College of Communication: West Visayas State University Iloilo City

West Visayas State University
COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION
Iloilo City
3
DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY WVSU COMMUNICATION STUDENTS
IN WRITING
Cedie C. Bataga
Bryan N. Casaig
Kaith Pearl A. Mallorca
Chapter 1
The Problem
Chapter 1 is divided into five parts: (1) Background and Theoretical
Framework of the Study; (2) Objectives of the Study; (3) Significance of the Study;
(4) Definition of Terms; and, (5) Delimitation of the Study.
Part One, Background and Theoretical Framework of the Study, provides the
background, justifies the needs and reasons for conducting the study, and
presents the theory which will be used as the anchor of the study.
Part Two, Objectives of the Study, presents the general and specific
objectives of the study.
Part Three, Instruments, presents the gathering tools that will be used during
the study.
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Part Four, Procedure, states the steps as on how the study will be conducted.
Part Five, Data Analysis, presents the statistical tool that will be used in the
analysis of the study.
Background and Theoretical Framework of the Study
The first words are often the hardest, even when they come easily. The first
words are ones that open up a new world, introduce us to new characters, ones
that we might not necessarily be acquainted with, at least not in action even if you
have filled the pages of a notebook with character traits and have countless
images pinned on a Pinterest board. For a writer, the beginning is the most testing
time of writing. The road ahead seems so long and in between those stretches of
road where things seem partially illuminated, the overall route feels very dimly lit.
Such is the art of writing (Carnevale, 2016).
Considered as a ‘complex, cognitive process that requires sustained
intellectual effort over a considerable period of time’ , writing makes necessary the
need to organize the development of ideas or information; ambiguity in meaning
must be avoided through accuracy; the writer must choose from complex
grammatical devices for emphasis or focus; and finally, they must pay attention to
the choice of vocabulary, grammatical patterns and sentence structures to create a

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feasible meaning and an appropriate style to the subject matter and reader
(Hedge, 2005).
As time flew by, writing has developed a standardized method. This is equally
important to the very purpose of writing, which is the capability of carrying a
message of expression and information. Writing in any means has been commonly
accepted as an active non- verbal language in the world. Professionals and
students alike ponder writing as their personal expertise. Therefore, many people,
particularly communication major students, ought to master the technique of
writing (Nurdquist, 2018).
Moreover, as a communication practitioner, one who will go through the
process, being able to know the steps, techniques and aspects of writing is a must.
Being embedded in the studies of communication, one must be able to organize
the ideas, construct the sentences, use punctuation, and spelling well. Besides,
they must be able to arrange their writing into consistent and well-organized
articles.
Consequently, mastering the techniques, methods and practices of writing
is an important value a communication student must have. By grasping these,
students can improve themselves both in academic and life skill. It has always
occupied a place in most communication courses, particularly in journalism and

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broadcasting. To be an effective future media practitioner, communication
students must have good capability in writing. After being placed at the tail of the
language skills for decades, writing has seen as an important skill for
communication students. It is well recognized that the student’s ability to write is a
very important means of instruction (Walsh, 2010).
Writing is a complex activity. It is of a fundamental importance to teaching,
to personal development and achievement into the educational system (Melouk,
2013). Therefore, written communication is considered to be one of the most
critical competencies for students who take up communication courses.
Emphasis on writing skills suggests the need for assessments of writing
proficiency to inform curricular and instructional improvement (Sparks et al.,
2015).
Writing skill offers a way of communicating one’s thought and feelings on
paper. So the message must be loud and clear between the teacher and the
students. According to Clifford, (1991), the teacher has to encourage learners to
write for communication. They should focus on the ideas and meanings they wish
to convey rather than on mechanics of writing, such as spelling, and handwriting.”
The teachers play an important role in teaching writing and they are the only ones
who could help prevent problems of writing that could slow the process of learning
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English, specifically writing. It can be done by encouraging students to write to
communicate student to student, student to teachers, etc.
Many of them consider writing as a passion and an addiction. It offers escape
and wonder and teaches lessons of human life. They feel persevered into the
thread of consciousness, the pulse of humanity. It is satisfying to write about the
young life of President Rodrigo Duterte or the growth of the economy — the concept
of the yellow journalism and what are the latest trends in fashion and style.
Journalist, PR specialist, historian, health communicator, sports editor— the world
awaits through an invitation of a good article (Penn, 2012).
Writing gives the opportunity to the students to be adventurous with the
language, to take the risk and to go further of what is learned to talk about. The
teachers of writing classes who teach writing techniques and principle are aware of
the difficulties involved in the process of learning how to master the different types
of writing tasks and how to produce fairly coherent, accurate, meaningful and
proper composition (Shouman, 2002).
The psychiatrist Frankl in 1942 posited that the main search of mankind is
not happiness or pleasure but meaning. He wrote in Man’s Search for Meaning that
life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and
purpose.
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Writers are uniquely gifted to find meaning for their selves and to help others
find meaning. In fact, this has always been the main task of storytellers. Every
story matters to the person living it, and our job is to tell the universal stories, the
stories that reveal the story of every person on the earth. We write to bring
meaning to the world (Bunting, 2012).
Communication students find writing a tedious process. As mentioned,
communication teachers find writing a difficult skill to teach. Writing skill involves
planning, writing, editing, and perhaps rewriting and these skills are not easily
taught nor learnt. Psychologists believe that expectations play a very important
role in students' success in learning. Writing teachers would agree that among
some of the reasons why students cannot write well is because they perceived
writing as ”difficult” (Rahmat et al., 2017).
Writing problems seldom occur in inaccessibility and improvements in writing
go hand in hand with the development of other non-writing-specific skills. Thus, a
problem with the development in one of these areas is likely to interfere with a
student’s progress as a writer (Zsuzsi, 2017).
Many areas of professions are facing writing difficulties today, and the mass
media field is not exempted to this. It is a common reality that there are media
practitioners who fails to write news and information accurately. Thus, resort for
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the mass media consumers to raise question about credibility and performance as
a practitioner (Porral, et al., 2014).
Although one of the most influential field, the communication and writing
profession in today’s 21st century is not exempted to face various problems.
Problems may vary from political, social, economic or personal. However, in this
current era of great economic, political, technical, and cultural upheaval,
communication educators and trainers worldwide have an unprecedented
opportunity to fortify and significantly shape the future of journalism profession
thus making plenty of rooms to make writing problems narrower. In the end,
improving writing performance requires both time and work (Goodman, n.d.).
This is what should be future writers knew. Especially the neophytes. If they
push past the discomfort by treating their first draft with gentleness and
reverence, there will come a point that his or her story will take hold of him or her,
instead of them taking hold of the story. With every sentence of dialogue, with
every scene, with every article they almost take a back seat as their characters
show us where they want the story to lead (Carnevale, 2016). This is indeed the
beauty of writing.
Meanwhile, difficulties encountered by WVSU communication students in
writing remained an issue. This study aims to contribute and compensate for
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the absence of information
As AB Journalism students, being able to write well is a must since they are
expected to raise the banner of journalism especially the writing discipline.
Therefore, there is a need to conduct this study because this will find out the
difficulties students faced on the said field, and somehow, future practitioners will
have the opportunity of adjusting on the writing difficulties and pursue possible
solutions on the mistakes confronted when it comes to writing.
Aside from pioneering the study, the researchers’ account for doing the
research is to point communication students’ encountered difficulties in writing so
to give them a heads up on matters that need to be learned on future writing
careers.
It is desired that this study would contribute to the advancement of the
students as well as the convenience of the WVSU communication students by
knowing the reasons through ranking the frequency of the participants’ answers.
As mentioned, writing is one of the most basic fields in a communication
course. Thus, the researchers recognized the need for discussing the basics in
writing articles and proses and therefore, this study would not only recognize the
difficulties but also will reinforce those and will serve as a tool in educating and
them to be more interested of the field.

