Analyzing Essential Aspects of Developing English Paragraphs Based on Comparing Levels Five and Nine of EFL Students

Abstract

Across all levels of study, many college and university English as a Foreign Language (EFL) undergraduate students find it difficult to write paragraphs in English. Indeed, many EFL teachers expect their students to easily create well-written paragraphs; however, after only a few hours of instruction, teachers tend to find that many students simply do not meet such expectations. Thus, this study investigated EFL undergraduate students at two different levels of their college education and explored their perspectives on essential writing components in the construction of well-structured paragraphs, including grammar, vocabulary, and organization. The study also discussed the least important writing aspects that may not at all impact the comprehensibility of written paragraphs. Additionally, the study investigated the strengths and weaknesses of EFL students’ English writing. The participants were selected using the convenience sampling method. The final sample included 15 level five college students with an intermediate level of English and 15 level nine students with a high level of English, totaling 30 students. All participants belonged to the Department of Applied Linguistics. Data were collected through mixed-method research. The participants received both online and descriptive surveys. The researcher analyzed the quantitative data by using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM SPSS Statistics version 25) and thematic analysis for the qualitative data. The results of the present study showed minor differences in students’ perspectives regarding the most and least important aspects of writing across the two student levels. However, there were significant differences in the respective areas for improvement, including grammar and mechanics. This paper concludes that regardless of the students’ college level, students shared similar perceptions about the most and least important components of English writing. They all considered grammar the most important aspect of writing and mechanics the least important. Accordingly, the researcher recommends that curriculum designers and EFL instructors analyze their students' needs and weaknesses to design appropriate materials and teaching methods.