JELT_V2_N2_RP3 Maruthi Kumari Vaddapalli Helen Woerner Journal on English Language Teaching 2249–0752 2 2 25 31 Writing Skills, Struggling Writers, Strategy Instruction Writing is an essential academic skill. Effective writing is a complex process requiring the skillful use of techniques and strategies( Zimmerman and Reisemberg,1997). Unlike skilled writers, struggling writers lack certain strategies and techniques that could help them become effective writers. The present study investigates the effectiveness of SRSD with struggling EFL/ESL writers at the tertiary level. A classroom-based intervention study aimed to determine whether simplifying the writing task by automatizing certain mechanical elements through strategy training using SRSD reduces students’ cognitive load, allowing them to engage in higher order thinking processes. The study was conducted at a university in Oman. Baseline, terminal and maintainance probes were administered to determine participants’ relative gains in task achievement, organization, lexis and grammar. The essays were evaluated using a conventional 9 point scale and the results were analyzed. The results revealed considerable gains in organization and lexis indicating that automatization of the more mechanical elements of the writing process enabled students to write better quality essays. These results indicate that SRSD can be an effective method of instruction for stuggling/underprepared EFL/ESL writers at the university level. April - June 2012 Copyright © 2012 i-manager publications. All rights reserved. i-manager Publications http://www.imanagerpublications.com/Article.aspx?ArticleId=1826