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By conducting the study, the researchers believe that this can contribute to
the existing body of knowledge.
This study utilized Social Cognitive Theory as an anchor.
Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) started as the Social Learning Theory (SLT) in
the 1960s by Albert Bandura. It developed into the SCT in 1986 and posits that
learning occurs in a social context with a dynamic and reciprocal interaction of the
person, environment, and behavior. SCT considers the unique way in which
individuals acquire and maintain behavior (Behavioral Change Model, 2016).
The theory suggests that people maintains certain behavioral patterns whilst
providing basis for intervention strategies. Evaluating behavioral change depends
on the factors environment, people and behavior. SCT provides a framework for
designing, implementing and evaluating programs (Communication Studies
Theories, 2017).
Environment refers to the factors that can affect a person’s behavior. There
are social and physical environments. Social environment include family members,
friends and colleagues. Physical environment is the size of a room, the ambient
temperature or the availability of certain foods. Environment and situation provide
the framework for understanding. The situation refers to the cognitive or mental
representations of the environment that may affect a person’s behavior.

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The situation is a person’s perception of the lace, time, physical features and
activity (Glanz et al, 2002).The Social Cognitive Theory was applied in the study by
measuring the difficulties encountered in writing among communication students
of West Visayas State University.
This construct grew out of the theoretical framework developed by Bandura
(1986) focusing on the influence of acquired and maintained behavior. The writing
difficulties are the acquired and maintain behavior of communication students in
these context, making writing the “situation” difficult in the mindset of students.
Bandura supports that students should be encouraged to develop and
nurture self- efficacy such attribute during the course of their education. Students
who possess self-efficacy belief personally will be productive, organized and
independent in carrying out tasks that would result in performance effectively.
According to Knight and Yorke (2003) it is not adequate to have a set of cognitive,
social, emotional and behavioral sub-skills, but it is crucial to integrate them into
experiences faced by undergraduates before they graduate. Based on these
premises, self-efficacy plays an important part in personal development, therefore
it is a very significant factor to counter challenges in writing.

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Statement of the Problem
This study aimed to determine the writing difficulties encountered by WVSU
communication students.
Specifically, it seeks answers the following questions:
(1) How are the writing difficulties ranked among the WVSU
communication students when taken as a whole and classified according to:
(a) sex,
(b) Field of Specialization, and
(c) GWA?
(2) Are there differences in writing difficulties among the WVSU
communication students when taken as a whole and classified according to:
(a) sex,
(b) Field of Specialization, and
(c) GWA?
Significance of the Study
The results of the study may be beneficial to the following groups of people
in the following context:

