đề tài: An investigation of common errors made by high school students in writing Cause and Effect English essay and suggestions for solutions

Especially, learning how to write a Cause and Effect English essay is one of the difficult experiences to students at high school, it is also one of the essential skills for students in

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

During the process of doing this graduation paper, I have received many necessary assistances, precious ideas and timely encouragements from my teachers, family and friends This paper could not have been completed without the help, encouragement and support from a number of people who all deserve my sincere gratitude and appreciation

First of all, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor - Ms

Truong Hoang Lan, M A, who has always been willing to give me valuable advice and suggestions in order that I can complete successfully this study

I also would like to take this opportunity to show my sincere thanks to all

my lecturers at the Faculty of Foreign Languages of Pham Van Dong University, who have handed me basic knowledge to complete this study

I am so thankful to students of two classes 11A2 and 11A3 at Mo Duc No

II High School for their whole - heart participation in the study

I am equally indebted to my classmates for their suggestions and encouragements in the progress of my study

Last but not least, my particular thanks are given to my parents for their encouragement and support which played an important role in my graduation paper

ABSTRACT

The ability to write meaningful sentences, paragraphs or essay which a reader can easily understand is termed as Excellent Writing Skills It is a perfect way to write and express your views on the topic you want to address your audience and writer Especially, learning how to write a Cause and Effect English essay is one of the difficult experiences to students at high school, it is also one of the essential skills for students in the future The students often make errors when they try to write a Cause and Effect English essay So, if the students do not attempt to learn the skill of writing, they will face difficulties in mastering the skill in their later life This paper aims to express the errors which students often make and suggests some solutions to help students avoid the mistakes in writing Moreover, when students learn how to write a Cause and Effect essay, they become more capable of analyzing what they read, interpret and think

TABLE CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……… ………1

ABSTRACT………2

TABLE OF CONTENT……… ……… 3

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION……… 6

1.1 Rationale of the study ……… 7

1.2 Aims of study………8

1.3 Scope of the study………8

1.4 Research questions……… …8

1.5 Methodology……….8

1.6 Organization of the study………9

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW……… 10

2.1 Review of Previous Studies……… 10

2.1.1 Writing in the English class: The key to Improve the Vietnamese eleventh grader as a Foreign Language Learner’s Productive Writing Skill ……….10

