A Formative Assessment Perspective: The impact of Targeted Instructional Teaching & Efficient feedback in Argumentative Essay Writing on ESL Learners

Abstract

This research aims to highlight that ESL learner have gaps in their strategies of argumentative essay writing skills. It hampers their ability to communicate their claim of argument effectively. Different students stand at different points on the continuum of effective writing: organization, composing & literary devices, elaborating and using conventions (Freeman, 2000) . This research emphasizes that argumentative essay writing skills of ESL Learners can be improved with the help of explicit instructional teaching (Torgesen et al., 2007) and efficient and detailed feedback in formative assessment perspective based on constructivism theory of learning (Kim, 2005). It aims to document improvement in students’ developing an argument out of the whole range of generic writing skills with the help of explicit Instructional and ongoing formative performance assessment with detailed feedback pro forma. For this reason, students are required to keep portfolio, to develop an insight with the help of direct, explicit model of instruction to judge their mistake and monitor their track of development. A sample population of 15 graduate females is selected out of 50 students after a level screening test; the progress of students is computed by using spearman’s correlation between scaled scores on essay with the help of developed rubric. Moreover, correlation between every other two points in a row is also calculated to show the progress path of students.

Keywords: formative assessment, generic writing skills, portfolio, band descriptors