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Communication professors, may be made aware of the difficulties
encountered by their students in writing, and so they can find ways and means to
address them.
Communication students, may be given an idea about the difficulties they
may encounter in writing, thus could develop a mechanism to counter or solve
them and may hone their skills and improve weak areas in writing which can help
in their future profession in the media and writing industry.
Parents may be given ideas about the difficulties of their children when it
comes to writing and eventually improve, support and enrich their child’s writing
skills.
The Writing enthusiasts, especially those who are amateurs can benefit from
this study because they can get information in regards to possible difficulties they
may encounter in the field of writing and can think of strategies to overcome
them.
Future Researchers may use this study as future reference for parallel
researches that they will be conducting, or as basis for determining trend of
writing difficulties.
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Definition of Terms
For purpose of clarity and understanding of the study, certain important
terms used was defined conceptually and operationally as follows:
Communication--is the transfer of information form one person to another.
It is a way of reaching others by transmitting ideas, feelings, thoughts, facts and
values (Newstrom and Davis, 2015).
In this study, communication referred to the field of study of the participants.
Difficulties--a condition or state of affairs almost beyond one's ability to deal
with and requiring great effort to bear or overcome (Vocabulary.com Dictionary,
2018).
In this study, difficulties referred to the hardship and uneasiness encountered
by WVSU Communication students in writing.
Encounter--to experience something, especially something unpleasant
(Cambridge Dictionary, 2018).
In this study, encounter referred to an experience in writing by WVSU
Communication students.
GWA (General Weighted Average)--is a representation (often numerical) of
the overall scholastic standing of students used for evaluation (Academic Grading
in the Philippines, n.d.).

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In this study, GWA referred to the classification of participants whether high,
average and low.
Major--is a college or university student's field of specialization during his or
her associates or undergraduate studies (Molfoff, 2018).
In this study, major is the field of concentration among WVSU
Communications students.
Sex--the distinguishing property, quality, or assemblage of properties by
which organisms are classified as female, male, or intersex on the basis of their
reproductive organs and functions (Boundless Psychology, n.d.).
In this study, sex referred to the classification of the participants whether
male or female.
Students--are persons who studies an attentive and systematic educational
institution or those who formally attends school (Collins Dictionary, n.d).
In this study, students referred to the Communication students of West
Visayas State University.
West Visayas State University--is a state university in the Western Visayas
region of the Philippines with its main campus in La Paz, Iloilo City. It is one of the
twenty accredited Philippine Universities of the University Mobility in Asia and the
Pacific (Philippines Universities and Colleges Guide, n.d.)

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In this study, West Visayas State University referred to the place where the
study will be conducted.
Writing--is a series of activities going on and involves several phases, the
preparatory phase, and the content development and review, as well as
revisions or improvements posts (Jonah, 2007).
In this study, writing referred to the non-verbal ability of WVSU
Delimitation of the Study
This study aimed to determine the writing difficulties encountered by WVSU
The investigation was conducted during the second semester of the School
Year 2018-2019.
The participants of the study were the randomly-selected WVSU
communication students.
To gather the data, the researchers had utilized a researcher-made
questionnaire-checklist approved by the adviser and validated by experts.
Frequency and ranks are the statistical tools to be used for analysis and
interpretation of data.
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Chapter 2
Review of Related Literature
Chapter 2 consists of two parts: (1) Conceptual Literature and Studies about
the Writing Difficulties; and, (2) Conceptual Literature and Studies about
Communication Students.
Part One, Writing Difficulties of Students, covers the conceptual literature
and studies related to difficulties encountered in writing.
Part Two, Communication Students, presents the conceptual literature and
studies relevant to the perceptions of students in writing.
Writing Difficulties
Writing as a means of communication has its origins in the strip of fertile land
stretching from the Nile up into the area often referred to as the Fertile Crescent.
Most early writing systems begin with small images used as words, literally
depicting the thing in question. But pictograms of this kind are limited, some
physical objects are too difficult to depict and many words are concepts rather
than objects. The first known writing derives from the lower reaches of the two
greatest rivers in the region of Fertile Crescent, the Nile and the Tigris on present
day Egypt and Iraq (Plain Text History, 2018).

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The Polish American Assyriologist Ignace Gelb distinguished four stages in
this evolution, beginning with picture writing, which expressed ideas directly;
followed by word-based writing systems; then by sound-based syllabic writing
systems, including unvocalized syllabaries or consonantal systems; and concluding
with the Greek invention of the alphabet (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2018).
Writing is a medium of human communication that represents language and
emotions with signs and symbols. It is not a language, rather a tool used to make
languages be read. It has been instrumental in keeping history, maintaining
culture, dissemination of knowledge through the media and formation of legal
systems. As human societies emerged, the development of writing was driven by
pragmatic exigencies. In the 21st century, writing has become an important part of
daily life as technology has connected individuals from across the globe through
systems such as e-mail and social media (Palmer, 2009)
Literacy has grown in importance as a factor for success in the modern world
and learning to write is a key aspect of everyday life. Writing facilitates reflection,
expression and enables individuals to compose their thoughts, therefore providing
us with the framework for one of the prominent methods of daily communication.
Written communication is an essential element of expression; the ability to

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articulate oneself through the written word provides on one with the opportunity to
share their knowledge in a meaningful and effective way (Fullerton, n.d).
Writing is an intricate and complex task; it is the most difficult of all the
language abilities to acquire. It is a mental and cognitive activity, since it is a
product of the mind. However, as has been pointed out, “writing can be
understood only from the perspective of the society rather than a single individual
(Burke, 2010). It usually suffers from a lack of interaction, which stimulates oral
production in conversation (Maesin, et al., 2010).
Many students assume that writing is the most difficult subject among the
other language skills because the process of writing not only writes what they feel
but also convey a message to the readers. Therefore, the students have problems
to make good writing. Cafarella and Barnett found that students’ lack of confidence
in their writing ability made it harder to make revision decisions and explain the
decisions to the feedback providers. This was especially the case when there was
conflicting feedback from different faculty (Can, 2009).
Most people never consider the complexity and difficulty of the writing
process. In fact, relative to all other academic activities, writing requires more
basic skills than perhaps any other. One of the difficulties in writing in a second or
additional language is that it is generally believed to require some mastery of