2.2 Theoretical Background……… 10

2.2.1 Theories of Writing Skill……… 10

2.2.1.1 Writing Skill Definition……… 10

2.2.1.2 Writing Skill in Teaching Foreign Language………12

2.2.1.2.1 The Importance of Writing Skill in Teaching Foreign Language………12

2.2.1.2.2 The difficulties of Writing Skill in Teaching Foreign language……….12

2.3 Overview on Cause and Effect Essay………13

2.3.1 What is an essay? 13

2.3.1.1 Structural Parts of an Essay………13

2.3.2 Types of essay Used in Academic Writing……… 15

2.3.2.1 Descriptive Essay……… 14

2.3.2.2 Narrative Essay……….… 14

2.3.2.3 Compare and Contrast Essay……… 14

2.3.2.4 Persuasive/Argumentative Essay……… 15

2.3.2.5 Expository Essay……….15

2.3.3 The Definition of Cause and Effect Essay………16

2.3.3.1 Structure of Cause and Effect Essay……… 17

2.3.3.2 Structure of the Cause Essay……… 17

2.3.3.3 Structure of the Effect Essay……… 18

2.3.4 Process of a Cause and Effect Essay………19

2.3.4.1 Stimulating Ideas………19

2.3.4.2 Brainstorming and Outlining……….20

2.3.4.3 Developing Ideas……….21

2.3.4.3.1 Cause Connectors……… … 21

2.3.4.3.2 Effect Connectors……….22

2.4 Rules for a Good Cause and Effect Essay……… 23

CHAPTER III: METHODS AND PROCERDURES……… 25

3.1 Research Methodology……… 25

3.2 Research Procedures……….25

3.3 Data Collections……….26

3.4 Data Analysis……… 26

3.5 Reliability and Validity……….26

CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS……… 28

4.1 Some Errors in Writing Cause and Effect Essay Encountered by Students in High school ………28

4.1.1 Repeating Transitional Words in an Essay……… 28

4.1.2 Omitting Transition Words in an Essay……… 29

4.1.3 Incorrect Topic Sentences in Body Paragraph……… 31

4.2 Some Suggestions to Improve Writing Cause and Effect Essay… 32

4.2.1 Using Various Transitional Words………32

4.2.2 Writing Correct Topic Sentences……… 36

4.3 Student’s Background Information……….37

4.4 Data Analysis and Discussion……… 37

4.4.1 Students’ Attitudes Toward Writing Skill ………37

4.4.2 The Reason Cause Students’ Difficulties in Writing Skill…………38

4.4.3 Students’ Attitudes Toward Writing Cause and Effect Essay…… 39

4.4.4 The Time for Writing Cause and Effect Essay of Students…… 40

4.4.5 The Common Mistakes Which Students Often Make in Writing Cause and Effect Essay……… 41

4.4.6 The Way to Improve Students’ Cause and Effect Essay Writing Skill………42

4.4.7 Does the Teacher’s Methodologies in Teaching Writing a Cause and Effect Essay Usefully? ……… 43

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATION……… 44

5.1 Conclusion………44 5.2 Implications……… 44 REFERRENCES……….50

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rationale of the study

Nowadays, almost countries in the world speak English and English can be considered one of the most essential languages for international communication In Vietnam, there are a lot of foreign investors, they establish their own companies in Vietnam They all speak English and of course, they will employ the people who have ability of using English Therefore, English is an important criterion to find a good job in Vietnam It becomes the second language to many people When we learn English, we can widen knowledge about culture, customs, lifestyle in each countries However, it is not easy to learn a foreign language well In order to use English fluently, I think the learners have to pay attention to four skills: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking Of four skills, writing is considered the most difficult skill in all Different from the rest, writing requires not only the learners to have knowledge of grammar (grammatical structures) but also plentiful source of vocabulary to write a paragraph as well as an essay completely Many learners think that when they can speak well, they will automatically write well However, when they begin writing first sentence, everything is not easy as they expected There are many differences between spoken and written languages So, writing requires much patience and constant practice

In all walks of life, people use writing as a basic working skill It is a process, a skill of hard- work and people must perform almost daily As a student, you will have a lot of writing tasks such as: assignments, essay, graduation training report, graduation paper,… Therefore, we should think clearly about what to write, how to write in order to have a good writing To

my knowledge, there are many factors which help learners write an essay successfully During studying writing skill, especially writing essay, I am very interested in Cause and Effect essay, I realized how important they are and their effects when being used to write a paragraph or an essay But due to the limitation of time, the study on how to write a Cause and Effect essay effectively is not introduced clearly in writing subject Students do not have chance to understand much about them With the hope that I can study more about Cause and Effect essay deeply Thus, I decided to choose a study on how to write a Cause and Effect essay, some common errors made by high

school students in writing Cause and Effect English essay and suggestions for solutions as my graduation paper

1.2 Aims of the study

The study “Some common errors made by high school students in

writing Cause and Effect English essay and suggestions for solutions” is

carried out in order to survey the skills of writing of high school students, especially the students at Mo Duc No II High School The study provides learners with the theoretical background of writing, such as the theory of academic writing, essay and especially, the theory of Cause and Effect essay

It also points out the common mistakes facing the learners in the process of writing Cause and Effect essay and gives some advices, specific exercises to help English learners improve writing Cause and Effect effectively

1.3 Scope of the study

Cause and Effect essay is used in every types of discourse, such as speaking, reading, listening and especially in writing However, due to the limitation of time, of knowledge and materials, I can only focus on theory of Cause and Effect essay, types of errors which students often make and methods to help students write the essay effectively

1.4 Research questions:

The issues to be discussed in this study are summarized in the following research questions:

1 How do students understand about Cause and Effect English essay?

2 What are the common errors which students often make?

3 What are the solutions to help students write Cause and Effect English essay effectively?

1.5 Methodology

To fulfill the above aims, qualitative and quantitative methods were chosen for the study All comments, remarks, assumptions and conclusion of the study were based on the data and analysis Data collections for analysis in this study were gained through the following the survey questionnaires resources

The questionnaire was designed just for students However, sometimes interviews were also applied if the author found that the answer of lowered were not clear enough

1.6 Organization of the Study

This paper presented in five chapters They are:

Chapter I (Introduction)

The author provides information about the rationale of the study, states the aims of the study and specifies the scope of the study, research questions, research methodology as well as organization of the study

