Effects of Imitation Writing on Writing Quality of English Majors with Different Proficiency

Abstract

This study was undertaken to investigate whether imitation writing had any effects on writing quality of English majors with different proficiency in terms of content, organization and language. Two research designs were made, an experiment and a questionnaire. All the data were collected by their writing teacher. Data analysis involved 4 steps: double scoring, calculating mean, comparing the mean differences and comparing the means by paired-samples t-test. The major findings yielded from this study are summarized as follows: Firstly, imitation writing has the greatest effect on writing quality of English majors with different proficiency in terms of content. Secondly, imitation writing also has a positive effect on English majors’ writing quality in terms of organization. Thirdly, the same is true of the English majors’ language in writing. Last but not least, the mean difference in the organization is not as great as the difference in language and content. Its significance lies in providing EFL teachers with some solutions to problems in English majors’ writing in China, offering students valuable suggestions to reduce their anxiety and build up their writing confidence so as to improve their writing quality. Keywords—meme; imitation writing; writing quality; English majors