The Impact of Topic Choice on Descriptive Writing Ability Among Iranian Advanced EFL Learners

Abstract

The current study aimed to investigate the effect of topic choice on Iranian advanced EFL learners’ descriptive writing ability. A quasi-experimental design was used for data collection. A total of 60 students were selected based on their performance on the placement test and then randomly assigned into two groups, Student-Selected Topic Group (SSTG) and Teacher-Selected Topic Group (TSTG). Then, both groups were given a descriptive writing test. The students in TSTG were asked to write a five-paragraph descriptive text on a teacherassigned topic while the students in SSTG should write a five-paragraph descriptive text on a self-selected topic. After analyzing the data, through an independent samples t-test, it was revealed SSTG performed better on the writing test than TSTG. The results generally indicated that Student-Selected Topics had positive impacts on Iranian advanced EFL learners’ descriptive writing. The study has offered some pedagogical suggestions to be employed in EFL writing classes.