JEEYAL (The Journal of English Teaching for Young and Adult Learner.
Volume : 04 | Number 02 | July 2025 | E-ISSN : 2809-17521 | LESSON PLAN AND WRITING ERROR OF JOB APPLICATION FOR VOCATIONAL STUDENTS: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW Nuroida Ainun Azizah1.
Erry Rizky Wibowo2 Universitas Negeri Semarang nuroidaainunazizah@students.
id, errywibowo573@students.
Abstract This study examines lesson plans for writing job applications among vocational students, employing a systematic literature review as the research design, and highlights effective lesson plans for teachers to instruct students in writing job applications.
This systematic literature review method was conducted with the AuPreferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-AnalysesAy using the guideline of PRISMA 2020, which helps us in improving the reporting of the systematic reviews, making it more transparent, complete, and easier to assess and replicate the data findings in our research discussion.
For this research, we collected approximately 378 articles from trusted web journals, including ERIC.
Scopus.
Google Scholar, and ResearchGate.
We then narrowed down the selection to 19 articles, selecting those that are appropriate and relevant to our research discussion.
Through our findings, we identified common challenges faced by teachers and students, including writing errors in job application letters, unclear objectives, unaligned activities, poor time management, and a lack of student engagement.
Throughout the lesson plan and writing errors that we analyse from the articles, we also aim to identify areas for improvement in teaching activities, including lesson plan design for writing job application letters for vocational students.
Keywords: lesson plan, writing skills, job application, vocational students Introduction According to several studies, vocational high school students can be prepared for the workforce through a variety of tactics.
A study that examined job application letters composed by EFL students, some students were still producing grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors in their texts.
Unable to achieve the standards for a proper and effective letter.
Furthermore, even though some students still produce grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors in their texts (Latipah & Gunawan, 2020.
Furthermore, students tend to demonstrate a less deliberate approach in their writing of job application letters, particularly concerning the formulation of ideas and sentence structure (Siregar et al.
, 2022.
Therefore, it is necessary to develop a good and correct writing aspect to write a job application letter.
It is imperative to exercise meticulous care and attention to detail when composing a job application letter.
This entails ensuring that the content is well-crafted, systematic, and utilizes language that is both precise and correct.
Examine typical mistakes when writing application letters for jobs, including capitalization, italics, standard terms, and prepositions (Yuniar1 et al.
, 2020.
It is imperative to allocate sufficient time and resources to the formulation of lesson plans, as this is instrumental in ensuring the attainment of optimal outcomes.
Nevertheless, it is imperative to recognize the significance of aligning eight pivotal factors within learning environments.
Notably, assessment frequently emerges as the most misaligned element (Reeves, 2.
Based on some of the problems explained above, this research is focused on the effectiveness of lesson plans in writing job applications for vocational students.
The components of writing in English include vocabulary, organization, content, language use, and writing methods.
These components need to be included in writing a job application letter.
Some of these factors must be taken into account for a well-designed structure to make it clear what an applicantAos goals are when applying to work for the organization.
With a job application letter, the head of the personnel department in a company or agency will be selective and careful JEEYAL (The Journal of English Teaching for Young and Adult Learner.
Volume : 04 | Number 02 | July 2025 | E-ISSN : 2809-17521 | to read the original or a falsified job application letter (Zega et al.
, 2.
It means that the goal of a resume cover letter or job application is to increase the probability of getting an interview by persuading the reader that they are the most qualified candidate for the position.
Previous research indicates that states that their research indicates that composing the letterAos contents, capitalization, and punctuation are the most challenging skills for students to acquire (Fricillia, 2.
These days, the studentsAo difficulties with writing are caused by their insecurity when utilizing the English language, particularly concerning vocabulary and grammatical structures.
This relates to their comprehension of the elements of writing abilities that they must learn and apply in the classroom.
Teachers also need to know what activities they will need for their students because, according to Dragomir & Niculescu .
, writing skills instruction must cover a variety of topics, including how to write coherently, how to use appropriate grammar and lexical structures, how to use acceptable spelling, and how to choose the right language register.
Even though there is urgency reinforced by Organization for Economic Co-operation and DevelopmentAos (OECD, 2.
report on education and skills in the digital age, there is an additional urgency regarding change and digitalization as well as the importance of organized learning plans, there remains a significant gap that existing between the literature regarding how learning plans can optimally address the specific challenges faced by vocational students in writing job applications.
Previous systematic reviews have not comprehensively identified and analyzed the issues faced by students and teachers in this context, nor have they proposed innovative and relevant teaching strategies.
Therefore, this systematic review aims to address these gaps by .
identifying common challenges faced by students in writing job application letters, .
exploring challenges identified in previous studies regarding the implementation of learning plans by teachers, and .
providing recommendations for teaching methods that can enhance activities within learning plans for job application writing.
This study will primarily highlight how the teacher may provide the greatest possible effective lesson plan for vocational studentsAo writing skills, and teacher learning strategy through incorporating collaborative writing exercises and relevant resources.
Teachers create lesson plans, which are organized manuals used in educational settings.