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writing in the first language.
There seems to be a perception that once learners can write sentences and
paragraphs in their first language, they will automatically transfer such skills to
other languages. However, it has to be noted that this may be possible only if a
certain degree of proficiency in the first language is attained (Kereni, 2004).
As writing tasks become more difficult, students must call on an increasingly
wide range of skills to not only write legibly, logically and in an organized way but
also to invoke rules of grammar and syntax. This combination of requirements
makes writing the most complex and difficult use of language. It is evident that
writing is the biggest challenge for many students. The problem is the lack of both:
the adequate stock of English vocabulary and creativity in writing. Many students
are able to understand the language but most of the students face the problem of
communicating their ideas effectively. Students do not write very often and most
of what they write is classroom-bound. The most important factor in writing
exercises is that students need to be personally involved in order to make the
learning experience of great value (The Importance of Writing, n.d).
Encouraging student participation in the exercise, while at the same time,
refining and expanding writing skills, requires a certain pragmatic approach. The
teacher should be clear on what skills he/she is trying to develop. The teacher
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needs to decide on which means (or type of exercise) can facilitate learning of the
target area. Once the target skill areas and means of implementation are defined,
the teacher can then proceed to focus on what topic can be employed to ensure
student participation. By pragmatically combining these objectives, the teacher can
expect both enthusiasm and effective learning (Arini, n.d.).
Writing is no longer only about putting pen to paper. Author-teacher William
Zinsser reminds us that "the new information age, for all its high-tech gadgetry, is
finally writing-based. E-mail, the Internet, and the fax are all forms of writing, and
writing is, finally, a craft with its own set of tools, which are words. Like all tools,
they have to be used right Fortunately, successful strategies for teaching writing
have been identified and innovative programs implemented with a demonstrable
impact on student learning. However, their broad dissemination remains a critical
challenge for serious school reform (Nagin, 2006).
Several studies have been consulted and reviewed in relation to writing
difficulties of students.
The study entitled, News Writing Difficulties Encountered and Perceived
Causes among Journalism Students of WVSU was conducted by Salting, et al., in
2014. This descriptive study aimed to determine the news writing difficulties
encountered and perceived causes among Journalism students of West Visayas

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State University. This undergraduate thesis was conducted at WVSU in the first
semester of school year 2013-2014, the study made use of a researcher-made
questionnaire-checklist validated by experts. The results revealed that the top five
newswriting difficulties encountered by Journalism students of WVSU were:
struggling with the correct words or terms to use, needing to exert too much effort
in understanding technical terms, struggling with writing the appropriate headline
for a story, taking time to sort and select facts and data, taking down notes slowly,
and difficulty in writing Filipino or Hiligaynon. The top five perceived causes were:
sleeping late because of doing other things, being shy, feeling inferior to other
reporters/journalists, not fond of reading, having so many assignments other than
news writing, settling for printed materials as source of news, not being able to
memorize the attributes/characteristics of news, and being daunted by interviews.
Another study entitled, Constraints and Difficulties in the Process of Writing
Acquisition was conducted by Klimova in 2013. The study aimed to propose what
teaching method should be exploited when teaching writing purposefully.
Descriptive type of research was employed in the study. In the summer semester
of 2012, 20 students of Management of Tourism of the first and the third years
were given a questionnaire in order to find out what difficulties/problems they face
when they write in L2 (in this case in English). As it has been mentioned above,
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the general outcome of students’ errors was a low proficiency of their English since
they stated the following difficulties when writing. The difficulties are ordered
according to their frequency in students’ questionnaires: correct words order, use
of articles, restricted range of vocabulary, use of formal language, correct spelling
of English words, grammar structures, use of commas, finding the ways how to
start their writing, transforming ideas from their native language into English,
writing references and bibliography. In conclusion, one might say that L2 writing
might become a challenge for students if teachers carefully consider their students’
personality, their learning styles, social, cultural and cognitive factors and
appropriate teaching methods/strategies. Obviously, the most effective strategy is
to promote writing as often as possible, together with thinking and conscious
reflection on it. Finally, students must be provided with feedback on what they
have written in order to realize the errors they have made because without
sufficient and relevant feedback students are not able to improve both their writing
and language skills.
Finally, the study by Aragon et al., (2013) entitled An Analysis of the Writing
Skill Difficulties of the English Composition I analyzed the current writing skill
difficulties of the English Composition I students, as well as to know some of the
errors these students usually make and the reasons why they have this kind of
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problems when creating compositions. Sixty-seven students from the Foreign
Language Department of the University of El Salvador were employed in the study.
The team applied purposive sampling technique while for the collection of data,
the researchers administered an interview from the teachers of English
Composition I. The research team selected the survey as the instrument for
collecting information from the students; it was addressed to the groups 01, 02
and 03 of English Composition I in the first semester of 2013. Content analysis
technique was applied for examining the results of the instruments addressed to
students and teachers. In conclusion, most English Composition I students have
difficulty applying some writing techniques such as mapping and editing because
they do not know what those techniques are due to the fact that students did not
have a previous explanation about them. Students generally come to English
composition I without any idea about organizing their ideas, even in their mother
tongue. Students in English Composition I class considered mapping as the most
difficult technique. This was due to the lack of information about it and the need of
practice and explanation, as well as the difficult structure of such technique which
is considered not adequate for the level of English of these students. FLD students
writing quality is close to the superficial way in which English Composition I is
taught, as well as the lack of practice, the few time invested studying this subject
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and the deficient methodology applied. English Composition I professors usually
make use of the following techniques: brainstorming, free writing, making a list,
editing and mapping. These techniques are presented according to their
effectiveness where the most accepted are brainstorming, free writing and making
a list. Professors argue that the main problem for students in organizing their
pieces of writing is that students do not usually read and this is the reason why
they cannot organize their ideas because they do not know what to write about.
Communication Students
Choosing what degree to take up in college has always been a dilemma for
many graduating high school students. For instance, peer and family pressure may
instill a 'required feeling' of what degree to pursue. While many students go with
the flow of that supposed to be 'the most popular degree' and take up courses that
their loved ones think would best benefit them, there are some who decided to
take the road less travelled.
The scope of communication studies as a discipline gives rise to the
challenge of clarifying just who are the people behind this field are and what are
they about. For those exploring communication studies as a possible major it is
useful to have a brief sense of the extent, the history and the current state of the
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discipline. The breadth is due, in part, to the reality that communication studies
are an arts and humanities discipline with rich ties to history, philosophy, literary
and performance studies. It is also a social science, sharing a more recent history
as well as concepts and methodologies with sociology, psychology and political
science. Finally, they are a practical craft. Historically that craft has been public
speaking, while today it also includes the crafting of messages in various digital
media and applied contexts such as public relations and journalism. Aristotle called
communication studies (then known as rhetoric) a discipline without boundaries
and that is still true today (University of North Carolina, 2018).
Communication as a course may be underrated but it covers a lot of fields
such as television, radio, print, film, photography and other creative industries.
Through a generalized curriculum, students have been able to have a grasp of
these different areas and find out where they excel the most. Aside from the
lessons learned in the areas of photography, film, print, radio and television, it's
principles and techniques, one also had a chance to try and apply what were
written in the white board through the hands on training of communication
teachers. Some of these include television production, radio drama, advertising
and marketing strategies applied, theater production, photography exhibit and film
production. Through these activities, students were able to experience a glimpse of

