TECHNIQUES AND STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING WRITING SKILLS OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

Abstract

The ability of writing well is not a choice for the young learners; it is a medium for interpreting
academic excellence and also a basic necessity for achieving success in the civic life and global
economy. Though the definition of language literacy consists of all the four language skills
(Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing Skills), poor writing skills in the students at the high
school level might cause a severe literacy crisis. However, reading and writing are two
complementary skills which move in parallel and they should go hand in hand at the elementary
level of language learning. Many students who are in the high school level seem to be good in
reading but they have severe difficulty in writing. Writing skills is different from reading skills.
Reading can forman intellectual vision of thoughts written by someone else while writing is the
ability to formulate one’s thoughts, arrange them in a sequential manner and create a record of
them using the exact structure of language. Reaching highest English language proficiency level
is a challenging goal for the students in the high school standards. The objective is really a tough
task especially in the domain of writing. For the students who belong to a country where English
is treated as a second language, exposure to the language is limited because the common people
communicate only in their mother tongue. Besides, the beginner learnershave limited scope of
vocabulary; they find difficulty in writing coherent and cohesive contents and also are unable to
apply correct grammatical structure. The role of language teachers is very crucial in this scenario
for transforming the learners to better writers. The language teachers who teach English as a second
language face many challenges when they teach writing skills in the elementary level classrooms.
This paper sheds light to the innovative techniques and strategies that can be incorporated in the
language classrooms in order to make the learners the best writers