Chapter II (Literature Review)

Provides the previous study, the theoretical foundation of teaching writing, theory of Cause and Effect essay

Chapter III (Methods and Procedures)

Mentions methods and procedures including the research methods and procedures, data collection, data analysis, reliability and validity

Chapter IV (Findings and Discussions)

Elaborates the procedures of the study in order to give clear answers

to the study questions that have been proposed before The findings and discussions presented based on the data that analyzed and they are related to the theoretical background in chapter two

Chapter V (Conclusion and Implications)

Presents the conclusion of this study, the implications for teaching and learning, the limitations of the study and some suggestions for further study

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Review of Previous Studies

2.1.1 Writing in the English class:

“The Key to improve the Vietnamese eleventh grader as a Foreign Language Learners’ Productive Writing Skill.”

One researcher, for instance, believes that teacher-student feedback cannot be free from bias, thus the procedure must be corrected positively Considering the notion of "affective filter", one can assume that peer correction can lead to more efficient results because of lack of destructive effects of questioning and answering Therefore, the researcher believes that considering the limitations of evaluation and reformation of problems in the form of teacher-student and the advantages of application of student-student approach, this approach can be a step forward in the attainment of education objectives of productive writing skill

Freeman (2000) states that when learning is based on cooperation, language learners look for helpful results for themselves and their peers In the 2000s, researchers like Zeng (2006), Kamimura (2006), Jiao (2007), and Hirose (2009) investigate the impact of peer feedback in second language writing classroom and they note that peer feedback offers many ways to improve students' writing Caulk quoted Rollinson (2005) as saying that

“teachers’ feedback is general while students’ is more specific”

Peer feedback generates positive impact if the students are ready and well-trained and prepared by the teacher (Williams, 1957) It can be assumed that peer feedback failure is caused by ignoring this aspect, preparation When the students are asked to write with sense "to be read" by authentic audience (peers), their writing is better than when they are asked to write to

be read by teacher (Clark, 2003) Rollinson (2005) states that peer feedback also trains students to be critical readers on their own writing

2.2 Theoretical Background

2.2.1 Theories of Writing Skill

2.2.1.1 Writing Skill Definition

A language is used for many kinds of purposes Thus, it has many functions as well Furthermore, there are two macro skills of a language; they

are receptive and productive skills Writing skill is one of the productive skills that should be mastered in using a language It is because writing skill has significances in improving a communicative competence of learning the language

The definitions of writing are variously stated by some experts According to Rivers (1981: 294), writing is conveying information or expression of original ideas in a consecutive way in the new language Brown, (2001: 336) also claimed that writing is a thinking process Furthermore, he states that writing can be planned and given with an unlimited number of revisions before its release In addition, Elbow (1973) in Brown (2001: 336) also says that writing is a two-step process The first process is figuring out the meaning and the second process is putting the meaning into language Writing represents what we think It is because the writing process reflects things, which stay in the mind Students who are reluctant to write things down often suffer for this activity The students find difficulties when they start looking for some reasons to write and producing written sentences

Another definition of writing skill is also defined by Urquhart and Mclver and also Harmer Urquhart and Mclver (2005: 5-6) state that writing

is a recursive process, which means students revise throughout the process, frequently moving back and forth among the stages Then, students should learn strategies for invention and discovery, and teachers should help students generate content and discover a purpose Also, it is stated that readers, purpose, and occasion define all types of writing and effective writing fulfills the writer’s intention and meets the readers’ needs It means that writing is a complex process and it seems reasonable to expect, then, that the teaching of writing is complex as well Moreover, Harmer (2004) states that writing encourages students to focus on accurate language use It is because students consider the language use when the students engage in their writing process This activity will provoke language development because the students resolve problems what writing puts in students’ minds

Based on the definitions above, a definition of writing skill can be obtained Writing is a productive process done through some stages Firstly, exploring and transmitting ideas, thought and feeling into written form Secondly, conducting a number of revising process to carry out a grammatically and orderly texts The writing productions are in the forms of readable texts which should be meaningful to everyone who read the writing

