Using the Genre-Based Approach in Enriching the Writing Proficiency of Communication Students at Bulacan State University

This study investigated the effectiveness of the genre-based approach in enhancing the writing proficiency of freshman mass communication students. Specifically, it examined improvements in five key areas of writing: organization, content, grammar, mechanics, and style. Using a pre-test and post-test design, the students were first tasked to write an essay titled “The Relevance of Writing to My Profession,” which was followed by a six-week intervention focused on editorial writing. The intervention included lectures on the structural features and communicative purposes of editorials, analysis of sample texts, and student activities such as research, interviews, and discussions on the issue of charter change. A second composition, an editorial expressing the students' stance on the issue, served as the post-test. The compositions were evaluated by three experienced language teachers using the Analytic Scale for Rating Composition Tasks by Brown and Bailey (1984). Results showed significant improvements across all five components of writing, with style showing the most progress and grammar the least. The findings affirm the effectiveness of the genre-based approach in improving students' overall writing proficiency, particularly in helping them convey meaning more clearly and use structural conventions effectively. The study recommends further integration of genre-based instruction in writing courses across disciplines and educational levels.

genre-based approach; text types

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