Teachers must create and provide active, efficient, and collaborative learning using all of the current components.
It is intended that the lesson plan will be beneficial to the students in the future, allowing them to practice the content in addition to learning it.
Method Research Design Systematic Literature Review (SLR) is a process that allows for the collection of relevant evidence on the given topic that fits the pre-specified eligibility criteria and provides an answer for the formulated research questions (Mengist et al.
, 2.
This systematic literature review method was conducted with the AuPreferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-AnalysisAy (PRISMA 2020 statemen.
The PRISMA 2020 statement was designed primarily for systematic reviews that evaluate lesson plans for writing job applications.
The researcher also identified the needs related to writing skills for vocational students, including the components of effective learning on the lesson plan, challenges in writing job application letters, specific writing skills, and strategies for integrating these skills in writing job application letters.
There are 3 research questions to guide the review:
What are the common challenges that vocational students face in writing job application What challenges are reported in implementing the lesson plan? JEEYAL (The Journal of English Teaching for Young and Adult Learner.
Volume : 04 | Number 02 | July 2025 | E-ISSN : 2809-17521 | Which teaching activity should be improved in the lesson plan design for writing job application letters? Eligibility Criteria The eligibility criteria need to be met with inclusion and exclusion criteria to complete the systematic literature review.
The inclusion criteria were: peer-reviewed research journal articles on lesson plan writing, job applications for vocational studentsAo context that were published in SCOPUS.
Google Scholar and ResearchGate.
Table 1.
Data Criteria Criteria Inclusion Exclusion Year 2012 Ae 2025 Before 2012 Language English & Indonesia Non-English & Indonesia Population Vocational Students / Education General or non-vocational Focus Lesson plan, learning process, writing errors in a Pure theory without the job application Type Peer-reviewed articles, research paper Conference Researchers included data from articles from 2012 to 2025, because the review focused on integrated and recent research.
Then, in the language criteria, researchers chose English and Indonesian in the inclusion column because it would make it easier for researchers to understand the language, whereas non-English and Indonesian were excluded because of obstacles in understanding the language and limitations in translation with accurate results.
Then the population used in the inclusion is vocational students or vocational education because it is the object that the researcher will discuss.
besides that, it is an exclusion because it is beyond the reach of the Next, the focus of this study has a relationship with lesson plans, learning processes, learning activities and writing errors in writing job applications, so studies that only discuss theory will be excluded for their relevance to vocational education.
Finally, only peer-reviewed journal articles and full papers will be included to ensure the quality of the academic work analyzed.
Conference abstracts and editorials are excluded due to limitations in the analysis.
Database and Search Strategy The source of the data for this review was peer-reviewed journals and articles found in databases such as ERIC.
Scopus.
Google Scholar, and ResearchGate.
For ERIC and Scopus in advanced research, they use Boolean operators such as AND.
OR, and NOT to find related articles.
Some keywords are applied related to the topic: AoAolesson planAoAo.
AoAojob application letterAoAo C AoAojob application letterAoAo AoAovocational education/studentsAoAo C AoAolesson planAoAo AoAojob application letterAoAo and AoAoeflAoAo The keyword that was applied in the advanced search in each journal.
Therefore, the search terms utilized include the limitation on the advanced research.
Table.
2 Data base and Advance Search Database Advance Search .
esson AND plan OR lesson OR writin.
ob AND application OR "job ERIC application" OR cv OR vitae OR lette.
AND .
AND .
fl OR englis.
TITLE-ABS-KEY .
esson AND plan OR lesson OR writin.
AND (AoAojobAoAo AND SCOPUS AoAoapplicationAoAo.
OR Aujob applicationAy OR cv OR vitae OR lette.
AND .
AND .
fl OR 3nglis.
AND PUBYEAR > 2011 AND PUBYEAR < 2026 AND JEEYAL (The Journal of English Teaching for Young and Adult Learner.
Volume : 04 | Number 02 | July 2025 | E-ISSN : 2809-17521 | (LIMIT-TO (LANGUAGE.
AuEnglishA.
) AND (LIMIT-TO (PUBSTAGE.
AufinalA.
) AND (LIMIT-TO (DOCTYPE.
AuarA.
) AND (LIMIT-TO (OA.
AuallAy )) Lesson plan writing job application letter for vocational students Screening Identification Google Scholar Lesson plan writing job application letter for vocational students Research Gate In total, 378 relevant articles appeared in the three databases before screening.
Screening Process The screening process is conducted systematically following the collection of data through the The results of the data collection screening are then subjected to a comparison with the eligibility requirements.
It is estimated that approximately 103 duplicate articles have been completed, leaving 275 articles to be selected for the subsequent stage.
The initial step is predicated on the title, abstract, and conclusion, with a focus on the salient points of the keywords, which include lesson plan writing, job application letters, and vocational students.
Subsequently, approximately 153 articles are rejected on the basis that they lack a clear connection to the research In conclusion, a total of 122 articles have undergone a comprehensive review .
eer-text It is estimated that approximately 70 articles are inaccessible due to an absence of access to the web journal database and terms.
