The effect of Style and Structure of Functional Writing on Students’ Performance in Kiswahili in Kenya. A Case of ElgeyoMarakwet County.

ABSTRACT : Functional writing has been given prominence in the Secondary school Kiswahili syllabus inKenya. This paper reports on study that was undertaken in 2020 that investigated the influence of functionalwriting skills on students‟ performance of Kiswahili in Elgeyo-Marakwet County. The need for this study wasbased on the fact that functional writing is an area faced with challenges. The main objective of the study was toexamine the influence of functional writing skills on students‟ performance in Kiswahili. Theoretical frameworkwas based on Jane Emig‟s Process Theory of Composition writing (1971). The study employed descriptiveresearch design and data was collected using the questionnaire, observation and document analysis. The area ofstudy was Elgeyo-Marakwet County. The target population included form four students and teachers ofKiswahili in 37 out of the 122 secondary schools. From this population, stratified, purposive and simple randomsampling was used to get a sample. There were 9852 Form Four students in secondary schools in Elgeyo –Marakwet County as at October, 2020. During the entire study 579 students in Form Four class and 35 teachersof Kiswahili participated. The study used both primary and secondary data. Lecturers in School of Education atthe University of Eldoret determined the validity of the research proposal instruments. Reliability was testedusing test-retest method in four secondary schools in Uasin Gishu County. Questionnaire was the main source ofprimary data. Data from the questionnaire was presented in frequency tables and percentages using descriptivestatistics, narrative and verbatim. The research established that inappropriate style and structure, incorrect use oflanguage, negative attitude of learners as well as poor teaching strategies of functional writing skills have amajor impact on students‟ performance of Kiswahili in secondary schools. The findings will be used forreference by other researchers and it will also give guidance on how to improve in the writing of functionalessays. The study recommended that teachers should emphasize on the style and structure, appropriate choice ofvocabulary when teaching and evaluating learners on functional writing.

KEY WORDS: Style and Structure; Functional Writing; Kiswahili Language; Performance.