A Study Of Writing Skills Of Non-English Majors

Writing skills are important for college students of non-English majors and are clearly described in the College English Teaching Syllabus (1999) and the College English Curriculum Requirements (2007). For so many years, the related researchers both from home and abroad have put so much effort into studying writing skills, the final results in English writing have proved not so satisfying. Many college students are unsatisfied with their writing. Among them, some college students are even unaware of theories of writing or writing skills even listed in the College English syllabus (1999). Others are not sure that which are their advantages and which are their deficiencies at sentence-writing level in their writing practice.Considering the reality, the study uses documental analysis and the 106 CET-6 composition samples (from three universities in Shandong province) to present the situation of writing skills at sentence-paragraph level. Specifically, the study explains writing skills in the current College English Teaching Syllabus (1999:168-69) and the requirement of writing skills in the College English Curriculum Requirements (2007). The researcher selectively focuses on sentence writing and paragraph writing in the section of writing skills. Through the qualitative research methods together with the quantitative one and the statistical instrument Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS 10.0), major findings are concluded to find out answers to the research question:1) At sentence level, what are major writing skills that students use? Whether they have achieved the requirements? And which aspects are students' strengths and which aspects are their weaknesses?2) At paragraph level, what are major writing skills that students use? Whether they have achieved the requirements? And which aspects are students' strengths and which aspects are their weaknesses?3) What are the major differences among the three groups in terms of writing skills at sentence-paragraph level? What are they?The statistical data reveal that:1) At sentence writing level, the statistical data reveal that a majority of students have generally achieved the basic requirements of writing skills at sentence level and are good at those skills - using simple sentences to produce a complete thought and expressing relations within the sentences through transition and combination. Those skills can be mastered and used better at sentence level. However, they still have deficiencies in skills -using complicate sentences and expressing relations within sentences through contraction and expansion. They are comparatively weak in using them when needed. 2) At paragraph writing level, data analyses show that to some degree, quite a few students have achieved the requirements of the syllabus and the CET-6. Most students can basically form proper paragraphs to express ideas correctly and perform better when writing a topic sentence and developing the topic sentence through cause and effect, comparison and contrast, and combined method. They can achieve paragraph unity easier than paragraph coherence because of the limitation of guided writing. Students are good at using the topic sentence and developing the topic sentence through combined method, cause and effect, comparison and contrast. On the other hand, most students still have deficiencies in developing the topic sentence through classification, example, process, definition and analogy. They may be not good at using various ways to develop the topic sentence. Some students among them even need to find out a fair balance between the content and the total number of words.3) Concerning differences, Tables of Statistic Data of Nonparametric Tests by SPSS 10.0, in writing skills at Sentence level, the data analysis shows that between the top group and the lower group the significant differences mainly consist in sentence expansion -object expansion (p=.046*<.05), predictive expansion (p=.015*<.05) and adverbial expansion (p=.001**<.01) and sentence transition - through cause and effect (p=.014*<.05). It is the same case to the result of significant differences among the three groups (the top, the lower and the intermediate).In writing skills at paragraph level, the data reveal that the main significant differences between the two groups consist in total word (p=.000***<.001). Among three groups, the differences are the total word (p=.002**<.01), example method (p=.031*<.05) and combined method (p=.032*<.05). All differences are illustrated respectively in the collected data. Each group possesses its own features in sentence- paragraph writing.The study lists strengths and weaknesses of writing skills of non-English majors at sentence-paragraph level and the differences among three groups. Then the study traces possible causes. Suggestions for college English teachers, students, programs and related researchers are made to improve writing skills of non-English majors and the writing part. By enhancing the basic routine practice of writing and writing skills, the comprehensive abilities to writing would be better achieved in the reality.Inevitably, the study has some limitations in the size of samples, data processing, etc.. In the future study, it is expected that future researchers would use the corpus-based method to set up a special corpus for the CET-6 compositions and analyze writing skills described in the College English Teaching Syllabus thoroughly and completely.