pro'lem.
I+.%.. $eacher"s correction and responding to students" writings.
I>.3.1.1. !eacher2s correction
E'viously& students) errors are so various that the teacher cannot correct all errors
'ecause o limited time and numerous students. The teacher should decide to choose which
4>
kind o errors to deal with. For e+ample& the teacher Bust corrects errors in language or errors
in content in class. For other errors& the teacher can use circling or underlining and sym'ols
to indicate kinds o errors such as AspD or spellingC Av1 or error in ver' orm or tenseC 2gr1
or grammar errorC AcapD or error in capitali*ation. This way can help the students to
identiy and correct their own errors. :ym'ols or editing are suggested as ollows.
S')bo# ".p#anation
Ft: (ncorrect ver' tense
F: Fer' incorrectly ormed
Modal: (ncorrect use or inormation o a modal
7ond: (ncorrect use or inormation o a conditional sentence
:s: (ncorrect sentence structure
Wo: (ncorrect or awkward word order
7onn: (ncorrect or missing connector
/ass: (ncorrect inormation or use o passive voice
#nclear: #nclear massage
:v: (ncorrect su'Bect.ver' agreement
Art: (ncorrect or missing article
"um: /ro'lem with the singular or plural o a noun
Wc: Wrong word choice
W: Wrong word orm
"onidiom: "on. idiomatic $not e+pressed this way in English%
7ap: 7apitali*ation.capital letter needed
7oh: 7oherence.one idea does not lead to the ne+t
7s: 7omma splice.two independent clauses Boined 'y a comma
2m: dangling modiier
Frag: Fragment.incomplete sentence
Lc: Lower case.word$s% incorrectly capitali*ed
/: /unctuation incorrect or missing
/ro reLpro agree: /ronoun reerence or agreement unclear or incorrect
=o: =un.on.two independent clauses Boined with no punctuation
:p:. :pelling error
(Adapted from Dane L Dange, 1GG3, MMIMMI/
Then teacher asks students to re.read their writing to correct the underlined errors and
mistakes. ( students cannot correct errors themselves& the teacher determines the cause o the
errors& careully e+plains the reason why students make certain errors& and how to correct
them. (t is very useul or students 'ecause the more the teacher points out to students why
they are making errors& the more they will 'e a'le to avoid them.
46
With a typical error& the teacher should copy whole the sentence on the 'oard& ask
them to make comments and correct it& which is very good to the writer 'ecause he can
reali*e his mistakes and how to correct it.
I>.3.1.#. !eacher2s responding to students2 writing.
=esponding to content and organi*ation:
(t is necessary or the teacher to give students clear and direct eed'ack and instructions
a'out how to correct and improve their writing 'y way o writing comments in the margins
o papers or at the end o the writing. Ferris et al. $1<<6% provide several orms those the
teacher)s responses to students) idea and organi*ation should take:
$1% Asking or urther inormation
$0% ;iving directions& suggestions& or re@uests or revision
$3% ;iving the student new inormation that will help him or her revise
$4% ;iving positive eed'ack a'out what the student has done well.
These eed'ack types can 'e presented 'y @uestions& statements& imperatives& or
e+clamations and can 'e sotened 'y hedges such as Aplease7, 8may be7, 8 could7, mightDK
$Adapted from uong, !.!, Minh, "!!.etal, #$$%& %(/
=esponding to students) grammatical and le+ical errors.
As 'eing mentioned a'ove& the teacher should choose one type o error to correct. The
teacher can write some comments on the grammar& voca'ulary& spelling& etc. in students)
early drats 'eore giving comments on content and organi*ation. Furthermore& the teacher
should give students clear and direct instructions and comments or this kind o errors& too.
I+.%.#. ,elf - correction and peer 3 correction
:ometimes& teachers need to give students chances or sel . correction and peer.
correction 'ecause using sel.correction or peer.correction can reduce the load o teacher)s
work o dealing with errors. (t also provides students with a chance to improve their
language& their a'ility o analysis and their ha'its o coordinative.working& so the 'etter
students can help the weaker ones. :ome researchers like Bate& Lane& and Lange& 1<<3C
Ferris $1<<5%& Fathman H Whalley $1<<9% suggested a variety o indirect& sel.discovery
techni@ues which can help students learn to monitor and sel.correct their own errors. This
48
method can 'e applied with errors caused 'y carelessness o accuracy and orthography due to
their limited knowledge o English.
