The Effect of Guided Writing Strategy on Improving the Writing of Saudi English as a Foreign Language Students

This study was an attempt to investigate the effect of using guided writing strategy on Saudi English as a foreign language students’ writing. For this study, a quasi-experimental design was used. Sixteen students of the third level in the English Language and Literature Department at the College of languages and translation- Imam Mohammed bin Saud University participated in this study. They were enrolled in the essay writing course. The experiment involved a pretest and a posttest exam. The same group was taught using the traditional approach for 8 weeks, followed by using the guided writing strategy for the last 4 weeks. The results of both the pre- and posttest and the attitude questionnaire were analyzed. The results revealed that there was a significant difference in students’ performance, which showed improvement. The statistical results were confirmed by the students’ responses to the questionnaire. All students indicated that they benefited from the use of this strategy. Thus, it is recommended that teachers encourage students to use the guided writing template found on the website of the assigned book to help them improve their writing. Other recommendations are also presented. Finally, future research directions are suggested to confirm the results of this study