2.2.1.2 Writing Skill in Teaching Foreign Language

2.2.1.2.1 The Importance of Writing Skill In Teaching Foreign Language

Writing is considered the most important skills of English language When compared to the other skills, writing seems to be the most difficult skill for the English Language Learner as it involves many things in it The English Language Learner find listening and reading are the easiest skills whereas they find speaking and writing are more difficult ones as they are productive skills The learners have to work hard in acquiring these two skills

as they need more practice Hence the teachers have to think of alternative methods to teach these skills Writing skill has undergone many developments and changes in the recent years In this regard, Harmer (2007: 1) says, “Human activity of writing is a fairly recent development

in the evolution of men and women … some of the earliest writing found so far dates from about 5,500 years ago” In the early ages, people did not write anything to convey any message, but they used to draw different methods and paintings to represent different things which were connected to their daily lives Hence, they conveyed their messages in the form of figures, images and pictures In this context, Yule states, “Human beings started to write some 20,000 to 25,000 years ago”

In the development process of writing, it developed from writing (pictograms) to idea-writing (ideograms) and then to word-writing (logograms) Then, the word-based writing system was purely followed by the Sumerians The alphabet was introduced in the Synaptic word by replacing the pictographs between the period of 1700 and 1500 B.C After the invention of the ink in 2697 by Tien- Lcheu, the Chinese philosopher and the invention of the paper in 1200 B.C in China, writing became quite common

2.2.1.2.2 The Difficulties of Writing Skill in Teaching Foreign Language

Writing in a foreign or second language is a courageous experience especially for students whose native language is not of the same origin as the target language Native language speaking students learning English is a good example here These students are faced with the school curriculum that includes the four main skills of English language Among these skills, they find writing skill the most difficult one and face many problems while composing simple short paragraphs Writing in general is the least lovable skill to the rural students and this can be contributed to the fact that successful learning of the writing skill depends on the success learners

have with the learning of other skills Normal teaching programs adopt the natural order of listening, speaking, reading and writing in their teaching schedule

Even though writing comes as the last skill, because it is necessary in daily academic life Students are expected to learn how to and logically using appropriate language and style, life will be difficult for them not only at school but in adult life (Neville, 1988)

The teachers of English language who teach at high schools are aware

of the difficulties involved in the process of learning how to master the different types of writing tasks and how to produce fairly they attempt writing in English Students at High School lack the control over their writing in English because they are in the process of gaining data as much

as possible from the teacher in the early stages of learning a foreign language Even the teachers of English also need guidance while writing

2.3 Overview on Essay and Cause and Effect Essay

2.3.1 What is an Essay?

According to Oshima, Alice and Hogue Ann (2004) - the authors of English grammar: An essay is a piece of writing consisting of several paragraphs long instead of just one or two paragraphs It is written about one topic, just as a paragraph is However, the topic of an essay is too long and too complex to discuss in paragraph Therefore you must divide the topic into several paragraphs, one for each major point Then you must tie all of the separate paragraphs together by adding an introduction and a conclusion

2.3.1.1 The Structural Parts of an Essay

An essay has three main parts: Introduction, Body and Conclusion

2.3.2 Types of Essay Used in Academic Writing

It would be wise to start studying different types of essay from the most time-consuming Five main categories of academic essay exist Those are:

2.3.2.2 Narrative Essay

The narrative essay reminds of a short story written by the famous author like Ernest Hemingway’s “Old Man and the Sea.” A writer can talk about the weirdest thing he met in life Another good idea is to talk about the first love Many students choose to recall a particular day from their life to show how 24 hours can change someone’s life for better or worse A narrative essay is all about expressing various things a writer has gone through in his/her life to make the target audience of readers interested Writing narrative essay does not require the usage of external sources This

fact makes this kind of academic writing easy, but a student has to develop a creative approach to receive the best grade

2.3.2.3 Compare and Contrast Essay

The compare and contrast essay belongs to the expository essay category An essay writer will have to mention the differences & similarities between the selected subjects/people/locations/events to let the reader compare and contrast things Comparing refers to finding similarities while contrasting in an essay is finding differences This essay helps to understand more than one topic at a time It is possible to compare/contrast various categories of essay (write about differences & similarities) Do not forget that you can mix essay of different types: involve a comparison of your previous job experience to the current one - that would be a mix of a narrative & compare-&-contrast writing

2.3.2.4 Persuasive/Argumentative Essay

The persuasive or argumentative essay is a type of essay where a writer has to insist on the specific point of view regarding the chosen problem These are 2 different types of essay A persuasive essay has to convince the reader of the truth of the main argument, thesis; an argumentative essay just must state the thesis and defend it with other related arguments & evidence Writing persuasive essay is the most challenging task A student should learn how to write an argumentative essay first