:el.correction and peer.correction should 'e guided 'y a checklist that aims at
checking overall correctness o the paragraph writing e+ercises. Ene strong point o using
checklist is capacity o inding out a variety o errors at a time& so it can save time or
revising and give students a view on the re@uirements o a well.written paragraph. The
checklist must include items that are easy to 'e Budged. Teachers can provide each student
with a checklist or each paragraph writing e+ercise so that students can use it to check their
partner)s paragraph writings) errors. ,ere is a sample checklist that ( mysel designed or my
students:
"ame:
Topics Issues ?oo+ -a+
/aragraph Main issue is identiied at the 'eginning
Ade@uate paragraph ormat $indentation&
line run continuously
(deas in supporting sentence:
. =elevant
. 7onsistent& easy to understand
. 7lear presented& suiciently developed
. ;ive ade@uate attention to all aspects o
topic
7onclusion
:ummari*es the main point
Message
7larity
(deas relevant to the topic
Te+t:
. Easy to understand
. Logically organi*ed
. 7ontains appropriate cohesive devices
Errors have minimal eects on message
:ynta+ Faried and accurate set o voca'ulary
Faried and accurate set o grammar
structure
:pelling
(n general& there are dierent methods o correcting students) errors. But with
dierent levels o students and time allowance in class& the teacher should choose the most
suita'le method to help students recogni*e and correct errors eectively.
4<
Con#lusions
1. Su))ar' o! the stu+'
The study aims at inding out the more eective strategies to help students at "E#
overcome their diiculties in paragraph writing.
First o all& the study provides an overview o writing and paragraph writing. (n this
part& readers will see dierent opinions a'out writing skill o well.known researchers. Then
the @uestionnaire survey or students is analy*ed to ind out the students) 'ackground and
attitude toward their English study& their e+pectations o the course& and their evaluation on
the current teaching methodology. Finally& students) sample paragraph writings are also
analy*ed to discover their common errors o language& content& and idea organi*ation.
Ater analy*ing the @uestionnaire and students) sample paragraph writings several
conclusions have 'een made. Firstly& students have highly positive attitude to paragraph
writing during the course 'ecause most o them consider English as a key to ind a good Bo'.
:econdly& students have ar more diiculties in paragraph content& idea organi*ation& and
language than ( e+pected. A lot o errors o grammatical structures& voca'ulary appeared in
their writings. Lastly& the students) answer o their preerence or the way o the teacher)s
presentation and writing e+ercises are very useul or me to suggest or design the suita'le
class activities and e+ercises to improve students) paragraph writing skills 'etter.
The study ocuses on inding practical strategies 'ased on students) common
diiculties. There are dierent strategies o paragraph teaching or the students. But it seems
that using pictures and te+ts leads to writing seems the most eective strategies or them
'ecause various e+ercises can 'e designed rom pictures and readings. Besides suggestions
o teaching strategies and various e+ercises& the checklists to aid peer.correction and sel.
correction are provided to deal with the common errors. (n conclusion& the study partly dealt
with students) diiculties in paragraph writing.
2. ,eco))en+ations !or !urther research
With a view to coping students) diiculties o paragraph content& idea.organi*ation
and language elements& in the study ( recommended some appropriate strategies and
e+ercises that can deal with students) diiculties in writing paragraph. ( hope that the
59
indings might 'ring a'out certain changes in the teachers) strategies o teaching paragraph
writing at "E# in order to help students overcome their diiculties.
The result o the study is also useul or any researches on the ield o teaching
writing to language students at "E# and or language students at other #niversities.
With the indings o the study& ( hope that ( will continue to study new methods o
teaching 'usiness report.writing or students in the near uture and help them avoid
diiculties when they learn 'usiness.report writing.
51
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11. "ational Economics #niversity.Faculty o Foreign Languages. )riting a Paragraph.
,anoi& 0996.
10. "unan& 2. 0esigning !as1 for the 4ommunicative 4lassroom. 7am'ridge #niversity
/ress& 1<8<.
