The Correlation of Students’ Mind Mapping Ability Toward Their Writing Quaility

Abstract

Writing is a complex cognitive activity requiring students to generate, organize, and express ideas coherently. This study investigated the correlation between students' mind mapping ability and their writing quality among eleventh-grade students at MA Nurul Ulum Mertak Tombok in the academic year 2025/2026. A quantitative correlational design was employed. Out of a population of 102 students across three classes, a sample of 16 students from Class XI Agama was selected using purposive sampling. Data were collected using two subjective achievement tests: a Mind Mapping Test evaluated across five parameters (Main Idea, Supporting Ideas, Organization, Relationship among Concepts, and Completeness) and a Descriptive Writing Quality Test evaluated using Jacobs et al.'s analytical rubric across five components (Content, Organization, Vocabulary, Language Use, and Mechanics). Quantitative analysis through SPSS revealed that both variables met the pre-requisite parametric assumptions of normality (Shapiro-Wilk p = 0.148 for Mind Mapping; p =0.210 for Writing Quality) and linearity (Deviation from Linearity F = 0.580,p = 0.767). The Pearson Product-Moment correlation yielded a coefficient of r = 0.964 with a 1-tailed significance value of p < 0.001. This indicates a statistically significant, positive, and very strong correlation between students' mind mapping ability and their writing quality. The findings empirically demonstrate that visualspatial pre-writing planning significantly enhances students' structural organization,