2.3.2.5 Expository Essay

An expository essay requires the greatest amount of time because the volume is large It is possible to divide this essay into several categories Those are interpretation, definition, Cause and Effect, response, and analysis

+ A basic explanation essay refers to the process of interpreting some

process step-by-step (providing detailed instructions) Such assignments answer the “how” questions The straightforward topics of this sort could be the way The President of the United States is elected; write about the way chocolate factory creates its best candies

+ A definition essay is the simplest one, but do not come up with a

single definition copied from the English dictionary It should include both the official definitions (several of them) and personal understanding of the specific word/phrase

+ Reflection essay (or personal response essay) is in the realm of

subjectivity on one side A writer still has to explain the main topic of the essay based on the credible evidence and facts Focus on personal opinion regarding the analyzed piece in such essay

+ A critical analysis essay is an essay, which goal is to make a writer

understand the covered material A teacher/student chooses a related piece of text (from book chapter to scholarly article) to write, analyze, and interpret the results in own way The teacher compares the essay to the actual interpretation of work Go line by line to provide a clear explanation of this type of essay

+ Especially, the Cause and Effect Essay is the one, which proves that

things are interrelated in this world In such an essay, a writer should draw a parallel between some subjects/events by specifying the reasons for some things to happen and the consequences An example of such essay could be the causes & effects of the Civil War in the US This is also a kind of essay which I study in my paper

2.3.3 The Definition of Cause and Effect Essay

According to Boardman, A.C.& Frydenberg, J (2001), a Cause and

Effect essay deals with explaining, examining or exposing two events or actions ( which could be thought of as topics) and how each has an effect on

the other and/or the results of these events or actions Topic always has a number of possible causes and effects

The Cause and Effect essay explains why or how some events

happened, and what resulted from the event This type of essay is a study of the relationship between two or more events or experiences The essay could

discuss both causes and effects, or it could simply address one or the other

A cause essay usually discusses the reasons why something happened An effect essay discusses what happens after a specific event or circumstance

Example: Marriage and happiness – When marriage is the cause, most people assume that the effect is happiness However, what if the marriage was arranged, or was the result of a pregnancy, or done out of pure convenience? Would the Cause and Effect follow a logical sequence? Or could the cause be happiness and marriage the effect?

2.3.3.1 Structure of Cause and Effect Essay

As mentioned, Cause and Effect writing gives reasons and explanations for events, conditions, or behaviors The following is a common structure of

a Cause and Effect essay

a, Introduction:

Hook: introduces the causes/effects

Background information helps the readers understand the causes and effects It can give historical information

Thesis statement showing a relation between causes and effects

b, Body

Body paragraph 1 (cause1/effect1)

Topic sentence Supporting details Body paragraph 2 (cause 2/effect2)

Topic sentence Supporting details Body paragraph 3 (cause 3/effect 3)

Topic sentence Supporting details

this

For example, in an essay with the thesis “Government policies have made fuel shortages more severe than they used to be”, the introduction

would discuss the fuel shortages that resulted from government policies

In a cause essay, we have the block style: Multiple causes - > effect

Listing the causes of a situation

a, Introduction : Effect of causes

The introduction to an effect paper will naturally reverse the procedure

of a cause paper by briefly describing or discussing the cause Therefore, you should provide thesis and basis for effects; describe primary cause; may use

more than one paragraph The key question is what effects result from this cause

For example, in an essay with the thesis “Passage of a national health program will result in heavy burdens on doctors”, the introduction should

discuss the health insurance program

2.3.4 Processes of a Cause and Effect Essay

Whenever we want to write any types of essay, we must do 3 necessary following processes :

- Stimulating ideas

- Brainstorming and Outlining

- Developing ideas

2.3.4.1 Stimulating Ideas

Firstly, when you have a topic to write, you do not know how to write

it, you need some knowledge about the topic that you write about Therefore, stimulating ideas is necessary for us

For instance, you have a topic: “Many people travel great distances to find happiness Others find happiness in the world around them In your opinion, what are the causes of happiness?”

