The main aim of this research study is to investigate the clarity and familiarity of three scoring rubrics used in a Saudi university's preparatory year program (PYP) for assessing students' writing achievement in midterm and final exams. This exploration is important in providing some evidence for the quality of scoring rubrics. To achieve that…

This mixed-methods research was carried out to investigate the effect of screencast video feedback on the writing of freshmen, studying academic writing course at a university in Egypt, and explore their perception towards receiving screencast feedback. Two classes of 63 students were chosen to participate in this study and were assigned into two…

This paper reports on the result of a study on Chinese university EFL learners' foreign language writing anxiety in terms of general pattern, effect and causes. 1174 first-year students answered the 26-item Foreign Language Writing Anxiety Scale (FLWAS) (Young, 1999) and took an English writing test, 18 of whom were invited for semi-structured…

English writing plays an indispensible part in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learning for Chinese students, which accounts for a high score in an English test in China. And it is also a comprehensive reflection of students' abilities in L2 application. However, most non-English majors in vocational and technical colleges have great trouble…

The purposes of this study were to investigate the effects of the use of paper-based and weblog-based electronic portfolios on the writing achievement of limited English proficiency students, to survey the students' attitudes towards the use of the portfolio assessment, and to compare the viewpoints of the students in the control and experimental…

Students' achievement in writing descriptive text is very low, in this study Think Pair Share (TPS) is applied to solve the problem. Action research is conducted for the result. Additionally, qualitative and quantitative techniques are applied in this research. The subject of this research is grade VIII in Junior High School in Indonesia. From…

Two approaches to grammar instruction are often discussed in the ESL literature: direct explicit grammar instruction (DEGI) (deduction) and indirect explicit grammar instruction (IEGI) (induction). This study aims to explore the effects of indirect explicit grammar instruction on EFL learners' mastery of English tenses. Ninety-four…

Even though many writing scales have been developed, instructors, educational administrators or researchers may have to develop new scales to fit their specific testing situation. In so-doing, one of the initial steps to be taken is to determine the evaluative criteria on which the scale is supposed to be based. As a part of a project that was…