A Case study of the composing processes of three Bilkent first-year students in a test-taking situation

Abstract

ABSTRACT Title : A case study of the composing processes of three Bilkent first-year students in a test-taking situation Author: Tijen Kargioglu Akada Thesis Chairperson: Dr. Arlene Clachar, Bilkent university, MA TEFL Program Thesis Committee Members: Dr. Phyllis L. Lim, Ms. Patricia J. Brenner, Bilkent University, MA TEFL Program xXjU^^^ ğft^j qab$ms!. -1Ur^^ This descriptive case study was an empirical investigation of the composing processes of students in a test-taking situation,. The 5^*^? subjects were 3 volunteer_EEL_XEnglish as a foreign language) first- /r j/ - _ year students at Bilkent University, which is an English-medium r. /v >r university in Turkey. The data were collected from direct observations while the subjects were writing their midterm examinations and from interviews with the subjects that took place immediately after the examinations were completed. The results showed that the subjects' composing processes in a test-taking situation were similar to the composing processes of student writers in non test-taking situations (Pianko, 1977; Sommers, 1980; Zamel, 1983). The followings are some of the important similarities. During prewriting the subjects generated some general ideas to develop in their writing. However, they did not feel obliged to use these general plans. Planning was also done during pausing and rescanning. Similar to other student writers (Sommers, 1980), their primary focus of revising was surface-level concerns such as grammar, spelling, and lexical mistakes rather than revisions of content of their writing. All subjects stated thatthey tried to follow their teachers ' instructions about essay writing. Although the subjects knew that they would be graded, they did not seem to commit themselves to the writing tasks by making use of the whole examination time. This may closely be related to test- anxiety, in which avoidance and escape are common behaviors (Deffenbacher, 1986). The results supported the findings of previous research on school-sponsored writing. The subjects did not commit themselves to the topics. They considered the writing unimportant, a task they had to fulfill for the sake of a grade. They stated that they did not have a real message to give about their assigned exam topics and that the teachers were not interested in the content of their essays. The subjects focused on form rather than content. Based on these results, it is suggested that writing instructors should spend more time on prewriting to generate content and focus on content rather than surface-level concerns while revising.