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the real media industry (Mansell, 2011).
Most scholars in the discipline of communication begin the formal,
recorded history of the discipline of communication with the study of rhetoric in
Ancient Greece. Clearly, however, many ancient cultures developed systems and
theories of communication. Some of the earliest surviving works from ancient
civilizations read like primers for communication – including the Egyptian
manuscript, the Precepts of Ptah-hotep“ If you are a leader of peace, listen to the
discourse of the petitioner. Be not abrupt with him; that would trouble him. Say
not to him: ‘You have already recounted this.’ Indulgence will encourage him to
accomplish the object of his coming. As for being abrupt with the complainant the
way to obtain a clear explanation is to listen with kindness (Westmont College,
2017).
Communications involves gathering information and effectively distributing
it to others via the written or spoken word. Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in
Communications degree programs offer a wide breadth of learning in
communication methods, and they also commonly offer emphasis areas, such as
corporate communications or investigative journalism, to prepare students to enter
specific job markets for communications most importantly, writing. For example,
journalism students hone their skills in researching, interviewing, and analytical

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writing. Public relations enthusiasts, who share information about companies,
products or events with the community, must be able to orally and verbally convey
details to individuals and groups and have promotional skills. Corporate
communications specialists need to have highly developed skills in email and
newsletter writing (Media Communication, 2018).
Communication Studies is the perfect major for students with multiple
interests and diverse talents because the discipline provides theory, tools, and
techniques for analysing, managing and improving communication in every arena
of professional and personal interaction.
Mass communication is the study of communicating with the masses, but is
also about storytelling with strategy and purpose. The study of mass
communication is centered on how messages persuade and affect the behavior
and opinion of the person or people receiving the content. The Mass
Communication sequence will help one develop research methods and analysis
skills that can be applied to a number of different fields, including law, academia,
and the professional sector (Texas State University, 2018).
The discipline embraces many approaches to understanding communication
– some approach the study within a humanities perspective, focusing on historic
speeches and social movements, rhetorical analysis of film, or ethical critiques of

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contemporary political discourse. Some approach the study of communication
within a social scientific framework, focusing on the effects of advertising on
children, the role of gender in how we approach negotiation, or what makes one
leader more successful than another (Westmont College, 2017).
A communications major can be prepared for a wide variety of careers,
including journalism, marketing, broadcast media, copy writing and politics. Some
schools offer communications degrees with a concentration in a specific type of
communication such as journalism, while others provide students with a broad
base of classes in an assortment of communications-related skills (Thompson,
n.d.).
As communication students, writing help them to express their thoughts,
ideas and feelings on paper. The researchers write articles, literary pieces,
speeches and anything under this area of discipline. As expected, they should be
able to express with fluency, accuracy and style on what we know about different
subjects, topics, ideas and the like through writing. If he or she fails to develop
certain basic writing skills, he or she will be unable to write with speed and fluency
required in this field. Indeed, for communication majors struggling with a writing
problem, the writing process itself interferes with learning (Imane, 2015).
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Despite the breadth of communication studies, there are a few ideas that
have traditionally held it together as a discipline. The first is the centrality of
symbol use to our own humanity. Philosophically humans are firm believers in the
power of communication and its central role in both citizenship and personal
development. This power has been recognized for centuries. Isocrates an ancient
Greek Historian noted that there has been implanted in us the power to persuade
each other and to make clear to each other whatever we desire, not only have we
escaped the life of wild beasts, but we have come together and founded cities and
made laws and invented arts; and, generally speaking, there is no institution
devised by man which the power of speech has not helped us to establish
(University of North Carolina, 2018).
Each school establishes its own curriculum for a communications major, and
reviewing the course catalog for a prospective school can help make them the
right choice. Most curricula include classes in writing and English, public speaking,
theories of persuasion, group communication, rhetoric, debate, interpersonal
communication and media communication. If choosing a specialty within a
communication major, an upper-level classes will focus on that specialty. he or she
will be expected to take classes in conflict management, negotiation and
interpersonal psychology (Thompson, n.d.).

