Abstract

ERRAZURIZ CRUZ, María Constanza; ARRIAGADA RUBILAR, Lucía; CONTRERAS VILLABLANCA, Maritza  and  LOPEZ WESTERMEIER, Carla. Diagnosis of essay writing by new teacher training students at the Villarrica UC campus, Chile. Perfiles educativos [online]. 2015, vol.37, n.150, pp.76-90. ISSN 0185-2698.

The aim of this paper is to identify, in a qualitative and quantitative manner and by means of a case study, the discursive and personal difficulties faced when writing an academic essay by first-year students of the teacher training degree at Villarrica UC Campus (Chile). The sample comprised 33 students and six staff The students prepared a discursive essay that was evaluated with ten different criteria, and took part in focus groups, together with their teachers. The results show that students lack knowledge about preparing an essay, above all in spelling, counter-arguing, and intertextuality. In addition, a number of emotional factors interfere in the process. For this reason specific education about the writing process is required.

Keywords : Writing; Academic writing; Teacher training; First-year students; Essay; Linguistic skills; Production of texts.

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