The Effect of Topic Selection on EFL Students’ Writing Performance

Abstract

The present study aimed at measuring the effect of topic selection on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students’ writing performance. To this end, a quasi-experimental design was used in the study. Topic selection was considered as the independent variable and the students’ writing performance as the dependent variable. A total of 30 students were selected based on their performance on the placement test administered initially and then randomly assigned into two groups, self-selected topic group (SST) and teacher-assigned topic group (TAT). An independent-samples t test was conducted to compare the scores for the two groups. Findings of the study indicated a significant difference in the performance of the students who wrote on their self-selected topics ( M = 34.53, SD = 3.32) and for those who wrote on a teacher-assigned topic, M = 26.53, SD = 5.24, t (28) = 4.98. The magnitude of the difference in the means was large (η 2 = .46).