The Effectiveness of Canva as a Digital Writing Tool in Improving Descriptive Writing Skill of the Eleventh-Grade Students at Senior High School
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24256/ideas.v14i1.11162Keywords:
Canva, digital writing tool, descriptive writing, writing skillsAbstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate the efficacy of using Canva as a digital writing tool in enhancing students’ descriptive writing. Contrary to the other studies, the current research focuses on examining Canva’s effectiveness as a digital writing tool to assist students in developing their descriptive writing skill. It should be stated that the main motivation for conducting the current study is the poor ability of students to organize ideas, lack of vocabulary, and lack of interest in writing descriptive texts. To conduct the research, researchers followed the quasi-experimental design, including pre-test and post-test with a control group. The participants of this study comprised of 31 eleventh-grade students studying at MAN 1 Palu, whereof 16 of them were placed in the experimental group while the other 15 students formed the control group. In order to perform the experiment, the researchers designed several activities during six sessions. Descriptive text writing test was employed as the data collection technique, which was later analysed using descriptive statistics and aided by the Independent Samples t-test in conjunction with the use of SPSS. Consequently, the following findings emerged as a result. The mean score for the experimental group was raised from 52.00 in the pre-test to 68.81 in the post-test. For the control group, the score increased from 49.40 to 56.60. From the results of the Independent Samples t-test, there was a significant difference between the two groups (p = 0.002 < 0.05). Additionally, the effect size showed a large effect (Cohen’s d = 1.236), signifying practical importance.
References
Azadat Wiqoyatin Nur, & Ramadhani, L. F. (2025). The use of digital learning media in EFL classroom for writing skills. JEELL (Journal of English Education, Linguistics and Literature), 12(2), 92–110. https://doi.org/10.32682/jeell.v12i2.60
Billa, N. S., Jamiluddin, J., & Rita, F. (2021). Analysis of students’ ability and difficulties in writing descriptive text. E-Journal of ELTS (English Language Teaching Society), 9(2), 140–146. https://doi.org/10.22487/elts.v9i2.1870
Christina, F. (2021). Correlating vocabulary and sentence structure mastery to students’ writing skill in descriptive text. Journal of English Language Teaching and Cultural Studies, 4(1), 47–56. https://doi.org/10.48181/jelts.v4i1.10080
Faiza, F., Susanto, D. A., & Wiyaka, W. (2025). Enhancing students’ writing competence through applying Canva in a model of project-based learning towards descriptive text. International Journal of Research in Education Humanities and Commerce, 6(3), 301–312. https://doi.org/10.37602/ijrehc.2025.6324
Fidian, A. (2020). The effectiveness of digital media for students’ writing abilities: A literature review. Edukasi: Jurnal Penelitian dan Artikel Pendidikan, 12(2), 137–142. https://doi.org/10.31603/edukasi.v12i2.4782
Florensia Unri, E., Mu, F., & Noor Arini, D. (2021). An analysis of grammatical error types in descriptive texts written by EFL students. Lingua Educatia Journal, 3(3), 164–174.
Hafidzin, H. K., Muzammil, L., & Sulistyo, T. (2024). The effectiveness of the Canva application in enhancing students’ writing proficiency across learning styles. Edulitics (Education, Literature, and Linguistics) Journal, 9(2), 130–139.
Hafizah, W., Husna, N., Sunengsih, N., & Maulidya, R. A. (2024). High school students’ difficulties in writing descriptive text. Jurnal Ilmiah Pendidikan dan Pembelajaran, 8(1), 61–70. https://doi.org/10.23887/jipp.v8i1.66730
Harmer, J. (2006). How to teach writing. Pearson Education.
Hasmi, J., & Umar, U. T. (2023). An analysis of students’ difficulties in writing descriptive paragraphs. Prologue: Journal on Language and Literature, 9(2), 310–318.
Jacobs, H. L., Zinkgraf, S. A., Wormuth, D. R., Hartfiel, V. F., & Hughey, J. B. (1981). Testing ESL composition: A practical approach. Newbury House.