13. "unan. 2. Danguage teaching Methodology. ;B: /rentice ,all& 1<<1.
14. /atsy& M. L. H "ina& :. ow Danguages are Dearned. E+ord #niversity /ress& 1<<<.
15. /enny& #r. A 4ourse in Danguage !eaching . 7am'ridge #niversity /ress& 1<<>.
1>. =aimes& A. !echni9ues in !eaching )riting. E+ord #niversity /ress& 1<38.
16. =o'ert F. :ommer. !eaching )riting to Adults. Gossey.Bass /u'lishers& 1<8<.
18. =oger& ;.& 2. /hillips& and :. Walters. !eaching Practice andboo1. 7hina:
Macmillan ,einesnann& 1<<5.
1<. :okolik& M. Writing. (n 2. "unan $Ed%. Practical Jnglish Danguage !eaching. 7hina:
Mc;raw.hill 7ompanies& (nc and ,igher Education /ress& 0993.
50
09. :teele& F. $0990% Product and Process )riting. =etrieved rom the World Wide We'
39 2ecem'er 0996 at: www.teachingenglish.org.ukLthinkingLwritingLapproach.shtml.
01. :tephen W. Wilhoit. A +rief Huide to )riting from Feadings . Allyn and Bacon& 0990.
00. Tomlinson& B. Materials 0evelopment in Danguage !eaching. 7am'ridge #niversity
/ress& 1<<8.
03. Tripple& 7. )riting. E+ord: E+ord #niversity /ress& 1<<>.
04. Walker& M. A "orton ;uide: )riting Fesearch Paper. W.W. "orton 7ompany& 1<<3.
05. Wasyl& 7. H =on& A. !he Practice of *oreign Danguage !eaching. 2avid Fulton
/u'lisher& 0999.
53
(ppen+ices
.$$eni4>
>uestionnaire &or students
The stuents! nees 1hen they have a $aragra$h 1riting #ourse
/ntrou#tion0
- ?ou are ma$or language students at NEU, (ou are learning paragrap'
1riting as sc'eduled
- I 1ant to 5no1 (our needs 1'en (ou 1rite a paragrap'. +o 1it' (our
'onest ans1ers, 1e can en'ance t'e ;ualit( o& t'e course o& teac'ing
paragrap'. :'an5 (ou %er( muc'.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Circle t'e #est ans1er or 9ll 1ords in t'e #lan5s to ans1er t'e &ollo1ing
;uestions0
+e60 -aleA <emale.
The General information
1. C'oose t'e #est ans1er0
a. I 1ould not 'a%e learned Englis' as a ma$or su#$ect.
#. I learn Englis' to get a good $o# in t'e &uture.
c. I li5e Englis' %er( muc'.
d. "t'er reasons (gi%e t'e details)
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB.
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
BBBBBBBBBBBBB
!. Co1 long 'a%e (ou #een learning Englis'D
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
*. E'ic' s5ills 'a%e (ou e%er learned #e&oreD
a. :entence 'uilding
'. Letter
c. e.mail
d. /aragraph
. inished a course o paragraph writing
. to 'e guided to write a paragraph in some periods
3. Ethers: KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK.
54
About paragraph writing skill
,. Fo (ou t'in5 it necessar( to learn paragrap' 1riting course in t'e 72
program at NEUD
E'(D
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB.
/. E'at do (ou e6pect a&ter t'e courseD Point out t'e necessit( &or t'e
&ollo1ing items.
1. not
necessar(
!. lo1
necessar(
*.
necessar(
,. %er(
necessar(
/. e6tremel(
necessar(

- Goca#ular(, sentence structures using in paragrap' 1riting 1
! * , /
- Gisual aids 1 ! *
, /
- Paragrap' 1riting process 1 ! *
, /
- Idea organi8ation 1 ! *
, /
- +ocial in&ormation to 1rite a paragrap' 1 ! *
, /
. E'at are (our difculties in paragrap' 1ritingD
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB.
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
H. E'at are (our recommendationsD BB.
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
B BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB.
55
Teaching method
Point out t'e e4ecti%eness o& gi%en met'ods o& teac'ing #( circling t'e
num#ers.
