Developing Writers' Communicative Writing Skills Through Standard-based Rubrics: A Case Study of Qassim University Students

Abstract

The use of rubrics to assess quality performance and progress across educational fields is gaining prominence, as it mainly assists in targeting essential complex components in writing. This study suggests that standard-based rubrics inspire writers to become proficient communicators. Rubrics identify the gaps that need to be addressed based on the alignment of learning goals and precise writing standards underpinned with clear guidance. A mixed qualitative-quantitative approach was used.  The participants were 60 students from Qassim University's College of Science, divided into experimental and control groups. A pretest was administered to both groups. Next, intervention pertinent to standard-based rubrics was made to train the experimental group to perform several writing tasks. Then, a posttest was conducted by both groups to validate the study hypothesis, gauge students' progress, and verify performance. A questionnaire was distributed to detect the experimental group's perceptions and any changes that resulted from the process. Significant results have been obtained, and the findings will benefit education and research.