Determining the Levels of Writing Travel Articles of Secondary School 7 th Grade Students

In this study, it was aimed to develop a rubric to determine the travel writing levels of secondary school 7 th grade students and to determine the students› travel writing skill levels. The descriptive scanning design of the quantitative model was adopted. It was decided to develop an analytical rubric because it serves to measure the sub-skills of each skill and can be presented as feedback to the students. The rubric consists of three dimensions: layout, spelling, and punctuation, language and expression, and 18 items. It consists of 4 levels 1 (improved), 2 (moderate), 3 (good), and 4 (very good). The study group of the research consists of 114 7 th grade students. The students in the study group were asked to write a travel writing text in one class hour and the travel writings were evaluated by two experts using the travel writing rubric. The collected data were analyzed using the descriptive analysis technique. As a result of the research, it was determined that most of the students were at a good level in using titles, including observations and impressions, commenting on the places visited, giving place to their memories about the trip, and making descriptions and coherent writing in their travel writings. In addition, it was determined that the students did not compare the places they visited and the places they lived in their travel writings in terms of place and society,


INTRODUCTION
Descriptive Travel writing is a type of prose that has been around the world since ancient times, in which the places visited are described with many features such as geographical, demographic, social, political, economic, religious, historical, touristic, and artistic (Uğurlu, 2020).
Traveling is the result of the traveler's desire to satisfy his curiosity.The desire to see different places from where they live, to know different societies, to see the traditions and customs of different societies, and to learn their value judgments has led people to adventures.As a result of this travel action, travel writing covering many text types has emerged.The contents of the travel article can include the author's diaries, notes, memoirs, and letters (Soydaş, 2016).
The travel writer makes various inferences to inform his readers about the places he has visited.If he is traveling to a different country, he can convey to his readers what the inhabitants of that country think about his own country (Uğurlu, 2020).In his travel writings, the author can include his comments about the places he has visited.According to Çelik (2016), travel writings are texts that contain both objectivity and subjectivity.In his travel writing, the author gives place to his subjective views while describing the events he