1. not e4ecti%e !. lo1
e4ecti%e
*. e4ecti%e ,. %er(
e4ecti%e
/. e6tremel(
e4ecti%e
). :'e 1a( o& teac'ers presenting0
- E'ile teac'ers are presenting, 'e pro%ides students 1it' some
;uestions to
#rainstorm.
1 ! * ,
/
- Read materials and #oo5s o& re&erence and discuss pro#lems 1it'
classmates or t'e teac'er
1 ! * , /
- Fiscuss ;uestions gi%en #( teac'ers 1
! * , /
- :eac'ers use %isual aids in teac'ing
1 ! * , /
1.. -et'od o& content anal(8ing0
- Read materials (oursel& and ma5e conclusion 1 !
* , /
- Fiscuss 1it' partners in pairs or in small groups.
1 ! * , /
- :eac'ers e6planation 1 ! * ,
/
- :ranslate t'e paragrap' model into Gietnamese 1
! * , /
11. Practicing and e6ercises.
- Eor5 1it' a te6t (gap 9lling, 1ord or sentence orderB.)
1 ! * , / - Pro%ide &amiliar issues or pro#lems 1it' students to
5>
t'in5 o& t'e ideas and 1rite a paragrap'.
1 ! * , /
1!. :'e teac'ers met'od o& correcting errors.
- Correct some remar5a#le errors onl( 1 !
* , /
- Ignore all errors #ut t'e errors o& language and content. 1
! * , /
- =i%e a comment at t'e end o& t'e paragrap' onl(. 1
! * , /
- 7orrect all errors 1 ! * ,
/
- "t'ers0 BBBBBBB.. BBBBBBBBBBBB 1 ! * ,
/
(n of the
?uestionnaire
56
.$$eni4 6
Error anal(sis in students 1riting papers.
:tudents choose one o three ollowing topics to write a paragraph:
a. Why do many people go to Australia to study-
'. The 'est place to visit in Fietnam
c. A good or 'ad city or country to visit.
d. A amous person.
e. Eagle animal.
T'pe 1: "rrors in content or )eaning
,ubtype 4 topic sentence
91: vague topic: A)hy do many people go to Australia to study5 +ecause of learning
style, finding 6ob easily and the people7 $/aper 91%
90: 'road topic: A)hy do they choose Australia as their overseas study destination5.
Indeed, Australia is one of the best place for students from all over the world7 $/aper
90%
93: too long topic sentence: A"owadays, many >ietnamese people go to abroad to study.
,o they must choose carefully which country they2ll go. +eside America. @<, Bapan,
:Australia is one of the bes choice for >ietnamese students because of fours main
reasonsD $/aper 38%
94: too long topic sentence: AEver five million people go to study eacher. !he most
importance is that they have chance of reaching a good condition for study and
opportunity to tavel in such a beautiful countryD $/aper 40%
,ubtype #4 ,upporting sentence
91: unclear sentence: A;ou study valuable s1ill to give you an advantage academically,
personally and professionally7 $/aper 91%
90: irrelevant supporting sentence: AMulticultural Australia is a safe, friendly and
harmonious society in which students can learn and travel in an Jnglish spea1ing
country7 $/aper 91%
93: unnecessary sentence: A,econdly, you needn2t worry too much about studying and
living costs because they sound cheaper than other countries which are popular
58
with international students, such as @< or @,. !herefore, this ma1es Australia a
very economic choice, for instance, study abroad programs2 costs you around...7
$/aper 90%
94: unclear sentence: A>isitors to anoi can find any weather they li1e. *or e-ample, in
the summer, the hottest month, averages 3?4= the coldest month, averages #$4. ,o,
they can find the cool temperature or warm weather in the winter7 $/aper 93%
95: no e+planation: A*irst of all, Australia has a wonderful weather and cheap livingI
costD. $/aper 94%
9>: 'ad supporting sentence: A!hirdly, the population in Australia is very small7 $/aper
94%
96: unclear e+pression: A,o it2s very easy to find good 6obs and help professional
positions worldwide after graduatingD $/aper 95%
98: unclear e+pression: ADiving e-penses and tuition cost in Australia are value for
money7 $/aper 95%