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Media and communications degrees cover the history and effects on society
of various forms of media as well as the way that they can be used to
communicate different messages. Such courses may draw on elements from the
social sciences and the humanities but the core focus remains mass
communication and communication studies (Times Education, 2017).
Graduates of with communication courses have launched careers as free-
lance videographers, wedding planners, designers, information specialists,
diplomats, political scientists, research analysts, writers, editors, community affairs
as leaders in the non-profit sector, and in corporate and institutional media
(producing visual, audio, written, and multimedia materials for training and
instruction, internal and external communications, sales, and public relations etc.).
Communications students need strong reading and writing skills, and some
schools administer a placement test to incoming freshmen and transfer students,
although at most schools, there are no specific prerequisites for communications
majors. A low score on this test might mean you have to take remedial courses in
reading or writing before taking core classes or classes related to your major
(Thompson, n.d.).
Today’s 21st century world, the discipline and career opportunities for
students in the communication field remain strong and firm. Technologies continue
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to change and evolve but the basic human need for connection: to understand and
be understood, remains as important – and as robust ever.
Related studies were sought to enrich the present study from various
studies.
A study entitled, Exploring Agricultural Communications Students
Perceptions of Communication Apprehension and Writing Apprehension in the
Classroom was conducted by Ahrems et al., (2016). The purpose of this study was
to qualitatively explore agricultural communication students’ perceptions of
Communication and Writing Apprehensions. Eleven participants were identified and
agreed to participate in the study based off previously collected data from Texas
Tech University students who indicated they were willing to participate in a one-
on-one interview following a questionnaire. To gather the data, a qualitative
research design was used for this study in order to gain students perspective about
of Communication and Writing Apprehensions. Semi-structure, one-on-one
interviews were used with pre-established questions, but allowed the freedom to
ask questions as they emerged during the course of the interview. Interviews were
audio-recorded then transcribed and each interviewee was assigned a pseudonym.
After analyzing the interview transcripts five major themes emerged: (1) One-on-
one with instructor: students gain deeper understanding, students learn from each
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other, more hands-on. (2) Group work is problematic: good to have other opinions
and points-of-view, can play off everyone’s attributes, I like to be in control, can
be frustrating. (3) More speaking opportunities: practice, Agricultural
Communications public speaking course. (4) Grade them suckers hard:
constructive criticism, writing workshops, peer reviews and discussions. (5) I’m my
worst Enemy: personal struggle, get out of my comfort zone, suck it up.
Understanding Communication and Writing Apprehensions among agricultural
communications students is important for faculty so they can tailor instructional
techniques to help students grow in their oral and written communications skill
sets while also providing and ideal learning environment.
Another study entitled, Examining Mass Communications Final Year
Undergraduates Writing Self- Efficacy for Employability was conducted by Saheed,
et al., (2016). This study uses quantitative survey approach to examine Final year
Mass Communication undergraduates’ writing self-perception. This study sets out
to investigate the writing self-efficacy of final year mass communication
undergraduates of tertiary institutions in Nigeria. The study sample was drawn
from Lagos State University ( LASU), University of Lagos ( Unilag), Lagos State
polytechnic ( LAPOSTECH) and Yaba College of Technology ( YABATECH) in
Lagos, South-Western Nigeria. To evaluate the undergraduates’ self- efficacy in

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writing, it was operationalized into 3 measures. The aggregate number of
undergraduates studied comprise of 405 respondents out of which around 64.2%
are female while around 35.8% are male. The variables measured were local and
global writing process knowledge, physical reaction in writing and time/ effort in
writing. The items were adopted from the instrument developed by Schmidt and
Alexander (2014) to evaluate writing self-efficacy. The questionnaires were
distributed cross-sectional simultaneously. The methodology adopted for the study
is quantitative; hence, the measurement was based on a ration scale ranging from
0-100 using a writing self-efficacy questionnaire. The respondents self-efficacy was
determined by requiring them to rate themselves from (“very unconfident”) to 100
(confident). The findings re-established the importance of self-efficacy in writing as
a vital aspect of employability. The practical implication is that tertiary institution
curriculum should be made to emphasize writing self-efficacy as well as other
forms of employability skills, and there should be a paradigm shift from teacher
centred learning approach to student’s method in order to further help students
develop in their writing self-efficacy and thereby get them prepared for the
employment market likewise there shows that there is opportunity to improve on
the writing self-efficacy of the undergraduates to equip them better in terms of
employability skills. Moreover, the implication of this study in practical sense is that
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it provides significance information to tertiary institution, namely; universities and
polytechnics educational policy makers and curriculum experts in Nigeria, as well
as administrators to adjust the teaching methodology to further accommodate
master of experience, vicarious experience, social persuasion and good emotional
conditions as advocated by the self-efficacy theory ( Bandura, 1994), These would
go along to further facilitate the writing self-efficacy of the undergraduates. The
overall, the result shows that mass communication undergraduates in Nigeria have
above average or moderate writing self-efficacy having scored generally above
average in the three variables used in measured for the measurement of their
writing self-efficacy.
Finally, a study conducted by Scott Kuehn and Andrew Lingwall from Clarion
University of Pennsylvania entitled, “In their own words: A Thematic Analysis of
Students’ Comments About their Writing Skills in Mass Communication Programs”
was conducted on September, 2012. The study aimed to explore self-perceptions
of writing skills among students in mass communication programs at 13 public
state universities in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The study
addresses implications for faculty members who wish to better understand their
students in order to devise more effective writing instruction. The researchers
administered a paper survey questionnaire to 860 anonymous students enrolled in

