Chapter 1: Introduction

1. Rationale
In the last decade, second language (L2) researchers have paid close attention to

collaborative writing, which involves group or pair work in the writing process (e.g., Dobao,

2012; Shehadeh, 2011; Storch, 2005; Wigglesworth & Storch, 2012). When two or more

writers collaborate to create a text, this is referred to as collaborative writing (Ede &

Lunsford, 1990).

There are many studies that have shown some student perceptions, problems that students

face and even how to solve problems in collaborative writing. First, the fact that

collaborative writing is widely applied in subjects at SOFL is a reason for the research team

to decide to choose this topic. Collaborative writing is heavily featured in academic writing at

universities. Collaborative writing also helps students develop thinking and teamwork skills.

The final thesis writing process was done by collaborative writing, so the research team

decided to choose the topic to have a deeper insight into collaborative writing. The research

will become more coherent and clear, and all requirements of the collaborative paper will be

carefully considered when choosing this topic.

In addition, we find that there is no data on collaborative writing research for the past three

years in graduate theses at SOFL. With the desire to do a new and quality research paper, we

hope to produce synthesis and collaborative research objectively and scientifically. Thereby,

they can contribute to research projects at SOFL as well as help SOFL students gain more

knowledge and limit problems when doing collaborative writing.

2. Significance of the study 

The work of collaborative writing has been heavily considered in previous studies. It not only
helps teachers approach group teaching methods but also helps students improve writing skills
as well as teamwork skills. 
In the context of second language learning, learning to write academically is becoming more

and more popular. In addition, teamwork also makes us less passive and learn more from
 others. So, this is an important topic when learning about students' attitudes towards

collaborative writing, about the benefits and problems of collaborative writing. 

In this research scope, we only focus on students who have participated in collaborative

writing, especially K63 students who are participating in collaborative writing for their

graduation thesis. The decision to choose this thesis topic was made to help us gain a better

understanding of collaborative writing, which we are doing as we do this research.

Understanding collaborative writing will be a premise for us to make the thesis smoothly and

accurately. We hope this thesis will contribute to the learning method of students at SOFL 

3. Aims of the study 

This study was conducted with the aim of finding out the attitudes of students studying at the

School of Foreign Languages - Hanoi University of Science and Technology about

collaborative writing. The research was conducted by surveying with questionnaires

submitted online and by direct questionnaires to students. The results obtained are about the

experience of the collaborative writing sessions, whether the students feel satisfied or not

about the group work sessions. 

To serve best for the research's purpose, the researchers of the study decided to choose a mixed -

methods approach that associates qualitative and quantitative approaches. When considering the

research objectives, the researchers find the values of both two approaches. According to Cresswell

(2007), mixed - methods approach provide a more complex and comprehensive picture. Besides,

Johnson and Christensen (2008) have stressed that quantitative research orients to the research

which focuses on "describing, explaining and predicting"; while qualitative research focuses on

"exploring and discovering" (p.34); a mixed approach combines the characteristics of the two above

research paradigms and deals with "multiple objectives."   

