A study on the writing skills of vocational school students

In this study, the aim is to assess the writing skills of vocational school students which is necessary for written communication. The sample was formed of $2{nd}$ year students in Erzincan University Vocational School of Health Services’ Child Development, Emergency and Disaster Management, and Medical Documentation and Secretaryship departments, and Erzincan Vocational School’s Office Management and Administrative Assistance and Jurisprudence departments during the 2010-2011 academic year. 100 students from these departments voluntarily participated in the study. Six different topics were chosen by the researchers in order to assess the 2nd year students’ writing skills. The students were asked to choose any one of these six topics and write a composition about it. The texts were then analyzed, using a qualitative research method, namely content analysis. Students’ papers were examined one by one by the researchers. When the obtained data were analyzed, it was found with 92% consistency that vocational school students did not possess writing skills at a sufficient level. In the light of this finding, it is suggested that courses that will improve vocational school students’ writing skills should be added to the curriculum of their programs.