9<: no comparison: 8: living cost in Australia are considerably less e-pensive than
@< and @,A. (!he average international student in this country spends about A33'
per wee1 on:/7 $/aper 9>%
19: unclear sentence: 8: Australia offers an education e-perience that ma1es a real a
difference7 $/aper 9>%
11: irrelevant supporting sentence or the topic sentence: AAustralia provides a uni9ue
1ind of education and a learning style7 $/aper 9>%
10: unclear sentence: Amost Australian institutions have ties with international
universities, sharing research and staffD $/aper 19%
13: Fietnamese e+pression: A4alifornia has any weather you li1eD$/aper 11%
14: unsuita'le supporting sentence: A... And the la1e of the Festored ,word is also a
popular place. Its old temple and red bridge is worth visiting and if you get there
early enough you can see people doing !ai 4hi as the sunIrises7 $/aper 10%
15: "o e+planation: AIt was occupied briefly by the *rench in 1(%3 and passed to them
1$ years later. In 1G.$ it occupied by Bapanese and was liberated in 1G.'. A proud
history ma1es anoiKD $/aper 10%
1>: wrong e+pression: AEne story saidD $/aper 13%
5<
16: 'ad e+pression: 8eagle is always the symbol of strength and independence for me to
become7 $/aper 13%
18: unclear sentence: A>ietnamese wedding has pic1ing bride festival, after this event
the bride will become a main member of the groom2s family7 $/aper 14%
1<: unclear sentence: A>ietnamese wedding has pic1ing bride festival, after this event
the bride will become a main member of the groom2s family7 $/aper 14%
09: unclear and too long e+pression: Athis isn2t the only reason that many people choose
to study here is that the standard of living of Australian is very stable. !heir income
is about ?$$$ @,0 for a year. !his number is not high but:7 $/aper 15%
01: supporting sentence is o the topic: Ayou can find that Australia is not only a
wonderful place for studying but also for travel7 $/aper 16%
00: not support to the point he made 'eore: Ae was very honest and generous. e
refused to wor1 for people who were very powerful at his time7 $/aper 1<%
03: incomprehensi'le sentence: Ae gives up a humane reason& It2s love. +ecause of
love, the couple in 8!he afterlife7 can reali3e each other7 $/aper 09%
04: supporting sentence give a new idea that did not mention in topic sentence:
8+esides, Australia is famous for beauties and peace7
$/aper 01%
05: unclear supporting sentence: AAustralia forwardIloo1ing education impresses
people who want to research into their facultiesD $/aper 01%
0>: poor e+pression: AIt was year of her 1( years old, she left her countryside7 $/aper
00%
06: incomprehensi'le sentence: Aeverything seemed very mood and she seemed to be
the luc1iest single in the world7 $/aper 00%
08: Fietnamese e+pression: AIn the end, her attempt has had the resultD $/aper 00%
0<: unclear sentence: Aer name is told as well as her songs li1e N( still 'elieve)7
$/aper 00%
39: unnecessary sentence: 8"hat 1y trong tu is renowned with >ietnamese and
foreigners as well. is political discussions were powerful weapons to enemies7
$/aper 04%
>9
31: poor e+pression: A!here will never have enough words to tal1 about:7 $/aper
04%
30: unclear e+pression: A!here are many wellI1nown universities and colleges with
hundreds of professors, master and vice masterD
$/aper 0>%
33: "o comparison o two parts $"orth and :outh% 'eore giving the details: A!he
"orth and Middle of >ietnam has four seasons a year& spring, summer, autumn and
winter. )hereas the ,outh 6ust has only one season& it is hotKD $/aper 08%
34: poor e+pression: 8+eside the peace, clean air is an important element helping
tourists want to visit anoi7. $/aper 0<%
35: unclear sentence: 8:especially, 8"hat 1y trong tu7, a famous collection of poems.
