The modern educational system faces new challenges, prompting significant adjustments in curricula, teaching methods, and student assessment techniques. In this context, proficiency in academic writing in English is considered a crucial skill in Kazakhstani schools. However, mastering this skill requires time and student engagement, as errors in grammar, structure, and organization are prevalent in student papers for various reasons. 

Research highlights that writing is one of the most challenging aspects of English language use in higher education (Branovskaya et al., 2011; Gillet, 1996). It is a complex and demanding process that requires learners to develop both micro and macro academic skills while progressing through multiple stages, including prewriting, drafting, and revising. According to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), an advanced learner should be able to produce clear, well-structured expositions on complex subjects, highlight key issues, and expand on points of view with supporting arguments, reasons, and relevant examples (Council of Europe, 2011). 

One effective way to address these issues is by developing students’ research skills, which help them refine their grammar, vocabulary, and spelling - key elements that directly impact the quality of their writing. Strengthening these skills not only improves students’ ability to construct well-reasoned arguments but also enhances their capacity to engage with complex ideas and present them clearly. Moreover, honing research skills fosters independent learning, reinforces academic integrity, and prepares students for future academic and professional writing tasks. To further support this development, implementing self-editing techniques in English lessons can be highly beneficial (Sangeetha, 2020). Encouraging students to critically assess their own writing helps them identify weaknesses, refine their ideas, and ultimately produce more persuasive and insightful work. In this way, research skills and self-editing practices work together to cultivate stronger, more effective academic writers. 

Students of NIS Taraz, Kazakhstan, encounter various challenges in writing, primarily due to difficulties in producing coherent and cohesive paragraphs. Additionally, they often struggle with constructing well-supported arguments and demonstrate inaccuracies in grammatical structures and lexis (Pospelova, 2016). Based on observations as teachers, the most common issue is that students tend to use limited approaches or steps in their writing. They often neglect the revision, correction, or editing stages to improve their work. To address these issues and enhance their writing skills, students need strategies that are suitable for them and can make the learning process more efficient and effective. Consequently, the teachers aim to introduce self-editing strategies in the teaching and learning of writing. These strategies, which focus on sharing, revising, editing, and evaluating, are seen as both social and metacognitive tools that can support the writing process (O’Malley & Chamot, 1990; Oxford, 1990).  

Additionally, the writing process’s error-correction step is overlooked by both teachers and students as it is time-consuming (Ferris & Hedgcock, 2005). Error-free essays in an academic setting is a major challenge for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students. Editing stage is crucial in improving students’ writing abilities, and while assessing students’ writing work teachers should give constructive feedback. Several scientific studies have been analyzed to address the challenges related to students’ writing skills and the following research questions “How can self-editing improve writing skills? How is self-editing checklist useful in writing?” were identified as an effective tool in enhancing the teaching and learning experience in the context of NIS students. 

The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of self-editing techniques on enhancing students’ research skills during writing. Our aim was to support students in learning how to improve their writing; help them to investigate the problems and finding out their own solutions for improving writing via self-editing technique.

Overall, 90 students of 10th grade participated in this research as they had to take their exam by the end of the academic year. The exam was focused on two skills and one of them was writing. The research was conducted within the framework of Action Research, and a mixed-method approach was chosen to ensure a comprehensive analysis. All the teachers worked out a joint planning collaboratively as all of them worked in the same parallel. The lesson contained several stages. Firstly, students worked alone with a given model essay to find out the mistakes and then involved into the whole class discussion. It was deliberately an incorrect and poorly structured essay, which was supposed to be corrected. After the whole class discussion, the learners worked in small groups again, editing and reviewing writings in detail. The strategy of using a model essay allowed the learners to collaboratively find the common errors where students could support each other finding and correcting the errors. It could save the learners’ time on finding the information they needed. Furthermore, students were provided with self-editing checklists which included the sections for content, organization, spelling and grammar, unnecessary words, repeated words, long sentences, so that the learners could focus on them. While editing and working on the suggested checklists, students used the online dictionaries, resources, and the materials they were provided before. This work involved the development of students' research and problem-solving skills, as it required critical analysis and synthesis in the process of information retrieval. Group work proved to be more effective and relevant prior to individual tasks, as it facilitated collaborative learning. The relevant well-selected resources helped the learners to work independently and do research. Data collection was conducted through lesson observations, (qualitative analysis) and summative assessment for the unit (SAU), summative assessment for the term (SAT) and External summative assessment (ESA) (quantitative analysis), allowing for the direct analysis of teaching practices and student engagement in real-time classroom settings. SAU, SAT and ESA results were analyzed and showed the number of students who enhanced their writing skills. Lesson observations as a qualitative research method provided an opportunity to identify the extent to which students improved their writing skills in terms of organization, grammar, vocabulary, and content in the series of the lesson.

The results of the mixed-method approach, presented through action research, demonstrated a significant improvement in learners' writing skill levels. Based on the results from SAU, SAT, and ESA assessments, it was found that there was notable progress in writing skill development. While self-editing technique had a positive impact on writing skills, some drawbacks were identified in their implementation during the teaching experience. Strengths: Students’ active and full engagement in the editing process Editing a model (incorrect and poorly structured) essay Research skill improvement by identifying and correcting the errors Students improved their final essays Step-by-step guide to using a checklist for spotting errors and tracking specific aspects of writing Weaknesses: Lack of timely support in the form of oral feedback Students’ regrouping considering their abilities and individual characteristics (skill level) The irrelevance of individual work for some students (as certain tasks did not align with their learning needs or academic goals, potentially hindering their engagement and motivation). Overall, the self-editing technique significantly improved students' writing skills by encouraging them to critically assess and refine their work. This led to enhanced clarity, coherence, and accuracy in their writing. The research was largely successful, as most students actively engaged in the tasks and strengthened their research skills by identifying and addressing weaknesses using the self-editing checklist as a tool.

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