Step 1: When you meet this topic, the first thing you have to do is

thinking about the topic by making notes what makes you happy (memories, actions, words) If you are not sure you should discuss with your friends to

find out the answers

Step 2: After thinking, you should read some model essay about what makes happiness to provide some deep insights

Step 3: After that, you must understand what those model essay talk about by making some questions to confirm whether your questions are true

+ People find happiness in different ways How do you find it? +What are some of the physical, emotional and psychological things in life that make you happy?

+ How do you express your happiness?

+ How does it affect the people around you?

2.3.4.2 Brainstorming and Outlining

Finishing process1, you have motivation to do the next process:

Brainstorming and outlining

Step 1: Brainstorming ideas

You try to think about 3 causes that make happiness and then detail

them with explanation, examples or facts

Cause of happiness: Physical things

Emotional things Behavioral things

Step 2: Brainstorming vocabulary

Give some vocabularies are useful for writing about happiness and write related words that will add details to your essay For example:

1 Happiness : fulfillment, contentment, satisfaction, peace of mind

2 Actions: achieve, accomplish, succeed, relaxed, pleasant

3 Results: bring about, result in, lead to, reap, make

After that you combine them by make a sentence like this way:

Achieving job satisfaction results in feelings of contentment

Step 3: Outlining

This step requires you to review your brainstorming ideas and free writing and write an outline for this topic about the physical, emotional or

psychological causes of happiness in the form of Cause and Effect essay

When you do this process, you should remember that: “A Cause and Effect essay explains why certain action, situations, and behaviors happen The essay can start with an effect, such as success, and find its causes, which might be education or talent Or the essay can begin with a cause and describe its effects”

(Alice, S & Patricia M, 2006:65)

2.3.4.3 Developing Ideas

To develop ideas, you must use connectors to create coherence among ideas in sentence

2.3.4.3.1 Cause Connectors

We have two kinds of connector divided by theirs using

a, Connectors Introducing a Clause

Use because or since to introduce a dependent clause A dependent

clause must be attached to a main clause in order to be a sentence

Remember, both dependent and main clauses contain a subject and a verb

Note that when the dependent clause comes at the beginning of the sentence, it is followed by a comma When the dependent clause comes at the end of the sentence, no comma is used

Dependent clause Main clause

Because/Since the traffic was heavy, we were late for class

Main clause Dependent clause

We were late for class because/since the traffic was heavy

For example:

Because you have family and friends, when you get difficulties, they

will give you helping hands, support you, encourage you Since the work

load is too great, you may get stressful; you need someone to share it with you At that time, your family and friends will be an emotional support to help you overcome every obstacle

b, Connectors introducing a Noun Phrase

Use due to, because of, and as a result of to introduce a noun phrase

A noun phrase is formed by a noun and its modifiers, for example,

heavy traffic It has no verb

When the noun phrase comes at the beginning of a sentence, it is followed by a comma When the noun phrase comes at the end of a sentence,

no comma is used

Due to the heavy traffic, we were late for class

We were late for class due to the heavy traffic

(Alice S &Patricia M, 2006:72)

E.g: Because of wrong decision, some students waste time and money

in universities to learn the major that they are not interested in For instance, students may have very high expectations and select a major that presents demand they cannot meet In some cases, they find themselves on a career path they do not even enjoy They may have to change their major or drop

out of college due to the realizing that they cannot keep up their grades

2.3.4.3.2 Effect Connectors

Use therefore, as a result, or consequently to introduce effect clauses

These connectors always come between two main clauses One clause shows

a cause and the other shows an effect

When the clauses are joined into one sentence, the connector is always preceded by a semicolon and followed by a comma

I studied all weekend for the test; as a result, I got an A

Cause Effect

I studied all weekend for the test Consequently, I got an A

(Alice S &Patricia M, 2006: 74)

E.g: Students need to keep up the motivation they need to study

Probably, students have many duties to fulfill, such as completing homework assignments and research projects, study for exams Many students work after school and arrive home late at night As a result, they work so hard in a

day, they get tired, and only want to rest They can undo the exercises by going to bed Only responsible students will push themselves to finish their work before going to bed Consequently, responsible students might be

exhausted both physically and emotionally

(Alice S &Patricia M, 2006:69)

2.4 Rules for a good Cause and Effect essay

Unlike process analysis, the relationship among events in cause-and effect analysis is not chronological; it is causal; something causes something else, or many things cause something; something results from something else,

or many things result from one thing

In the introduction, provide the necessary background to introduce

your reader to your topic, and then write a thesis statement that clearly indicates whether your essay will discuss causes or effects

