Scaffolding Strategies for Students: Improving Writing Skills in a Five-Paragraph-Essay Elaboration

Abstract

This study aims at presenting the effectiveness of scaffolding strategies to enhance EFL learners' writing skills. Research sample consists of 23 male and female undergraduate intermediate students, studying English language in a higher institution. To meet the purpose of the study, a quasi-experimental design was adopted. A pre-test/post-test layout was applied to measure EFL learners’ writing progress. In addition, recorded interviews, field notes, and students’ reflections were used for evaluating the perspective of students towards this innovation. The results demonstrated that the scores of the post-tests in the experimental group were significantly higher than the scores of the control group showing an effect size of 0.93. Consequently, the study revealed that applying scaffolding strategies with an emphasis on a five-paragraph-essay structure helped students improve their quality of writing. The students’ perspectives towards scaffolding strategies also affirm that brainstorming in pairs enabled them to improve their writing skills. The study has implications since it can bring beneficial understandings for both EFL teachers and learners about the importance of following a structure to write five-paragraph essays to improve the students’ writing performance.