ANALYSIS OF COGNITIVE LEVELS IN WRITING EXERCISES OF BASIC ENGLISH FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GRADE VI TEXTBOOK

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the cognitive levels represented in the writing exercises of Basic English for Elementary School Grade VI based on Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy and to identify the dominant cognitive level represented in the exercises. This study employed a qualitative descriptive design using qualitative content analysis. The data consisted of 50 independent writing-exercise units identified from the textbook. The exercises were analyzed based on the six cognitive levels of Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy: Remembering (C1), Understanding (C2), Applying (C3), Analyzing (C4), Evaluating (C5), and Creating (C6). The findings show that five cognitive levels were represented: C1, C2, C3, C4, and C6, while C5 was not identified. Applying (C3) was the dominant cognitive level, accounting for 35 exercises (70%), followed by Understanding (C2) with 7 exercises (14%), Creating (C6) with 6 exercises (12%), and Remembering (C1) and Analyzing (C4) with 1 exercise each (2%). Overall, lower-order thinking skills (C1-C3) accounted for 86% of the exercises, whereas higher-order thinking skills (C4-C6) accounted for 14%. These findings indicate that the textbook predominantly emphasizes the application of previously learned language knowledge through structured writing activities, while opportunities for analysis, evaluation, and extended creative production remain limited. The study highlights the importance of considering a more balanced distribution of cognitive levels in elementary English writing exercises.