ENHANCING COHERENCE AND CLARITY IN PARAGRAPH WRITING SKILLS OF GRADE 10 STUDENTS AT PEDRO GUEVARA MEMORIAL NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
Keywords:
paragraph writing, coherence, clarity, cohesive devices, structured feedback, action research, Grade 10Abstract
Many Grade 10 students struggle to produce coherent and clear paragraphs, a weakness reflected in poorly organized ideas, weak logical progression, and inadequate use of linking devices. This action research examined the effectiveness of a structured paragraph writing program that explicitly taught topic sentences, logical sequencing, cohesive devices, precise word choice, and sentence construction through modeling, guided practice, and structured peer feedback. A pre-experimental one-group pre-test–post-test design was used with 20 Grade 10 students of Pedro Guevara Memorial National High School (10 from Section Antipolo and 10 from Section Acapulco). Paragraph writing was scored with a rubric covering coherence, clarity, and overall performance (grammar, punctuation, unity, and use of cohesive devices), and students’ English and Filipino grades served as secondary data. Data were analyzed using the mean, standard deviation, paired-samples t-test, and Pearson’s r. The mean score rose from 7.07 (SD = 1.19) before the intervention to 8.43 (SD = 0.62) after it, a statistically significant gain, t(19) = 7.36, p < .001, with a large effect (Cohen’s d = 1.44). Scores also became more consistent across the class. Correlations between English and Filipino grades and paragraph writing performance were weak to very weak and not statistically significant. The findings suggest that a structured, feedback-rich paragraph writing program can improve coherence and clarity; an action plan for dissemination, utilization, and sustainability is presented.
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