Evaluation of Secondary School Students’ Written Explanations on the Basis of Improving Thought Techniques

The purpose of the present study is to determine high school students’ frequency of using opinion development techniques in their written discourses and the problems they face in using these techniques. The population of this study is all of the Grade 9 and Grade 10 students in 2008-2009 academic period in Turkey. 32 state schools selected in 23 cities in Turkey constituted the sample. The results of the present study as follow: The most frequently used technique by students was sampling (23,84%), whereas the least frequently used techniques was using quantitative data (1,05%). The other techniques were questioning (22,91%), description (15,23%), comparison (14,83%), incongruity (10,01%), quotation (7,54%) and analogy (4,37%). The students mostly used description, comparison, analogy and incongruity at the beginning of the paragraph; sampling, quotation, using quantitative data and questioning at the discussion part of the paragraph. The end of the paragraph was the place where opinion development techniques were least used. In addition, students faced the problems in opinion development techniques such as using questioning in inappropriate places, making use of questions very frequently and unneccassarily, using examples without making readers ready to the idea that was defended, the negative effects of verbal discourse on using opinion development techniques, examples playing negative roles in discourse coherence and quotations with wrong references.