Effectiveness of Trinka in Enhancing Students’ Writing Quality

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of Trinka software in enhancing students writing quality among twenty two semester three students of Bachelor in Applied English Language of Kolej University Poly-Tech MARA Kuala Lumpur. The researchers collected students’  first and revised drafts and the data were analysed using SPSS. The paired sample t-test revealed that there was a significant difference in the mean score of the first and revised drafts. This suggested that the students’ writing quality improved upon getting feedback on their grammar errors from Trinka. The software is shown to assist students in reducing errors especially in language use (grammar) and mechanics of writing (spelling and punctuation). However, the improvement of students’ writing quality cannot be directly attributed to the types of changes they made. The study further revealed that the students produced high percentage of Subject-Verb-Agreement errors in their writing. The data collected from the questionnaire also shows that the students in this study demonstrated positive attitudes towards the use of Trinka in their Research Writing classroom. This research provides educators with an alternative assessment for students’ writing that promotes autonomous learning.