Abstract:

Significant strides have been made to establish the distinctions between academic and informal writing, emphasizing that academic language demands conciseness, formality, precision, and careful structure (Smith, 2019). Further research was needed to apply new strategies in an active learning time in the classrooms to bring an advancement in academic writing. Depth of the issue was investigated with surveys, observing students work in class, conducting assessment, students interviews and consulting with teachers of all subjects and concluded that weak academic writing is also a reason of students’ poor academic performance and lower grades in subjects which eventually leads to the loss of students’ confidence. The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe (Gustave Flaubert).  Team composed fresh intervention tactics after students’ workshops, interviews, and meetings. Implemented strategies for decided period and closely monitored the students’ performance. Deployed vocabulary-expansion activities, systematic writing workshops. Subject teachers incorporated specific grammar and syntax activities to help students with typical language difficulties. Endorsed dictation in lessons so students can encounter shortcomings. Created writing assignments and workshops that are pertinent to science subjects so that students may use their language abilities in a useful context. Kaizen principal was used to promote and strengthen virtuous writing habits, gave students regular, constructive comments on their work to make them consistent. Surveys were done on a regular basis, and the findings showed that many teachers were improving their pupils' performance using these tactics. Teachers were taken aback by the outcomes both before and after, numerous pupils began raising their scores and started taking science projects. This research promises an overall academic improvement of students in science subjects.

Introduction:

Upon thorough examination of the principal examiner reports spanning the past three years, which meticulously detail the outcomes of external assessments for all NIS schools under the aegis of the Cambridge International Exam Board (CIE), a discernible pattern has emerged. It has come to our attention that a substantial portion of students, exceeding 70%, encountered challenges in tackling high order thinking questions, necessitating a heightened proficiency in academic writing. Furthermore, an alarming statistic reveals that more than 80% of questions requiring written responses elicited answers that were below the established average competency level. This analysis underscores the pressing need for targeted interventions to enhance students' capabilities in handling advanced cognitive tasks and written assessments.

The teachers also had the audacity to interview students, as if their subjective opinions could shed any light on the matter. And to top it all off, they consulted teachers from various subjects, as if their biased perspectives would offer any valuable insights. The results of this endeavor revealed that weak academic writing contributes to students' poor academic performance and lower grades.

The implementation of inventive tactics brought about a sense of excitement and anticipation, as they promised to improve students’ academic writing and performance. As an outcome, educators realized the importance of this research and developed a team of 12 science teachers with 250 students from two schools.

Team decided to lounge an action research about the improvement of students’ academic writing by implementing fresh and innovative intervention strategy “dictation” under the umbrella of following research question:

“How systematically “dictation” helps students to improve academic writing?”

In this study, we use a mix of methods to understand and improve students' academic writing skills. We start with surveys to learn about students' preferences and challenges in writing. Teachers also share their thoughts on students' writing throughout the research. We analyze students' exam scores from the past, present, and future terms to see how their writing skills change over time. One important part of our approach is using "dictation". We dedicate 20 minutes for “dictation” activity in each 80-minute lesson. This means students listen to a passage and then write it down. This helps improve listening skills, spelling, and overall language accuracy. We do this regularly to encourage continuous improvement, following the Kaizen principle (Masaaki Imai, 1980). At the end of the research, we do another round of surveys and get more feedback from teachers to see how effective our methods have been in improving students' academic writing skills over time. This approach, combining surveys, teacher feedback, and a focus on dictation, gives us a complete picture of students' writing skills and the impact of our interventions. These activities were meticulously designed to offer students a valuable opportunity to apply their language abilities in a meaningful way, enhancing their understanding of scientific concepts and fostering effective communication. By engaging in these assignments and workshops, students were able to develop their language proficiency and scientific knowledge. The implementation of the Kaizen principle (small incremental changes create an impact over time) played a pivotal role in cultivating and reinforcing exemplary writing practices. To ensure a consistent and continuous improvement, students were consistently provided with valuable and constructive feedback on their work. Additionally, periodic surveys were conducted to gather valuable insights.

The survey's findings shed important light on students' preferences and difficulties with academic writing, especially when it comes to chemistry, biology, and physics. When asked which type of question they preferred for assignments or tests, most (40%) said they felt most comfortable with calculation-based questions, while 20% said they preferred clearly defined descriptive questions. Remarkably, 20% of respondents thought that questions combining computation and descriptive aspects were appropriate. The poll did, however, also draw attention to certain important difficulties that students have when writing academically about these topics. A significant 48% of participants cited a restricted comprehension of concepts as the main obstacle, highlighting a possible deficiency in fundamental knowledge. Furthermore, 31% of respondents said they had trouble putting ideas into words, pointing to a larger problem with effectively communicating scientific topics in writing. This research indicates that there is a definite need for treatments targeted at strengthening students' textual expression of scientific concepts and their conceptual understanding. At the end of the intervention, we expect: o Several teachers improved their students' academic achievement by implementing novel strategies. o It is discovered that the techniques employed in this study can be applied to enhance academic writing in a variety of departments and subject areas, not just science. o The study's main objective was to determine the students' status, which made it possible to better understand why they struggled with writing on tests. o The study looked at strategies for enhancing academic writing skills. o Several favorable results are seen based on observations made in the classroom. Teachers gained new strategies for applying subject-specific words and phrases. o It is worth mentioning that a significant positive shift was observed in the term final exam scores of students, with a particular emphasis on those who have historically struggled academically.

1.Smith, A. (2019). Academic Writing Distinctions, Journal of Writing Studies, 14(3), 123-145. 2.Principal examiners’ report on external exam result, NIS, 2022,2023 3.https://kaizen.com/insights/kaizen-methodology-education/ 4.https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Writing-Is-The-Art-Of-Discovering-What-P34XZSKVGXYW#:~:text=According%20to%20Gustave%20Flaubert%2C%20a,form%20of%20writing%20or%20typing 5.Tang, Q. (2012). The Effectiveness of Dictation Method in College English Vocabulary Teaching. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 2(7). doi:10.4304/tpls.2.7.1472-1476