ISSN: 2226-6348
Open access
Research writing in the academic context functions as a vital component within higher education especially when final-year students complete their research projects. Interdisciplinary students such as those in sports management face particular difficulties when writing their research papers. The FYPXpress Version 1 Template emerged as a structured writing tool to help students manage these difficulties. This study investigated the perceptions of sports management students regarding the template’s effectiveness in enhancing their research writing performance. The study involved 71 final-year sports management students from UiTM Shah Alam through a quantitative research design. A structured questionnaire evaluated five essential aspects of the template regarding its clarity and simplicity, comprehensive coverage usability, visual appeal, and guidance with examples. Strong positive significant correlations emerged between the template effectiveness and research writing performance according to Pearson correlation (r = 0.916, p < 0.05) and multiple regression results. The template effectiveness resulted in 86.8% of students' writing performance variance. The results reveal the FYPXpress Template provides significant support to students both for keeping their work organized and finding effective ways to present their research outcomes. The template provides better research writing capabilities but students need independent academic writing experience instead of relying solely on the template. The study suggests future investigations to determine how long-term use of structured writing tools influences students' capacity for independent writing. These findings advance current discussions on academic writing strategies that benefit sports management students along with other academic disciplines.
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