is wor1s had not only humani culture but also dramatiacl education7. $/aper 30%
3>: 'ad e+pression: 8e played an important role in helping the >ietnamese get
freedom from the war with the *rench and AmericanD $/aper 30%
36: incomprehensi'le sentence: Ais first Paris choice was Bac9ues *atsD $/aper 33%
38: incomprehensi'le sentence: A)hen he has been offered the *rench e9uivalent and
after discuss with his parents, he decided to:7
$/aper 33%
3<: vague sentence: 8 4heachu2s 1nown for its romantic scenery, especially suitable for
honeymoon7 $/aper 3>%
49: irrelevant sentence: A+eside that, he is also famous for his private life. e loo1s
handsome and manly so a lot of girls li1ed himD $/aper 49%
41: irrelevant sentence: Ae was the captain of Jnglish football team for ' years and
has played for national team for over 3$$ times. e is one of the footballer who are
admired most in Jnglish and all over the world7 $/aper 49%
40: vague sentence: A"hat 1y trong tu was one of the most writing. is arguments were
powerful weapons7. $/aper 49%
43: unclear e+pression: 8It is usually said that when an enterprise is opened, it must
accept that the first one or two years will bring a loss7. $/aper 41%
>1
44: unclear e+pression: A!he way he did things was to prepare every thing for
>iet4oms. carefully and professionallyIhuman sources see1ing and training, mar1et
surveys, see1ing partners and so on7 $/aper 41%
45: unclear sentence: A!here are also fewer periods on class which contain
less theory and ma1es learner be active in their sub6ectD $/aper 40%
,ubtype %4 *oncluding sentence
91: "ot a good concluding sentence: AIt is not surprising that so many people go to
Australia to study7 $/aper 91%
90: "ot restate the main idea o the paragraph: AIn general, studying in Australia will
provide you with now and wonderful opportunities and e-perience, not to mention
e-iting and progressive globally education programD $/aper 90%
93: "ot a real concluding sentence: A;ou2ll be a luc1y person if you have a opportunity
to go to Australia to study7 $/aper 94%
94: A,o in some countries, Australia is the first choice, attractive destination of many
people7 $/aper 95%
95: 8It is true to say that Australia is the best place to study7 $/aper 01%
9>: "o concluding sentence $/aper 38%
T'pe 2: "rrors in i+ea organi9ation
,ubtype 4 Errors in logical order
91: There is no logical order among ideas $90& 93& 94& 95& 9>& 11& 10& 13& 15& 01& and 38%
,ubtype #4 Errors in coherence 567
91: There is no any coherence among parts o the paragraph& sentences or ideas $90& 93&
94& 95& 10& 1>& 16& 18& 1<& 00& 04& 05& 06& 38& 3<& 41& and 40%
90: wrong use o relative clause: Athat7 instead o Awhich7 $09%
,ubtype %4 Errors in format
91: "o conclusion is given at the end o paragraph& $01%
T'pe 3: "rrors in #anguage
,ubtype 4 Errors in grammar
>0
91: articles $93M3& 94& 96M3& 9<M3& 11& 13M0& 14M>& 18& 09& 04& 05M3& 06M0& 08& 0<M3& 30&
35M4& 3>M0& and 36%
90: /reposition $95& 9<& 00& 10M3& 14& 15& 1<& 03& 05M0& 08& 34& 36& 3<& 49
93: :ingular and plural "ouns $90& 93M0& 96M0& 19& 11& 13M4& 14& 15M0& 1>M3& 16M0& 18&
1<& 05& 08& 3>& and 40M4%
94: AdBective possessive pronoun $13M3%
95: Fer's $94& 96M3& 19M4& 11M0& 14& 1>& 16& 1<& 09M4& 01M0& 00M4& 08M0& 0<M4& 05M0& 31&
35M0& 3>& 38& 3<M0& 49M4& and 41%
,ubtype #4 Errors in vocabulary
,ere are the num'er o writings remaining voca'ulary errors:
$95M>& 98M5& 9<M0& 19M3& 11& 10& 13& 14M5& 14M4& 15M>& 1>M0& 16& 18M4& 1<& 09& 01&
00& 03& 05& 0>M0& 06M0& 0<M3& 33& 35M0& 3>M0& 36& 38& 3<M0& and 49%
,ubtype %4 Errors in orthography
91: :pelling $90& 98& 14& 16& 00& 0<& 39& 41M0& 49& and 40%
90: /unctuation H 7apitali*ation $10M0& 14& 1>& 16& 09M0& 00M0& 06M3& 31& 3>M0& 36M0&
3<M3& 49M0& and 40%
>3