Grade 12 Students’ Leaving Essay Questions Unsolved in the Exam: A Phenomenological Study

Abstract

This paper focuses on the issue of grade 12 students’ leaving essay type questions unsolved in the examinations. The main objective of this paper is to explore the causes of leaving essay type questions unsolved and to explore the effective ways of solving the issue. As my study is guided by interpretive paradigm, it demands qualitative research design to explore the multiple realities through the methods of questionnaire and in-depth interview. One of the exam centers of Bajhang district was selected as research site. In this study, 10 students, from different schools attending their final exam at a school, were selected as sample by using purposive sampling strategy. They were assigned questionnaire to fill up and one secondary level English teacher was interviewed on the issues raised in the study. Teachers’ negligence in teaching composition, lack of sufficient time for teaching, lack of practice in classroom, and students’ poor performance in writing from the very beginning are found as the main causes. The findings show that overall scenario of teaching composition in school level is not encouraging.