Improving Personal Letter Writing Skills Through Outlining Technique: A Quasi-Experimental Study at State Islamic Senior High School
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24256/ideas.v14i1.11166Keywords:
Outlining technique, Writing skill, Quasi-Experimental Design, Conventional Method, Eleventh Grade StudentsAbstract
This study was conducted to prove that the use of outlining can improve the personal letter writing skills of eleventh grade students of State Islamic Senior High School. Despite the recognition of outlining as an effective pre-writing strategy, few researchers have examined the effectiveness of the strategy as a tool for teaching personal letter writing among secondary students. Personal letter writing is unique compared to other forms of writing in that students are expected to arrange their ideas systematically but also express their personal experience, emotions, and interpersonal relations effectively in the process. Thus, the present study was designed to measure the effectiveness of the outlining strategy in enhancing personal letter writing skills among students. This study utilized a quantitative research design where 43 participants were assigned into two groups; experimental group composed of 21 students and control group comprised of 22 students. In the experimental group, the outlining strategy was used as a tool while the conventional method was used among the control group students. It was noted that there was an increase in the mean score of the experimental group from 62.43 during the pre-test to 86.67 during the post-test, while the control group recorded scores of 66.77 during the pre-test and 76.09 during the post-test. In addition, the results from the independent-samples t-test suggested that there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups (t= 6.282, p< .001). Lastly, from the effect size analysis, the effect size value was found to be Cohen’s d = 1.92, which indicates a large effect. Therefore, this shows that outlining is an effective instructional method for enhancing students’ personal letter writing abilities. This study has established that English teachers should apply outlining as a useful instructional strategy to enable their students to write good personal letters. Moreover, this study has added to the existing body of knowledge on writing theory by proving empirically that outlining is an effective strategy for planning purposes.
References
Aizawa, I. (2023). The role of outlining in improving EFL students’ essay writing performance. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 14(3), 521–530. https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.1403.09
Alalwi, F. S., & Alawerdy, A. S. (2022). Enhancing English as a foreign language university students’ writing through explicit instruction of conjunctions as cohesive devices: An experimental study. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1053310. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1053310
Alharthi, S. (2021). From instructed writing to free-writing: A study of EFL learners. SAGE Open, 11(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211007112
Azizah, S., & Soraya, S. (2023). A closer look on Indonesian EFL students’ writing process: The application of cognitive and metacognitive strategies. REiLA: Journal of Research and Innovation in Language, 5(2), 128–143. https://doi.org/10.31849/reila.v5i2.10687
Azzah, I. R., Damayanti, M. D., & Afni, S. R. N. (2025). Enhancing descriptive writing skills in junior high school students through effective outlining strategies. IDEAS Journal, 13(1), 2082–2091. https://doi.org/10.24256/ideas.v13i1.5523
Basri, M., Wahyuni, R., Papingka, G. K., & Lessy, L. Y. (2023). Outline technique in teaching writing skill at MTs Negeri 1 Morotai Island. East Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 2(3), 1069–1078. https://doi.org/10.55927/eajmr.v2i3.3354
Bongga, M., Weda, S., & Muliati, A. (2021). Improving students’ descriptive writing through outlining technique at SMPN 35 Makassar. Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra, 21(2), 145–154.
Brown, H. D. (2004). Language assessment: Principles and classroom practices. New York, NY: Longman.
Chen, M., & Cui, Y. (2022). The effects of AWE and peer feedback on cohesion and coherence in continuation writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 57, 100915. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2022.100915
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Dinsa, M. T. (2023). EFL students’ writing strategies use in Ethiopia: Gender and year level. Cogent Education, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2023.2256207
Fajrina, D., Everatt, J., Fletcher, J., Astall, C., & Sadeghi, A. (2023). How do Indonesian EFL students' writing strategies and writing process differ from English L1 students? Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 907–925. https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.28888
Fan, N. (2024). Effects of collaborative vs. individual pre-task planning on EFL learners’ L2 writing: Transferability of writing quality. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11(1), 1365. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03758-z
Fan, N., & Ma, Y. (2024). Effects of planning conditions on L2 writing in relation to task complexity. SAGE Open, 14(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440241297412
Flower, L., & Hayes, J. R. (1981). A cognitive process theory of writing. College Composition and Communication, 32(4), 365–387. https://doi.org/10.2307/356600
Harmer, J. (2004). How to teach writing. Pearson Education Limited.
Ismayanti, D., Said, Y. R., Usman, N., & Nur, M. I. (2024). The Students Ability in Translating Newspaper Headlines into English A Case Study. IDEAS: Journal on English Language Teaching and Learning, Linguistics and Literature, 12(1), 108-131.