Khudaverdiyeva, T. (2025). The importance of writing in language acquisition: A cognitive, communicative, and pedagogical perspective. Global Spectrum of Research and Humanities, 2(3), 127–138. https://doi.org/10.69760/gsrh.0203025014
Koehler, M. J., Mishra, P., & Cain, W. (2013). What is technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK)? Journal of Education, 193(3), 13–19. https://doi.org/10.1177/002205741319300303
Larasati, M., & Rustandi, A. (2022). Empowering students’ creative writing ability by using Canva: A case study research in one junior high school in Ciamis. Journal of English Education Program, 9(2), 101–110.
Mayer, R. E. (2009). Multimedia learning (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Mi’raj, M. M., Sabarun, S., & Qamariah, Z. (2022). An analysis of EFL students’ descriptive writing ability. Concept: Journal of Social Humanities and Education, 1(3), 154–166. https://doi.org/10.55606/concept.v1i3.220
Ng, W. (2012). Can we teach digital natives digital literacy? Computers & Education, 59(3), 1065–1078. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2012.04.016
Novelia, E., & Faisal, F. (2023). Students’ grammatical errors in writing descriptive texts. JoLLA: Journal of Language, Literature, and Arts, 3(7), 1022–1031. https://doi.org/10.17977/um064v3i72023p1022-1031
Ramadhan, R. A., Rahim, A., & Paris, A. S. (2024). Enhancing academic writing through digital tools: A systematic review. Journal of Language and Literature Studies, 4(4), 758–770. https://doi.org/10.36312/jolls.v4i4.2342
Ramdhana, R. A., Syarfi, M., & Jismulatif, J. (2024). The effect of using Canva media on descriptive text writing ability of seventh-grade students. JIIP: Jurnal Ilmiah Ilmu Pendidikan, 7(3), 2797–2801. https://doi.org/10.54371/jiip.v7i3.4074
Rarera, D., Wicaksono, A., Puji, M., & Aji, P. (2025). The effect of Canva application on the eighth-grade students’ writing at SMPN 2 Tarokan, 1750–1756.
Rena Eka, R., Musarokah, S., & Priharyanti, P. (2023). Students’ perception of Canva application as a tool in learning writing skill. English Language Teaching Methodology, 3(3), 297–308. https://doi.org/10.56983/eltm.v3i3.1103
Riesnawati, H. D. A., & Susanti, A. (2024). Improving students’ descriptive writing skills through collaborative writing using Canva application. ELT Worldwide: Journal of English Language Teaching, 11(1), 28–40. https://doi.org/10.26858/eltww.v11i1.50274
Ruswandi, R., Gumelar, W. S., Ermaya, A. S., & Ginanjar, G. (2024). The effectiveness of project-based learning by using Canva application on students’ descriptive writing achievement. EduLite: Journal of English Education, Literature and Culture, 9(2), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.30659/e.9.2.1-20
Sadiku, M. N. O., Chukwu, U. C., Ajayi-Majebi, A., & Musa, S. M. (2022). Digital media: A mini-review. International Journal of Scientific Advances, 6(6), 476–483.
Salam, U., Wahdini, W., Surmiyati, S., Rezeki, Y. S., Riyanti, D., & Purnama, S. (2023). English language teaching innovations and materials. Journal of English Language Teaching Innovations and Materials, 5(1), 49–68. http://dx.doi.org/10.26418/jeltim.v1i1.63204
Ulyani, M., & Jayanti, W. I. D. (2025). The utilization of Canva in project-based learning (PjBL) to enhance students’ writing skills. Sintaksis: Publikasi Para Ahli Bahasa dan Sastra Inggris, 3(1), 242–252. https://doi.org/10.61132/sintaksis.v3i1.1412
Utami, Y., & Djamdjuri, D. S. (2021). Students’ motivation in writing class using Canva: Students’ perception. Project (Professional Journal of English Education), 15(2), 83–92.
Vijaya Kumar, S., & Sultana, A. S. (2016). Integration of multimedia for teaching writing skills. CALL-EJ, 17(2), 57–86.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
Citation Check
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Nadya, Konder Manurung, Sukmawati Sadilia

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under an Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See the Effect of Open Access)