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communication courses at thirteen comprehensive state universities in the Mid-
Atlantic region in the United States. The instrument contained three sections with
check-off and Likert-type items to determine demographic information and student
self-perceptions of writing skills. Out of the pool of 860 returned surveys, 397
came from communication. Nearly half of all respondents in this study reported
basic skill deficits. As a result, they desire and need new approaches from
instructors – approaches that many instructors have not had to emphasize before.
Based on this qualitative narrative analysis, the researchers concluded that many
millennial students need: 1.) personal understanding along with extensive one-on-
one help from their instructors; 2.) focused feedback. They want to write drafts,
make corrections and then resubmit their papers; 3.) intensive work on basic
grammar, spelling, punctuation and mechanics. These results clearly show that
mass communication majors also need a focused reality check on how media
professionals write and what media employers expect from them as writers. They
need instruction that will help them mature into professional media writers who
know what the field requires of them as writers as they begin their careers.
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Chapter 3
Research Design and Methodology
Chapter 3 consists of five parts: (1) Purpose of the Study and Research
Design; (2) Participants or Subjects of the Study; (3) Instrument; (4) Procedure;
and, (5) Data Analysis.
Part One, Purpose of the Study and Research Design, presents the purpose
and describes the design that will be used in the study.
Part Two, Participants, describes the participants who were involved in the
study.
Part Three, Instruments, presents the gathering tools that used during the
study.
Part Four, Procedure, states the steps as on how the study was conducted.
Part Five, Data Analysis, presents the statistical tools used in the analysis of
the study.
Purpose of the Study and Research Design
The study aimed to determine the writing difficulties encountered by WVSU
The descriptive method of research was employed in the study. It is devoted

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to the gathering of information about prevailing conditions or situations for
the purpose of description and interpretation. This type of research method is not
simply amassing and tabulating facts but includes proper analyses, interpretation,
comparisons, identification of trends and relationships (Aggarwal, 2008).
This study was conducted during the 2nd semester of Academic Year 2018-
2019 at West Visayas State University Iloilo City.
A questionnaire checklist was constructed by the researchers approved by
the adviser and validated by
experts in language, research and communication was used as data gathering
instrument.
Frequency and rank were used as statistical tools.
Participants
The participants of the study were the 100 randomly-selected
Communication
students of West Visayas State University, taken as a whole and classified
according to field of specialization, sex, and GWA.
In terms of sex, there were 36 (36%) and 64 (64%) female participants. In
terms
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of field of specialization, 34 (34%) Broadcasting, 38 (38%) Journalism, and 28
(28%) Development Communication.
In terms of GWA, High average 22 (22%) and Average 78 (78%).
Table 1 shows the distribution of the participants.

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Table 1
Distribution of the Participants
Categories f %
A. Entire Group 100 100
B. Sex
Male 36 36
Female 64 64
C. Field of Specialization
Broadcasting 34 34
Journalism 38 38
Development Communication 28 38
D. GWA
High Average 22 22
Average 78 78
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Instrument
To gather data for the study, the researcher-made questionnaire was
constructed. The instrument was utilized to gather data on the writing difficulties
encountered by WVSU Communication Students. This was approved by the adviser
and was validated by set of experts in language, research and communication.
The questionnaire was divided into two parts. The first part contained the
participants’ personal data such as sex, general weighted average (GWA) and field
of specialization.
The second part of the questionnaire focused on the pre-identified writing
difficulties for which the participants were instructed to check the column that
corresponded to their answer. They will check the column yes if they encountered
such difficulty and leave blank if they did not.
The instrument were personally administered by the researchers to the
correspondents.
Procedure
Certain steps were observed in the preparations of this study.
The researcher submitted three thesis titles that was subjected for
improvement and approval of the Introduction to Research Professor.

