Enhancing ESL Academic Writing Competence through Structured Arguments Mapping as a Pre-Writing Intervention

Abstract

Academic writing is an essential competency in tertiary education; yet, numerous English as a Second Language (ESL) students encounter challenges in formulating coherent thesis statements and systematically elaborating on concepts. Conventional writing pedagogy frequently prioritises grammatical precision, offering less assistance in structuring thoughts prior to composition. This research examines the efficacy of Structured Argument Mapping (SAM) as a pre-writing pedagogical approach to improve Thesis Articulation and Conceptual Expansion in undergraduate ESL students. A quasi-experimental design featuring a pre-test and post-test with a control group was utilised involving 70 second-year undergraduates, divided into 35 participants in the control group and 35 in the experimental group. The control group underwent traditional writing education, whereas the experimental group engaged in a six-week SAM intervention. The writing proficiency of students was evaluated by an analytic writing rubric, and the results were examined utilising suitable statistical methods. The results indicated that the experimental group exhibited markedly superior advancement in formulating coherent thesis statements, elaborating concepts with rational justification, and crafting well-organised academic compositions compared to the control group. The research determines that Structured Argument Mapping serves as an efficacious pre-writing pedagogical approach for enhancing academic writing skills and has practical applications for ESL writing education at tertiary institutions.