ABSTRACT
In this study, it was aimed to develop a rubric to determine the travel writing levels of secondary school 7 th grade students and to determine the students› travel writing skill levels.The descriptive scanning design of the quantitative model was adopted.It was decided to develop an analytical rubric because it serves to measure the sub-skills of each skill and can be presented as feedback to the students.The rubric consists of three dimensions: layout, spelling, and punctuation, language and expression, and 18 items.It consists of 4 levels 1 (improved), 2 (moderate), 3 (good), and 4 (very good).The study group of the research consists of 114 7 th grade students.The students in the study group were asked to write a travel writing text in one class hour and the travel writings were evaluated by two experts using the travel writing rubric.The collected data were analyzed using the descriptive analysis technique.As a result of the research, it was determined that most of the students were at a good level in using titles, including observations and impressions, commenting on the places visited, giving place to their memories about the trip, and making descriptions and coherent writing in their travel writings.In addition, it was determined that the students did not compare the places they visited and the places they lived in their travel writings in terms of place and society, did not give information about the geographical and historical characteristics of the place visited, and did not talk about the traditions and customs of the place visited.
visited in plain language, using adjectives and avoiding unnecessary exaggerations.While writing the travel writer's text, he should present it to the reader by blending his creativity with reality (Mishra, 2014).For the notes taken by a traveler to be considered travel writing, the text must have a literary style and be written in a language that can attract the attention of the reader (Soydaş, 2016).
Fluency is very important in the style of travel writing.Writer; While describing the various features of the places he sees, he adopts a fluent, interesting style that attracts the reader.The travel writer, who tells the reader about new places and makes descriptions that reveal the sights of the places, uses literary language.In travel writing, a narrative style that considers the reader and attracts attention should be adopted (Tekşan et al., 2019;Maden, 2008;Soydaş, 2016;Uslu, 2007;Kavcar et al., 2011).
Another important feature of the style of travel writing is the author's use of plain, simple language that the reader can easily understand.According to Mishra (2014), plain, understandable language that gives pleasure to the reader should be used in travel writings.Kavcar et al. According to (2011) observations and impressions should be conveyed in plain language.According to Arıcı et al. (2016), the style of good travel writing should be easy to read, short, simple and plain.
One of the most important features of travel writing is that it is based on observations and impressions.According to Maden (2008), travel writing is not just a type of text in which concrete events or experimental situations are described by observation.It is the type of text in which human characteristics are observed and conveyed.According to Macit and Soldan (2004), the reader who reads a travel article discovers the author's world of observation.
Travel writings also provide information about what the author finds interesting in the places he travels.According to Asiltürk (2009), travel writings reflect the interesting aspects of countries and societies.The reason for this is that the travel writer focuses on the different features of the place he travels from where he lives while making observations.
Travel articles contain source information for many fields.Travel writings with information and documents that can be used as a source in research should convey reliable information.It should be avoided to include false thoughts in travel writings.While giving reliable information, the geography, culture, religious beliefs, traditions, and customs of the place visited should be explained.For this reason, travel writings are a source for many fields of science (Maden, 2008;Yalçın & Aytaş, 2002;Asiltürk, 2009;Çetin, 2013;Macit & Soldan, 2004;Uslu, 2007;Kılıç, 2007;Kavcar et al., 2011).
The places visited and seen in travel writings are described and described.It is necessary to be successful while describing the visited geographies and festivals.Travel writings are narratives containing descriptions (Mishra, 2014;Soydaş, 2016).Descriptive narration is an indispensable element of travel writing.
In his travel writings, the author also reflects on the different characteristics of the society of the places he visits from the society he lives in.Writer; After traveling and seeing different places, he becomes aware of his identity characteristics and discovers the differences between geographies.He makes comparisons between his civilization circle and other civilizations (Kılıç, 2007;Basumatary, 2018;Soydaş, 2016).In his travel writing, the author compares the place where he lived with the place he visited in many ways.
The writer who will write a travel article can present this information to the reader in his text by doing various research about the places he will visit before going on a trip.According to Maden (2008), the person who will make the trip should have information about the place to go in fields such as history, geography, and culture before the trip.
The travel writer can benefit from the information obtained as a result of the research before the trip, while writing the text, as well as from the records and notes kept during the trip.According to Asiltürk (2011), there are notes taken by the author during his travel writings.According to Soydaş (2016), the writer should constantly take notes in the places he visits.
Another feature of travel writings is that they include the memories of the author during his travels.According to Asiltürk (2011), the author is likened to a memoir type in his travel writings because he also tells about what he went through during his trip.Kavcar et al. According to (2011) the author can reflect his memories during his travels in his travel writings.
Travel writings are texts that develop children in many ways.Travel writings contribute to children in terms of providing information, improving their observation power, and introducing different cultures (Tekşan et al., 2019).The most important contribution of travel writing is that the child gains a cultural perspective.For this reason, this type of education, which is very educational, is among the main elements of education (Yalçın & Aytaş, 2002).Travel writings help the child learn while having fun, as they indirectly provide information about history, geography, and social life.It enables the child to get to know different cultures and to develop his/ her perception of society and cultures that are different from him/her in a positive way.The child, who realizes the difference between different cultures and his own culture through travel writings, discovers his values.This situation is also effective in the development of the national consciousness of the child.The awareness of protecting the environment also develops in the child who becomes aware of the natural beauties through his travel writings.One of the greatest benefits of travel writing is that it contributes to the development of the child's comprehension, expression, and interpretation skills (Tekşan et al., 2019).
According to Kaya and Ekici (2015), travel writings provide a lot of information in the field of social sciences.In his travel writings, there is a lot of information about geographical, time-historical, and cultural traces, and anthropology through places.Thanks to his travel writings, the reader is introduced to places and cultures that he cannot go to.This provides positive changes in the individual's perspective.It allows students to dream about the place that is the subject of travel writing and contributes to the development of their general culture.
Travel writings support the development of students' reading, writing, speaking and listening skills in terms of the narrative techniques they contain.In addition, travel writings improve the language and style of the readers while also contributing to increasing their knowledge (Üçer, 2022).Travel writings are one of the main text types that can be used in literacy education.While travel writings connect the reader to the text with their fluent style, they also respond to the reader's sense of curiosity.Travel writings reveal the places visited to the reader's eyes with descriptive narrative.It expands the reader's wealth of knowledge with the cultural, sociological, geographical and historical information it contains.
It is necessary to gain the skill of writing such texts as well as reading travel writing texts.It is important to make an accurate assessment in acquiring this skill.While teachers used to evaluate according to their personal opinions (Gray, 1975), today evaluations are made using scales.Scales contribute to the development of the student's writing skills.It also provides standard criteria for teachers.
When the literature was examined, it was found that Batur and Gözlet (2020) developed a measurement tool to measure the travel writing level of university students.No study has been found that evaluates the travel writing skills of secondary school students.