STUDENT 9 
A: First of all, thanks for participating in the interview. Then, I would like to take a moment
to give an overview of the research we are doing. Lately, we are doing a research paper on
students' perceptions of collaborative writing. I will ask you a few questions and your
answers will help us gather the necessary information. Your answers will be anonymous and
used for research purposes only. So, please take about 10-15 minutes to complete the
interview. If you're ready, shall we start? 
B: OK. 
A: So, can I record this interview because I need to analyze it later? 
B: Yup, go ahead. 
A: Let’s start the interview. As I know, you have experiences with collaborative writing in
some modules at SOFL, right? Can you describe how you guys normally work? 
B: When participating in collaborative writing, the first thing I and my teammates do is meet
and choose a topic for the article. After agreeing on a topic, we began to learn, divided that
topic into equal parts and each person was responsible for a part. On the day of submission,
we would hold a meeting for the last time to gather each part. 
A: So, do you have good experience with collaborative writing? 
B; [Laugh] No, I don’t 
A: Can you give me the reason why? 
B: Uhm…I feel unsatisfied with my collaborative writing experience. During the
collaborative writing on Lexicology, our team did not share the work equally, causing the
article to be fragmented and underrated. In addition, the difference in level between the
members is also another factor that makes me have a bad experience. I don't see much benefit
from participating in collaborative writing. 
A:  Well, besides....do you think of any advantages of collaborative writing? 
B: Uhm...let me think. I guess collaborative writing has exerted a positive impact on my
grammar. When working in groups, I often learn writing styles from other members of the
group. My teammates sometimes have great writing styles, and they even give me
suggestions on how to paraphrase the text. Even though there are members who don't take
their work seriously, I also learned a lot from other people. 
A:  If you could choose between collaborative writing and personal writing, which would you
prefer? Why? 
B: If I had to choose between collaborative writing and personal writing, I would prefer to
write personally. Because when I do my own work, I will be more responsible for my writing
and not depend on other members. 
A: Uhmm…I understand why. Anyways, thanks for your participation today! Before closing,
do you have any questions or suggestions for our group? Don't hesitate to say so. We really
need your suggestions to become better and better the next time. 
B. No I do not have any. 
A. Then thank you for taking your time to do this interview. 
B: No problems. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
STUDENT 10 
A: Good afternoon! Thanks for participating in the interview. I would like to take a moment
to give an overview of the research we are doing. Lately, we are doing a research paper on
students' perceptions of collaborative writing. I will ask you a few questions and your
answers will help us gather the necessary information. Your answers will be anonymous and
used for research purposes only. So, please take about 10-15 minutes to complete the
interview. If you're ready, shall we start? 
B: Sure. 
A: I will record this interview if you don’t mind? 
B: Just do it. 
A: So, when you were assigned a collaborative writing task, how did you and your
teamwork? 
B: Let me see. 
A: Let’s talk about what happened in the meeting or something like that. 
B: Yeahhhh…Every time we engage in collaborative writing, we'll contact team members in
case the teacher randomly assigns groups. After we had each other's contact information, we
started looking for information related to the topic of the article. We had shared our work
randomly. After we finished our individual work, we split up into pairs and corrected each
other before submitting the final version to the teacher. 
A: So, do you have good experience with collaborative writing? 
B: Yes, I have learned a lot. 
A; How was it? 
B: I have a pretty good experience participating in collaborative writing. My team is all
enthusiastic and shares a lot when working together. Therefore, I feel more responsible with
the assignment. In addition, I find myself improving my language skills when learning from
others, particularly the communication skill. I have known how to express my opinion to the
other members, which I had troubles before. Up to now, I don't have much to worry about
when it comes to collaborative writing. 
A: Besides, do you think of any problems with collaborative writing? 
B: Let me think. Uhmmm…. I guess the fairness 
A: Can you make it clearer? 
B: In a team, some members contribute a lot of ideas, but some do nothing! They have relied
on other members because our teachers did not care the process, they just saw the result!
That’s unfair, right? 
A: Yes, I see. Sometimes I have to do other members’ work. They still got the mark for that
part. 
B: The biggest problem of collaborative writing! 
A: Well, and if you could choose between collaborative writing and personal writing, which
would you prefer? Why? 
B: I will choose to write collaboratively because like I said, collaborative writing helps me
learn more from my team members. 
A: Yupp, I see, your team has done well. This helps us a lot. Before closing, do you have any
questions or suggestions for our group? Don't hesitate to say so. We really need your
suggestions to become better and better the next time. 
B: No, your team has done well. 
A; Thank you. 
B: You’re welcome. 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
STUDENT 11 
A: First of all, thanks for participating in the interview. Then, I would like to take a moment
to give an overview of the research we are doing. Lately, we are doing a research paper on
students' perceptions of collaborative writing. I will ask you a few questions and your
answers will help us gather the necessary information. Your answers will be anonymous and
used for research purposes only. So, please take about 10-15 minutes to complete the
interview. If you're ready, shall we start? 
B: OK. 
A: Wait a minute I need to record this interview. 
B: Feel free to do it. 
A: As a final year student, you have participated in a collaborative writing task, right? How
did it work? Can you describe the process of how your team works? 
B: Normally, the first thing our group does is meet and divide the work, usually the group
will have 4 members. We will divide into 2 small groups and begin to do research related to
the task. After doing research individually, our group will meet and let the members take on
the work that they feel most confident in. Before submitting to the teacher, our group had a
final meeting to correct each other for grammatical errors and finalized the essay. 
A: So, do you have good experience with collaborative writing? 
B: Of course! I find it quite good to do collaborative work because when I write an essay with
many people, it will have more ideas and we will be better evaluated. In addition, I find that
collaborative writing also helps people to be more responsible when doing assignments.
However, sometimes there are members who rely on the group, so the division of work is not
fair 
A: And can you see any drawbacks of collaborative writing? 
B: Well, everything has pros and cons... Uhm...sometimes the writing goes far from what I
expected. You know, this is group work and I have to hear from others. It can boost the team,
but I don’t feel comfortable. Well...it is just my feeling! 
A: Yuppp, noted it! And if you could choose between collaborative writing and personal
writing, which would you prefer? Why? 
B: My answer is collaborative writing. 
A: Can you explain why? 
B: I prefer collaborative writing because collaborative writing allows me to share ideas and
learn from other members. However, it would be much better if I can select my teammates
[laughs] 
A: That’s the last question. Thank you so much for your participation! Before closing, do you
have any questions or suggestions for our group? Don't hesitate to say so. We really need
your suggestions to become better and better the next time. 
B: I don’t have any. 
A: Thank you! Have a nice day! 
B: OK 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
STUDENT 12 
A: First of all, thanks for participating in the interview. Then, I would like to take a moment
to give an overview of the research we are doing. Lately, we are doing a research paper on
students' perceptions of collaborative writing. I will ask you a few questions and your
answers will help us gather the necessary information. Your answers will be anonymous and
used for research purposes only. So, please take about 10-15 minutes to complete the
interview. If you're ready, shall we start? 
B: Yup. 
A: And can I record? 
B: Sure, if you need. 
A: Thanks. Let’s start by this question: when you were assigned a collaborative writing task,
how did you and your teamwork? 
B: After being grouped, our group assigned the group leader first. This person covered the
entire task of the group. He/she assigned the work for each member and set the deadlines for
it. After submitting the first draft, the group leader read each student's part and gave
comments, and at the same time, other members also commented on that part. The person
who was ultimately responsible for submitting assignments to the teacher was the leader of
the group, so although the group leader did not directly write the article, he had to re-read the
lesson many times and corrected it. 
A: Wowww great work! You have good experience with collaborative writing, right? 
B: Yes. I find writing collaboratively is not a problem, this makes me learn to share opinions
and receive comments from others. However, choosing a team leader is quite difficult
because it must be someone who is able to cover and assign tasks properly. 
A: So, what do you think about the problems of collaborative writing? 
B: I think the biggest problem of collaborative writing is fairness! Unfair contributions
among team members should be considered. Lexicology is one of the modules that I have to
complete the task with other people, and there were 2 people who actually work on the task. 
A: Then if you could choose between collaborative writing and personal writing, which
would you prefer? Why? 
B: I still quite like collaborative writing because it gives me the opportunity to work with
people who have a high level of languages. Therefore, I will choose to write collaborative
writing. 
A: I can see it. Anyways, thank you so much. Before closing, do you have any questions or
suggestions for our group? Don't hesitate to say so. We really need your suggestions to
become better and better the next time. 
B: I don’t have any comments. Hope you guys do it well 
A; Thank you! 

