Psycho-Social Variables as Predictors of Students’ Achievement in Expository Essay Writing

This study investigated psycho-social variables (peer influence and writing anxiety) affecting students’ performance in expository essay writing in Oyo State. The study adopted the descriptive design of correlational type. Simple random sampling technique was used to select six (6) senior secondary schools, in all 270; senior secondary two (2) students
participated in the study. The instruments used were Expository Essay Achievement Test (r=0.73), Writing Anxiety Scale (r=0.71), Peer Influence Scale (r=0.72). Data were analysed using Pearson moment correlation. Findings revealed that there were positive relationships between peer influence (r=0.03), anxiety (r=0.03) and students’ achievement in expository essay.

Keywords: Expository essay, Psycho-social variables, Peer influence, Writing anxiety.