Investigating the causes of poor English composition writing among senior high school students in Dunkwa-on Offin Municipal Area, Central Region

Abstract

The receptive skills involve listening and speaking while the productive skills deals with giving out information. The purpose of this study is to investigate the challenges confronting Senior High School students in composition writing and the causes of these challenges in Dunkwa-On-Offin Municipality. The study employed descriptive survey design.The design was deemed suitable for the study because of its strengths as it enabled the researcher to gather information n from the sampled respondents by use of questionnaire, interview schedule and observational guide. The population of the study was all students and English Tutors of Senior High Schools in the Dunkwa-On-Offin Municipality. Multistage sampling technique was employed to select the sample size of 120 students and four English tutors. The data collection tools used was direct observation and test. The findings revealed that some schools still use product-oriented method of teaching compositing writing instead of process-oriented approach. However, three out of the four schools sampled used the process-oriented method. The study also concluded that insufficient time for composition writing, inability of students to do more draft work, and students inability to be creative were the causes of poor performance of composition writing among schools in Dunkwa-On-Offin Municipality. It was also revealed that engaging students in the cycle of the process of writing enhance students’ composition writing capabilities. It is therefore recommended that teachers and parents alike help students of SHS to develop the searching skills through giving of more search work.