Writing Skills The Process Writing Approach and Its Influence on Paragraph Writing Skills in Undergraduate Students

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of the process writing approach on developing paragraph writing skills among first-year B.Tech (AI&ML) undergraduate students. Many undergraduate students struggle with academic writing skills. Using a quasi-experimental pre-test single-group design, the study was conducted with thirty first-year B.Tech (AI&ML) students at Vignan University in Vadlamudi. A four-week structured process writing intervention was implemented comprising eight classroom sessions. Student writing samples were evaluated using an analytic rubric across four criteria: content and relevance, coherence, cohesion, and language use. Pre-test results indicated that 70% of students performed at poor to average levels in paragraph writing. Post-test results revealed a significant improvement, with 80% of students reaching good to excellent levels following the intervention. The mean score improved from 42.5% in the pre-test to 73.8% in the post-test, reflecting a mean gain of 31.3%. The findings confirm that the process writing approach is an effective pedagogical strategy for improving academic writing skills. The study offers important implications for ELT programme designers and classroom practitioners in technical education institutions.

Keywords: Process Writing Approach, Paragraph Writing Skills, Academic Writing, Higher Education, ELT, Pre-test, Post-test, Quasi- Experimental Design.