Jebbour, M. (2021). Self-disclosure and Moroccan EFL learners’ writing development: Effects on complexity, accuracy, and fluency. Journal of Language and Education, 7(1), 127–140. https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2021.8620
Liu, W., & Zhao, P. (2023). Chinese first-year undergraduates’ strategy use in the English writing from sources task: Influences from genders, critical thinking, and L2 proficiency. Frontiers in Psychology, 14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1290312
Ma’la, S., & Ambarini, R. (2023). Error analysis on students writing task of personal letters. MARAS: Jurnal Penelitian Multidisiplin, 1(2), 255–267. https://doi.org/10.60126/maras.v1i2.53
Mamarajabova, S. D., & Bakhriddinova, Y. B. (2023). Some difficulties on teaching writing for EFL students. JournalNX, 9(2), 149–152. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/NHZ6M
Marzuki, M., Widiati, U., Rusdin, D., & Darwin, D. (2023). The impact of AI writing tools on the content and organization of students’ writing: EFL teachers’ perspectives. Cogent Education, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2023.2236469
Masruddin, M., & Nasriandi, N. (2022). Lexical and Syntactical Errors Performed by Junior High School Student in Writing Descriptive Text. IDEAS: Journal on English Language Teaching and Learning, Linguistics and Literature, 10(1), 1094-1100.
Putri, R. D. A., & Wahyudin, A. Y. (2025). Improving tenth-grade students’ writing skills by using the outlining technique at secondary school in Lampung. Wiralodra English Journal, 9(1), 91–106. https://doi.org/10.31943/wej.v9i1.348
Richards, J. C., & Renandya, W. A. (2002). Methodology in language teaching: An anthology of current practice. Cambridge University Press.
Riwayatiningsih, R., Yuliasri, I., Rukmini, D., & Pratama, H. (2024). The differential impact of specific metacognitive strategies on EFL academic writing performance. Forum for Linguistic Studies, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i1.7986
Rizqiyani, N. (2023). The effectiveness of outline technique on students' writing skills in coherent paragraphs. JPBI: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, 1(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.47134/jpbi.v1i1.15
Rochimah, S. (2023). Outlining technique on students’ ability to write recount text. RIGHT: A Journal of English Language Teaching, 6(2), 92–102.
Rosmiaty, R., Ratnawati, R., Yuriatson, Y., Angraeny, L., & Azani, F. M. (2023). Investigating the influence of explicit grammar instruction for Indonesian EFL students’ academic writing skills. ELT Worldwide: Journal of English Language Teaching, 10(2), 182–194. https://doi.org/10.26858/eltww.v10i2.53641
Sunardi, A., & Salamah. (2023). The effect of explicit instruction on students’ personal letter writing skills. JPI: Jurnal Pustaka Indonesia, 3(2), 145–154.
Sundari, H., & Febriyanti, R. H. (2022). How do EFL university student-writers prepare their draft? An analysis of writing strategy use in EFL writing instruction. Englisia: Journal of Language, Education, and Humanities, 9(2), 60. https://doi.org/10.22373/ej.v9i2.10374
Tabari, M. A. (2024). Unpacking the effects of different lengths of pre-task planning time: L2 writing outcomes and learners’ perceptions. The Language Learning Journal, 52(6), 615–628. https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2023.2213237
Taufiqulloh, T., Nindya, M. A., Sulistyawati, A. E., & Sumekto, D. R. (2025). Investigating Indonesian EFL students’ writing strategies: A framework for self-assessment. Language Testing in Asia, 15(51). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40468-025-00388-3
Teng, M. F., & Zhan, Y. (2023). Assessing self-regulated writing strategies, self-efficacy, task complexity, and performance in English academic writing. Assessing Writing, 57, 100728. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asw.2023.100728
Uludag, P., McDonough, K., & Payant, C. (2021). Does prewriting planning positively impact English L2 students’ integrated writing performance? Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 24(3), 166–185. https://doi.org/10.37213/cjal.2021.31313
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in Society: Development of Higher Psychological Processes (M. Cole, V. Jolm-Steiner, S. Scribner, & E. Souberman, Eds.). Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvjf9vz4
Weigle, S. C. (2002). Assessing writing. Cambridge University Press.
Wu, J., & Ellis, R. (2023). The effect of pre-task planning on computer-based second language writing. Language Teaching Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688231197575
Xu, T. S., & Zhang, L. J. (2023). Effects of cognitive task complexity and online planning on second language learners’ argumentative writing. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1121994. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1121994
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
Citation Check
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Elvira Nazarina, Rofiqoh Rofiqoh, Sukmawati Sadilia, Andi Patmasari
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)