Research Objectives
This study seeks 1.To investigate the features that travel writing should have by scanning various sources and 2. To develop a measurement tool that measures the travel writing skills of secondary school students.

Model of the Research
In this study, the descriptive scanning design of the quantitative model was adopted.In the quantitative model, variables that can be measured using a scale are emphasized and the resulting data is explained numerically (Creswell, 2017).According to Sönmez and Alacapınar (2013), descriptive research is carried out to describe and explain something that exists.In this model, the researcher detects the situation without changing the existing event or situation.In this study, a scale was developed to evaluate the travel writing product, and the 7 th grade students' travel writing skill levels were scanned with this measurement tool.For this reason, this study has been presented with the descriptive design of the quantitative model.

Working Group
The study group of the research consists of 114 7 th grade students studying at a public school in the central district of Uşak province.Of the students participating in the study, 63 were female and 51 were male.

Obtaining expert opinions
The candidate items in the draft travel writing rubric and the references to these items were submitted for expert opinion.
In this part of the study, 4 professors, 2 field experts and 4 Turkish teachers in the field of Turkish education presented their views on the draft items.After these views, some items that were suggested to be combined were combined.Some items have been changed to try to be written more clearly.Unnecessary items have been removed.Appropriate ones from the suggested items have been added.

Determining the rubric type
According to Göçer (2018), the analytical rubric provides guidance for teachers to evaluate all sub-skills in detail, can be presented to students as feedback, and contains more detailed information compared to holistic evaluation.For this reason, it was decided to create an analytical rubric.

Determination of the criteria and levels of the rubric
3 experts in the field of Turkish Education and 2 Turkish Teachers were consulted in the process of determining the scores of the rubric items.The maximum score distribution for the dimensions of the rubric was determined as 4 for layout, spelling, and punctuation, 36 for language and expression, and 60 for travel writing features.Levels are graded as 1 (Improved), 2 (Intermediate), 3 (Good), and 4 (Very Good).The lowest score a student can get from the developed rubric is 25, and the highest score is 100.

Examination of the scale in terms of language and expression
After taking the expert opinion on the candidate items, after making the necessary arrangements and changes, two Turkish teachers were asked about the appropriateness of the language and expression of the items.

Data Collection Process
Before conducting this full-scale study, pilot testing was conducted to evaluate the feasibility and validity of the data collection process.The pilot study helped identify potential problems or challenges that may have arisen during actual data collection.
Travel articles were written in 40 minutes for 114 7 th grade students.It was printed within time.In this process, necessary security measures have been taken to prevent any mistakes in the application.The travel writings written by the students were evaluated by two field experts.Arithmetic averages were found based on items.

