EMPLOYING THE QUILLBOT APPLICATION IN ORDER TO SHARPEN PARAPHRASING SKILLS IN WRITING ACADEMIC ESSAYS FOR ENGLISH - MAJORED STUDENTS AT THE SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES - THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

Abstract

This study was aimed at uncovering not only the effective possibility of Quillbot in terms of enhancing students’ academic essay writing capacity but also students' attitudes towards this application. Regarding the paraphrasing tool, Quillbot utilizes a variety of effective measures to paraphrase the text, including: using synonyms, changing word class, modifying structures, and changing word order in a sentence. The samples for the study were 20 third - year English Language majors who had advanced levels.  With respect to methodology, the action research method and a combination of a pre and pro-test with a questionnaire were implemented. Firstly, the students’ pre-test and post-test before and after a twelve-week action were applied to assess their writing performance. A questionnaire was, subsequently, delivered to investigate their attitudes towards different aspects during their time making use of Quillbot. The preliminary findings revealed that it somehow enabled study participants  to build up their vocabulary, and cultivate their ability to use language flexibly and effectively, and that students showed welcome attitudes to this application. The results of this research would be beneficial for lecturers to conduct more studies to assist students in improving their English writing.