Nowadays, written language serves an important social and educational function, and its

status carries a high social prestige. According to Walsh (2010), writing is essential because it

is widely used in higher education and the workplace. As a result, writing-related topics

receive a lot of attention from researchers. In this study, we want to focus particularly on

collaborative writing. According to Lowry et al. (2004), collaborative or cooperative learning

is commonly regarded as an important activity for tertiary students and is heavily featured in

academic writing at universities. Bremner (2010) also stated that instructors frequently used

collaborative writing at universities to help students collaborate on projects and share work.

Each person is in charge of one aspect of the project, allowing it to be completed more

quickly and with better results. After learning about previous studies on collaborative writing,

the research team would like to dig deeper into students' perceptions of collaborative writing

at SOFL.

First and foremost, we hope that this study would contribute new knowledge to the research

field of writing in general, and collaborative writing in particular. Previous research has

revealed students' perceptions, as well as the benefits and drawbacks of collaborative writing,

which are elaborated on in the Literature review chapter. Secondly, this study would expand

the research object and contribute to the research library of the School of Foreign Languages.

Therefore, the research object of this thesis is students studying at SOFL, who have had some

experience with collaborative writing in a second language.

Furthermore, collaborative writing is required in some SOFL curriculum modules. Thus, this

study will provide students who have never participated in collaborative writing with an

overview of the issue. Hence they have the opportunity to reduce the problems encountered

when participating in collaborative writing. Lastly, students with prior collaborative writing

experience should have a better understanding of collaborative writing during their graduate

thesis work. This research also will assist us in gaining an objective perspective on

collaborative writing, its benefits, and avoiding problems when participating in graduation

essay writing

In the last decade, second language researchers have paid close attention to collaborative
writing, which involves group or pair work in the writing process (Dobao, 2012; Shehadeh,
2011; Storch, 2005). According to Lowry et al. (2004) collaborative or cooperative learning
is commonly regarded as an important activity for tertiary students and is heavily featured in
academic writing at universities. Bremner (2010) also stated that instructors frequently used
collaborative writing at universities to help students collaborate on projects and share work.
Each person is in charge of one aspect of the project, allowing it to be completed more
quickly and with better results.  
Besides, the fact that collaborative writing is widely applied in modules at SOFL is a reason
for the research team to decide to choose this topic. However, in the SOFL curriculum, the
modules Writing I, Writing II and Writing III have only provided individual writing, so it is
necessary to provide students with knowledge of collaborative writing. Because the final
thesis writing process was done using collaborative writing, the research team decided to
choose the topic to have a deeper insight into collaborative writing. The research will become
more coherent and clearer, and all requirements of the collaborative paper will be carefully
considered when choosing this topic. 
In addition, we find that there is no collaborative writing research for the past three years at
SOFL. With the desire to do a new and quality research paper, we hope to produce synthesis
and collaborative research objectively and scientifically. Thereby, they can contribute to
research projects at SOFL as well as help SOFL students gain more knowledge and limit
problems when doing collaborative writing.