Validity and Reliability Studies of the Scale
Competence: The researcher, who carried out the development of the rubric, is a 13-year Turkish teacher and doctoral student.
Expert Opinion: Expert opinion was taken while creating the rubric items, examining the suitability of the scale in terms of language and expression, and evaluating student writings.
Detailed Reporting: Data collection steps are explained one by one.
Diversity in Evaluation: The travel writings obtained from the students were evaluated by two different field experts.The average of the scores given by the field experts was taken.
Content and Structural Validity: For content validity, answers to the questions "Does the items in the scale adequately represent the travel writing characteristics?" and for construct validity, "Does this scale, which measures students' travel writing skills, have a simple and stable factor structure?" searched.For this reason, the opinions of 5 field experts were taken and it was decided that the scale has content validity as a result of the opinions of the field experts.
In order to ensure the reliability of the scale, more 5 times the scale items were written to the students.Two experts evaluated student writings.Kappa statistics (κ) were used to determine the reliability of the experts' values.Test results are given in Table 1.
When Table 1 is examined, it is seen that the Kappa statistical value of all items is more than.744.According to Seçer (2015), the Cronbach Alpha coefficient should be.70 and above, and according to Özdamar (2004), a highly reliable measurement tool is.80 and above.Therefore, it can be stated that there is a significant and significant level of agreement between the raters.It can be stated that the rubric developed as a result of these statistical measurements is valid and reliable.

Data Analysis
The data collected for the second research objective of the research were analyzed using the descriptive analysis technique and the arithmetic mean of each item in the scale was revealed.According to Sözbilir (2009), the data obtained in the descriptive analysis approach are summarized and interpreted by taking into account the predetermined conceptual framework or themes.
Kappa and Cronbach's alpha are two different statistical measures used in research articles to assess the reliability and consistency of data or measurements, particularly in fields such as psychology, education, and social sciences.Cronbach's Alpha is used to assess the internal consistency of a scale or a set of related items in a questionnaire or survey (Taber, 2018).It measures how closely items in a scale are related to each other.A high Cronbach's alpha indicates that the items in a scale are consistent and reliable in measuring the construct of interest.Cohen's Kappa is used to measure inter-rater reliability or the agreement between two or more raters or observers when they categorize or rate data into discrete categories (Gwet, 2008).It's commonly used in fields like medicine, psychology, and linguistics to assess the consistency of judgments made by different individuals.

Findings Related to the First Research Objective
In order to develop an evaluation tool for Travel Writing products, a literature review was first conducted and a draft assessment tool consisting of 37 candidate items was prepared.This draft measurement tool was presented to the expert opinion and the opinions of the experts on the scale items were taken.After the opinions of the experts, a draft rubric consisting of 3 dimensions and 18 items was developed.Travel writing text type was taken into account when creating dimensions.After scanning the literature on the travel writing text type and taking expert opinion, it was decided that the dimensions of the scale would be "Editing, Spelling, and Punctuation, Language and Expression, Features of travel writing".
In addition, after expert opinions, it was decided that the scores of the items in the rubric should be different.Approval was obtained from five field experts for the content and construct validity of this rubric.Then, expert opinion was sought in the formation of the scores of the items in the rubric and it was concluded that it was appropriate to score the items according to the degree of importance for the travel writing product.The scores of the items on the scale were determined by taking the opinions of the experts regarding the scoring of each item.After this process, the "Scale for Evaluation of Travel Writing Type Writing Products" was created.The "Scale for the Evaluation of Travel Writing Type Writing Products" is given in Appendix A.