Provide in your thesis statement an indication of the nature of the (typically three or four) causes or effects that you will discuss

In the body paragraph, analyze the causes or effects, giving a

paragraph to each major cause or effect

Use proper word indicators to show causes or to show

effects Use appropriate transitions

Explore each cause or effect thoroughly; do not just write a list

Do not shift away from the causes or effects For instance, do not discuss ways to avoid sunburn in a paper whose purpose is to discuss the causes of sunburn

Regularly remind your reader of your main idea or state the importance of the topic

When you analyze causes, you should attempt to understand the relationship of events that brought about an outcome, but in this case one that was probably unexpected and not likely to be repeated in exactly the same way When we analyze effects, we consider the results of some action

When you are discussing multiple causes for an effect, you need to be aware of the types of causes you are analyzing The causes may be unrelated

to each other, but all are related to the effect These types of causes are often called factors; they are not causally related to each other, but they do work to contribute to the effect

Do not have too much information to cover or introduce into your argument because you are not writing a dissertation Avoid falling into a never-ending cycle of ideas; be concise, get to the point

Some topics may have many causes and effects with which to deal Therefore, give some thought to how many and which ones you want to use; some may be more useful than others

Discuss causes or effects in a logical order:

-Least obvious to most obvious, or

-Most obvious to least obvious, or

-Most important to least important, or

-Least important to most important, or

-Sequence (first, second, third [or final])

When you are analyzing causes that are not of equal importance or that are immediate and remote, it is generally a good idea to organize the paragraphs beginning with the immediate and proceeding to the remote, or from the less important When you are analyzing causes that are not of equal importance or that are immediate and remote, it is generally a good idea to organize the paragraphs beginning with the immediate and proceeding to the remote, or from the less important to the most important

CHAPTER III: METHODS AND PROCERDURES

This chapter discusses the research methodology and procedures adopted for collecting data It starts with a description of the research design, followed by the research method, and ends with an outline of the statistical techniques used to address issues of validity and reliability of the instruments used for the collection of data

3.1 Research Methodology

In order to meet the above - mentioned aims of the study in the previous chapter, qualitative, quantitative and survey questionnaires are three approaches that the design of this study is based on

For the first methodology, the qualitative approach is used to describe and analyze data to find out students' attitudes towards writing skill as well as the results of students' learning motivation and the development of students' writing ability after understanding about Cause and Effect essay and how to write it better

For the second methodology, according to Creswell (2009: 4), quantitative research is a means for testing objective theories by examining the relationship among variables These variables, in turn, can be measured, typically on instruments, so that numbered data can be analyzed using statistical procedures Therefore, this method is suitable for the study because

it can describe and analyze the data, then makes comparison and draws conclusion in order to evaluate students' attitudes towards writing Cause and Effect essay skill

For the last methodology, Pinter (2006: 148) argues that

"questionnaires are better suited for quick factual surveys" Questionnaire is

to know students' attitudes about writing skill and the impact writing Cause and Effect essay

3.2 Research Procedures

The study is conducted in some following steps:

- Collecting data: conduct questionnaires to know the students' responses

- Analyzing data (based on the research questions): point out students' attitudes about some writing skill aspects and the impact of suggestions to help students write Cause and Effect essay better

- Synthesizing the findings and drawing conclusions

- Putting forwards some implications for teaching and learning and some suggestions for further research

3.3 Data Collections

The data collection took place around the end of May 2020 Data was collected by distributing 78 questionnaires to the eleventh graders at Mo Duc

No II High School The students were written informed about the objectives

of this study and then given the questionnaires to fill in during their lessons' break

3.4 Data Analysis

The aim of the questionnaires was to collect data relating to students' attitudes towards writing skill, the reasons that caused students' diverse in learning writing skill, students' attitudes towards Cause and Effect essay, using suggestions to write essay better in teaching and learning writing skill Basing on categories established, data was then analyzed by using descriptive statistics (percentage) and qualitative statistics (informal discussions, interview) Charts were mainly employed to analyze and compare figures

