An Assessment of Students’ Paragraph Writing Problems and Causes: The Case of General Tadesse Biru Secondary School Grade 10 in Focus

The aim of this study was to assess students’ paragraph writing problems and causes of General Tadesse Biru Secondary school grade 10 in focus. The researcher designed 3 research questions which were set to identify students’ problems in writing paragraph, and causes. A descriptive case study design which contains both qualitative and quantitative method was used. Four EFL teachers were selected through availability sampling, whereas; 40 students were selected using simple random sampling technique. The study employed four data gathering tools: document analysis, questionnaire, classroom observation and interview. Analyses of written paragraphs were employed to identify the problems students commit in writing paragraph. Questionnaire and interview were designed to identify the major causes of the problems. Classroom observation was employed to assess the methods teachers use in teaching paragraph writing in the classroom. The data collected through document analysis, questionnaire and classroom observation were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively whereas interview was analyzed qualitatively. The finding of the study revealed that almost all students have problems of identifying three parts of the paragraph and writing unified, coherent, and well organized paragraph. The major causes of the aforementioned problems were lack of proper word use, absence of appropriate teaching techniques, and lack of writing practice. Thus, all the concerned bodies were recommended to do their best to restore students’ writing skill. DOI: 10.7176/JCSD/66-01 Publication date:August 31st 202