Application guidelines for the RAFT strategy to enhance creative writing abilities through social studies learning management.

Abstract

Creative writing is an important skill for producing written work and responding to the demands of 21st century learning, which aims to foster students' creative thinking skills. In social studies education at both the primary and secondary levels, students need to use creative writing skills to write descriptive and narrative pieces, essays, summaries, analyses, critiques, and express knowledge, opinions, or arguments on the topics they read in a logical manner. The defining characteristic of creative writing lies in the author’s use of imagination to orchestrate various elements into a narrative, structuring content to convey specific intended meanings. Furthermore, such work must provide both emotional and intellectual value. The application of the RAFT strategy in social studies education plays a crucial role for enhance writing skills in a tangible way. This is because the RAFT strategy focuses on a clear step by step process, blending traditional guidelines with the freedom to create original written work. This approach helps students organize their thinking process and develop imagination when writing stories from various perspectives. Additionally, it allows students to practice writing in different formats, enabling them to choose language appropriate for each type of writing. By using the four guiding questions. Who is the writer's role? Who is the audience? What is the purpose of the writing? What is the topic of the writing? students gain a direction for beginning their writing with clarity and help learners systematically organize their thoughts through writing stories based on the RAFT strategy in a coherent manner. These questions provide a foundation for further developing written work in various forms within the context of social studies education, ensuring effective learning outcomes.