Findings Related to the Second Research Objective
To find an answer to the second research objective of the research, 114 7 th grade students were asked to write a travel letter.The travel writings of 114 students were evaluated by 2 experts and their descriptive statistics were calculated.When Table 2 is examined, it is seen that most of the Items received average or slightly above average scores.The Item in which the students had the lowest average score was "Item 16" with an average value of 1.07 Based on this, it can be said that the students compare the places they visit and the places they live in, in terms of place and society, at a low level in their travel writings.The Item with the highest average score of the students was "Item 9" with an average value of 3.93.This result shows that most of the travel articles examined use a short, interesting title that reflects the main idea and topic.When the analysis results are examined, it is seen that the majority of the students write their travel writing products legibly, comply with the rules of spelling and punctuation, are careful in the use of words and sentences, and narrate in the first person.It has been determined that they use appropriate ways of developing ideas in their writings, there is semantic integrity between paragraphs, they benefit from narrative narration, there are few narrative distortions, they include their observations and impressions, details that interest them, they make comments, they tell their memories about the trip, and they sometimes use descriptions.However, it was observed that the majority of the students did not provide information about the geographical and historical features of the visited place in their travel writings, and did not mention the traditions and customs of the visited place.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
In this study, the "Travel Writing Rubric" was developed to measure and evaluate the travel writing skills of 7 th grade students.As a result of the analyses applied, it was determined that the "Travel Writing Rubric" was valid and reliable.The developed rubric can be used to measure the travel writing skills of secondary school students.
According to the results of the research, most of the students participating in the research are at a good level in using titles in their travel writings, including their observations and impressions, commenting on the places visited, giving place to their memories about the trip, making descriptions and writing coherently.Batur and Gözlet (2020) examined the travel writings of university students and concluded that they were successful in including feelings, thoughts, and comments in their travel writings, benefiting from explanatory and descriptive narration, and writing their observations about the place visited.This study by Batur and Gözlet (2020) supports the relevant findings of the research.
According to the "Travel Writing Rubric", the majority of the students used appropriate, interesting titles reflecting the content in their travel writings.In the study conducted by Başaran (2014), which examined the students' ability to write titles, the title created by the 4 th grade students in the text was examined.It has been determined that the students have difficulty in putting an interesting title on the text, but they find the title that reflects the content of the text easier.It was determined that the students did not have any problems finding short titles.The findings of Başaran's (2014) study are partially similar to the findings of this study on the subject of the title.
Another result of the research is that the students did not compare the places they visited in their travel writings with the places they lived in in terms of place and society.In addition, it was determined that the students did not give information about the geographical and historical features of the place visited in their travel writings, and they did not talk about the traditions and customs of the place visited.In the study of Batur and Gözlet (2020), which has similar findings to these findings, it has been determined that in the travel articles written by university students, the students do not mention the history of the places visited, they do not talk about the economic activities of the places visited, and they do not give information about the climatic conditions.
In light of these findings, we recommend incorporating practical exercises and school trips to facilitate travel writing activities.Engaging students in on-site experiences will not only enhance their writing but also encourage them to delve into the social, historical, and geographical aspects of the places they visit.By fostering a deeper understanding of these dimensions, students can elevate the richness and depth of their travel narratives.
In conclusion, our research provides valuable insights into the travel writing abilities of 7th-grade students.The "Travel Writing Rubric" serves as a valuable tool for educators and researchers, guiding the development of students' skills in this creative and informative genre.It is our hope that this study will contribute to the enhancement of travel writing education at various grade levels, fostering a new generation of skilled and insightful travel writers.Some of the letters in her writings are illegible and there is not enough space between letters and words.
(1 point) The letters in his writings are generally readable.In his writings, there is usually enough space between letters and words.The page layout was created by leaving the necessary spaces throughout the page.
(2 points) Item 2 Spelling and punctuation rules were never followed.(0.5 point) Spelling and punctuation errors were made in most of the travel writing.
(1 point) In some parts of the travel writing, spelling and punctuation rules were not followed.
(1.5 points) Spelling and punctuation rules were followed in the entire travel article.

Language and Expression
Item 3 Travel writing is not written in a fluent language.

It has been observed
that the travel writing is not suitable for comfortable reading. (

Table 2 .
Descriptive statistics of the scores of the study group