Effectiveness of Graphic Organisers in Developing Character Sketch Writing Skills among Fifth-Grade Students: A Comparative Analysis with Traditional Learning Methods

Abstract

This action research study investigated the effectiveness of graphic organisers compared to traditional instructional methods in developing character sketch writing skills among fifth-grade students. Sixty-eight students from two grade 5 classes (5F and 5D) participated in a pre-test and post-test assessment design. The study implemented character sketch writing instruction using graphic organisers as the experimental intervention, while comparing results with baseline performance using traditional methods. Quantitative data analysis revealed significant improvement in students\' writing performance when using graphic organisers, with an average score increase of 1.68 points (30.2%) compared to pre-test scores. Lower-performing students showed the most substantial gains (75.5% improvement). The findings suggest that graphic organisers provide effective scaffolding for elementary students developing character analysis and descriptive writing skills, offering educators a practical and evidence-based instructional strategy to enhance writing instruction. This study contributes to the growing body of research supporting visual learning tools in literacy development for young learners.

Introduction

Writing proficiency is a foundational component of literacy development in elementary education. Character sketch writing, in particular, enhances students’ ability to observe, analyze, and describe human behaviors—skills critical across both narrative and expository writing.

For fifth-grade students, character sketch writing is developmentally appropriate but often challenging due to its organizational and analytical demands. Traditional teaching methods (e.g., direct instruction, modeling) help, but many students struggle to convert abstract character observations into well-structured writing.

Role of Graphic Organisers

Graphic organisers are visual tools that aid in structuring information. Grounded in cognitive load theory, dual coding theory, and constructivist principles, they reduce cognitive strain and support students in organizing abstract ideas visually and verbally.

In the context of character sketch writing, organisers such as trait webs, evidence charts, and paragraph planners help students identify character traits, gather textual evidence, and structure their writing effectively.

Study Purpose

This study investigated whether graphic organisers improve fifth-grade students' ability to write character sketches more effectively than traditional instructional methods. It focused on two classes (5F and 5D) to evaluate the intervention's consistency across different classroom contexts.

Hypothesis: Students using graphic organisers would show greater improvement in writing scores than those relying solely on traditional instruction.

Literature Review Highlights

• Theoretical foundations: Graphic organisers align with theories by Vygotsky (scaffolding), Paivio (dual coding), and Sweller (cognitive load).

• Previous findings: Meta-analyses (e.g., Graham & Perin, Hebert et al.) found that graphic organisers significantly improve writing quality across grade levels.

• Research gap: Few studies focus on character sketch writing specifically or examine graphic organisers' effect on this writing genre in elementary classrooms.

Methodology

• Design: Action research using pre- and post-tests

• Participants: 68 fifth-grade students (34 each in classes 5F and 5D)

• Instructional Phases:

  • Traditional instruction (pre-intervention)

  • Graphic organiser intervention over four weeks

    • Tools included character trait webs, evidence charts, and structured paragraph planners

• Assessment: Writing scored on a 10-point rubric across five criteria (traits, evidence, organization, language, and mechanics)

• Data Analysis: Descriptive statistics, paired t-tests, effect size, subgroup analyses

Key Findings

1. Overall Score Improvements

• Class 5F:

  • Pre-test: 6.01 → Post-test: 7.60

  • Mean gain: +1.59 points (+26.5%)

• Class 5D:

  • Pre-test: 5.10 → Post-test: 6.87

  • Mean gain: +1.77 points (+34.7%)

• Combined (N=68):

  • Pre-test: 5.56 → Post-test: 7.23

  • Mean gain: +1.68 points (+30.2%)

  • Statistical significance: p < 0.001, large effect size (Cohen’s d = 0.87)

2. Performance by Initial Skill Level

• Low performers (2.0–4.5): +2.62 points (+75.5%)

• Medium performers (5.0–6.5): +1.58 points (+28.0%)

• High performers (7.0–9.5): +0.50 points (+6.3%)

? Conclusion: Graphic organisers were especially beneficial for lower-performing students, helping close skill gaps.

3. Improvement by Writing Component

While exact data wasn't provided in this section, analysis indicated that the most significant gains were in:

• Organisation and structure

• Supporting evidence

• Trait identification

These improvements align directly with the scaffolding provided by the graphic organisers.

Conclusion

This action research study investigated the effectiveness of graphic organisers for developing character sketch writing skills among fifth-grade students. Through quantitative analysis of pre-test and post-test assessments across two classes (N=68), the study found that: 1) Students demonstrated statistically significant improvement in character sketch writing following the graphic organiser intervention, with an average score increase of 1.68 points (30.2%). 2) Lower-performing students showed the greatest relative gains (75.5% improvement), suggesting that graphic organisers provide particularly valuable scaffolding for struggling writers. 3) The greatest improvements occurred in students\' abilities to provide supporting details/evidence for character traits and to organise their writing effectively—components directly supported by the structure of the graphic organisers. 4) The consistency of positive results across two different classes strengthens confidence in the effectiveness of the intervention. These findings support the research hypothesis that graphic organisers improve fifth-grade students\' character sketch writing compared to traditional instructional methods.

References

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Copyright

Copyright © 2025 Mrs. Jigna Shah, Dr. Kranti Shailesh Tol. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.