3.5 Reliability and Validity

Every research is concerned with the extent to which it is trustworthy The design of the qualitative research depends on the author's perception of the issue of the investigation which is one of many different viewpoints Therefore, validity and reliability are often based on a perspective congruent with the philosophical assumption underlying the paradigm of the case being investigated (Merriam, 2009: 211) One of the important factors of trustworthiness is internal validity which "deals with the question of how research findings match reality" even though reality can never be captured by the researcher (Merriam, 2009: 213) However, there are a number of strategies that the researcher can use in order to enhance the internal validity

of the study, for instance, by receiving feedback from the participants of the study which is called respondent validation that aims to avoid misinterpretation of their words in the finding of the research (Merriam, 2009: 217) Being aware of this, we collect data from the reliable sources to ensure the reliability of the results Our work in this study is set out from the analysis of evidence, statistics, frequencies, then comes to a conclusion reason, we are not driven by presupposed results, which means that the objectivity of study is assured The study strictly follows the research design

The data collection plays an important part in finding the result of the research to produce a qualifying study which is obviously significant both in theory and in practice Particularly, on the one hand, the results of the study provide some theoretical background for studying students' attitudes towards writing Cause and Effect essay On the other hand, it contributes a certain part to learning and teaching this skill in particular and four English skills in general so that both learners and teachers can deeply understand this teaching method and they are fully confident when writing and communicating

CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

4.1 Some Errors in Writing Cause and Effect Essay Encountered by Students in High school

4.1.1 Repeating Transitional Words in an Essay

Almost Vietnamese learners have the same habit when they write essay: they always use a transitional word many times Although that transition word makes coherence for writing, overuse of them is considered poor style in Academic writing, which causes the confusing and boring for readers The following is an example of the overuse transition words

Sample Essay 1: Factors that lead to Success in College

The road to success in college is full of difficulties that might cause obstacles with students reaching their goals Despite these, students can achieve their dream of earning their degree They need support from family and friends, strong motivation, and ability to focus

The first cause is that students need the support of their families to

succeed If they are lucky, they have families that protect and encourage

them, and their family members act as helping hands, friends who they can depend on Students need these supports to help them realize their own

capacity because there is a time when they doubt themselves For example,

because the work load id too huge or the exams are too hard, student may get

stressful Families can encourage them to continue their duties Because of

expensive tuition and the cost of living, some students are forced to work past-time If they receive money from their families, they can concentrate all their time to study

The second cause is that students need to keep up the motivation they

need to study, because students have many duties to fulfill, such as

completing homework assignments and research projects, study for exams

Many students work after school and arrive home late at night Because they

work so hard in a day, they get tired, and only want to rest They can undo the exercises by going to bed Only responsible students will push themselves

to finish their work before going to bed Because of that, responsible

students might be exhausted both physically and emotionally

The third cause is that students need to focus on their goals in

universities Many students are not aware if the importance of selecting the right college and major Because of wrong decision, they may waste their time and money in universities For example, students may have high

expectation and select a major that presents demands they cannot meet, so

they choose the major that they are not interested in Therefore, they may

have to change their major or drop out of colleges or universities when they realize that they cannot keep up their grades If they are more focus on what they want, the better their chances will be to achieve their goals

If students are enthusiastic about what they are studying, concentrate to their goals and receive support from their families, the college journey will

be easier Therefore, they need to transform themselves into eagles An eagle

knows how to focus on what it wants and capture it even when the distance is great

(Alice S &Patricia M, 2006:70)

4.1.2 Omitting Transition Words in an Essay

Except for repeating transitional words, learners may omit transitional words in an essay; sometimes, learners only write sentences what they have

in mind like brainstorming They may not notice that sentences or paragraphs need unity and coherence Thus, they omit necessary transition words in their essay This mistake also makes readers confused and the essay not effective

Sample 2: Causes of Overpopulation

Overpopulation is the condition where the number of organisms exceeds the carrying capacity of their habitat We are facing the effects of overpopulation in our daily lives Overpopulation has impacted the life of common man and has proved to be one of the gravest difficulties that have to

be fought Overpopulation implies scarcity of resources and economic inflation; these are the monsters which can make life miserable Living through the negative effects of overpopulation has made us realize serious problems associated with it It is high time we wake up and find the causes of overpopulation and work on them

The fall in death rates that is decline in mortality rate is one fundamental cause of overpopulation The advancements in medicine, man

has found cures to the previously fatal diseases The new inventions in

medicine have brought in treatments for most of the dreadful diseases This has resulted in an increase in the life expectancy of individuals Mortality