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The improved and approved proposed thesis proposal title was presented
and defended before the Research Committee of the College of Communication –
West Visayas State University during the title defense.
Upon the approval of the committee, suggestions were noted by the
researchers regarding the thesis title, statement of the problem and other details
that has been corrected or improved.
After the title approved by the panel, researchers choose their thesis
Adviser to guide them in the duration of thesis writing.
The researchers then proceeded with the writing of the outline for each
chapter. The outline for Chapters 1 to 3 was drafted and submitted to the thesis
adviser. The researchers also presented the topic sentences for conceptual
literature and the basic facts of the related literatures identified by the researchers
as part of Chapter 2.
Chapter 3 was filled up by the researchers as well. The researchers had to
present the Research Design and Methodology that was employed on the chosen
study. After which, the corrections and suggestions’ of the adviser was then
worked out by the researchers. Helpful criticisms, suggestions and
recommendations were given by the thesis adviser about the initial outlines for
each chapter.
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The learning Resource Center of West Visayas State University, College of
Communication and the World Wide Web were visited to search for useful
information, related studies and literature regarding the identified topics to enrich
the content of chapters.
All the corrections that was done during the consultation were noted,
portions were the researchers had errors had been replaced with correct
information in consult
with the research adviser. Moreover, all lessons introduced during the class
discussions were incorporated as the researcher prepares to draft the thesis
proposal.
Before the second semester of Academic Year 2017-2018 ends, the
researchers drafted the thesis proposal which includes the first three chapters of
the thesis namely: (a) The Problem, (b) Review of Related Literature and (c)
Research Design and Methodology. A reference page was also prepared.
For the proposal the researchers submitted a draft to the thesis adviser for
approval.
Before the first semester of Academic Year 2018-2019 starts, the researchers
Had drafted the thesis proposal and defend before the panel of Communication
experts.
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As soon as the suggestions and critiquing among the panel were done, the
researchers started preparing for the conduct of the study by making the
questionnaire-checklist and have it validated among the group of experts in the
field of language, communication, and research in the second semester of
academic year 2018-2019.
The validators checked the questionnaire-checklist in terms of language
used, content, and validity of the questions. The suggestions of the validators were
considered to improve the instrument. After the revisions, the researchers
conducted the study.
The authors consolidated all the results and consolidated them through the
use of tables, and computed them through the use of the appropriate statistical
tool.
Based on the results, the researchers interpreted the data gathered and
created their data analysis and interpretation, conclusions, and recommendations
which were included in chapters 4 and 5, respectively. A reference was also
included.
The researchers proceeded on making the entire research paper and
submitted the draft to the adviser and research professor for improvement. Further
corrections made by the consultants were applied in the paper.

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After the final paper is ready, the researchers prepared for the final oral
defense which was presented to the panel. Corrections that were done by the
panel were noted by the researchers.
As soon as corrections of the panel were applied by the researchers, the final
research paper was passed to the panel and the dean for approval.
After which, the research paper was reproduced and bounded,
Data Analysis
The data gathered for this study was subjected to the following
statistical tools:
Frequency count. Frequency count was used to count the number of
respondents in a particular writing difficulty.
Rank. Rank was used to identify the order of difficulties
encountered by WVSU Communication students in writing.

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West Visayas State University

DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY WVSU COMMUNICATION STUDENTS

Kaith Pearl A. Mallorca

Chapter 1 is divided into five parts: (1) Background and Theoretical

(4) Definition of Terms; and, (5) Delimitation of the Study.

objectives of the study.

analysis of the study.

Background and Theoretical Framework of the Study

Such is the art of writing (Carnevale, 2016).

Considered as a ‘complex, cognitive process that requires sustained

need to organize the development of ideas or information; ambiguity in meaning

the choice of vocabulary, grammatical patterns and sentence structures to create a

important to the very purpose of writing, which is the capability of carrying a

accepted as an active non- verbal language in the world. Professionals and

particularly communication major students, ought to master the technique of

writing (Nurdquist, 2018).

Moreover, as a communication practitioner, one who will go through the

Being embedded in the studies of communication, one must be able to organize

Consequently, mastering the techniques, methods and practices of writing

is an important value a communication student must have. By grasping these,

occupied a place in most communication courses, particularly in journalism and

broadcasting. To be an effective future media practitioner, communication

communication students. It is well recognized that the student’s ability to write is a

very important means of instruction (Walsh, 2010).

Writing is a complex activity. It is of a fundamental importance to teaching,

to personal development and achievement into the educational system (Melouk,

2013). Therefore, written communication is considered to be one of the most

critical competencies for students who take up communication courses.

Emphasis on writing skills suggests the need for assessments of writing

proficiency to inform curricular and instructional improvement (Sparks et al.,

Writing skill offers a way of communicating one’s thought and feelings on

students. According to Clifford, (1991), the teacher has to encourage learners to

to convey rather than on mechanics of writing, such as spelling, and handwriting.”

English, specifically writing. It can be done by encouraging students to write to

communicate student to student, student to teachers, etc.

Many of them consider writing as a passion and an addiction. It offers escape

thread of consciousness, the pulse of humanity. It is satisfying to write about the

Journalist, PR specialist, historian, health communicator, sports editor— the world

awaits through an invitation of a good article (Penn, 2012).

Writing gives the opportunity to the students to be adventurous with the

proper composition (Shouman, 2002).

meaning to the world (Bunting, 2012).

Communication students find writing a tedious process. As mentioned,

writing as ”difficult” (Rahmat et al., 2017).

Writing problems seldom occur in inaccessibility and improvements in writing

go hand in hand with the development of other non-writing-specific skills. Thus, a

student’s progress as a writer (Zsuzsi, 2017).

a practitioner (Porral, et al., 2014).

profession in today’s 21st century is not exempted to face various problems.

current era of great economic, political, technical, and cultural upheaval,

communication educators and trainers worldwide have an unprecedented

opportunity to fortify and significantly shape the future of journalism profession

Meanwhile, difficulties encountered by WVSU communication students in

the absence of information

expected to raise the banner of journalism especially the writing discipline.

solutions on the mistakes confronted when it comes to writing.

research is to point communication students’ encountered difficulties in writing so

to give them a heads up on matters that need to be learned on future writing

It is desired that this study would contribute to the advancement of the

students as well as the convenience of the WVSU communication students by

As mentioned, writing is one of the most basic fields in a communication

them to be more interested of the field.

the existing body of knowledge.