Conversely, 33 articles were published after the study's completion, as they did not pertain specifically to subjects such as lesson plans, writing, job application letters, and vocational students.
Following a comprehensive review of the extant literature, approximately 19 articles were identified that provide a more detailed analysis and criteria in this study.
Table 3.
PRISMA Statement Records identified from*:
Databases .
= .
Records removed before Duplicate records removed .
= Records screened .
= .
Records excluded .
= .
Reports sought for retrieval .
= .
Reports not retrieved .
= .
Reports assessed for eligibility .
Reports excluded:
Non-writing .
= .
Non-lesson plan .
= .
Non-Job application .
= .
Non- Vocational/EFL .
= .
JEEYAL (The Journal of English Teaching for Young and Adult Learner.
Included Volume : 04 | Number 02 | July 2025 | E-ISSN : 2809-17521 | Studies included in review .
Findings and Discussions Several previous studies have discussed lesson plans in job application letter writing for vocational students.
In the data analysis that had been conducted, by categorizing several themes from the existing research papers, the focus of this study highlights the challenges faced by students while writing job application letters and the learning activities that need to be improved by their teachers during the lesson plan.
From the data screening and analysis process, 19 articles were found that are relevant to the topic covered by this research focus.
Three main themes have been identified from these articles: job application letter writing errors, the learning process, and the learning activity.
Table 3.
Finding of Writing Errors Findings Author problems in writing such as inappropriate use of language, spelling errors, incorrect punctuation, incomprehensible text, and poor paragraph organization.
(Lina, 2.
In addition, they struggle with the structure and grammar of writing and the writing process.
(Siregar et al.
, 2.
Athe worst error the students made was omission error where the students omitted a certain item/spelling while writing the application letter.
Then followed by misformation error as the second, addition error as the third, and misordering error as the last.
(Annisa Silvia et al.
, 2.
Of the eight data points regarding writing errors, three data points were taken as one of the focuses of the common challenges that vocational students face in writing job application letters.
As we know that writing is a skill that needs to be mastered, as stated by Toba et al.
, we found that writing plays a key role in the generation of language used for global knowledge transfer.
This type of document is, essentially, a type of a business letter written to a potential employer by a candidate interested in a certain position (IvanoviN, 2.
Moreover, to write a job application letter in an appropriate and formal style can have an impact which connects job applicants with job providers with a great deal of confidence.
Furthermore, focusing on the learning process from the previous 5 articles that discuss the learning process in job application writing, there are 3 findings from the articles analyzed to will be discussed.
JEEYAL (The Journal of English Teaching for Young and Adult Learner.
Volume : 04 | Number 02 | July 2025 | E-ISSN : 2809-17521 | Table 4.
Findings of learning process Findings Authors Teachers should be well-prepared before conducting the teaching learning process.
In addition, they should facilitate and guide the students during writing process.
Moreover, teachers should also determine time allocation for carrying (Gupitasari, 2.
Ato motivate the students to increase their ability in learning writing application (Suaidi, 2.
Ateacher needs to maintain the environment of trust thus the student could focus on their on works.
(Hidayanti, 2.
A correlation has been identified between the implementation of student learning in the context of job application materials and the three data sets collected through the theme that focuses on challenges in implementing the lesson plan or the learning process.
The teacher education classes can play a crucial role in developing writing skills, with the writing process itself serving as a learning tool (Franklin, 1.
As indicated by related literature, the learning process must be prepared as well as possible, and teachers must take on the role of maintaining a conducive learning environment so that the learning process can be maximized.
Furthermore, the teacher's role in motivating students to write job application letters must be improved.
The next research focuses on learning activity by analyzing previous articles and found two relevant articles that discuss learning activity on writing job application letters.
Table 5.
Findings of Learning Activity Findings Author Athere are several obstacles to the implementation of the TaskBased Lesson Plan, namely the lack of teaching resources, effective material planning and changing learning from passive to (Swe & Kyu, 2.
Aincluding incomplete alignment between competencies and activities, lack of clear instructions for students, underutilization of teaching media, inadequate final assessments, and limited student involvement in summarization.
(Gulo et al.
, 2.
The first identified theme is focused on writing errors, a topic discussed in 8 of the included Beyond general errors such as grammar, punctuation, and capitalization.
This review further examines specific aspects, including the organization of writing, writing clarity, writing mechanism, misformation and misordering of job application letter writing.
The main focus is on JEEYAL (The Journal of English Teaching for Young and Adult Learner.
Volume : 04 | Number 02 | July 2025 | E-ISSN : 2809-17521 | teaching activities, and this is based on the two sets of data.
That needs to be improved in the design of lesson plans for writing job application letters.
Based on these data points, some findings have been explained by the researcher in the previous article regarding the lesson plan structure made by the teacher, which found that there are still challenges faced in writing and things that need to be improved in the lesson plan design.
The second and third theme identified related to the learning process and learning activities that need significant improvement in the design of lesson plan for writing job application letters.
By the analysis reveals that these theme about learning activities or plans often present several implementation challenges.
Various typical mistakes occur in this topic, both during the planning phase and during implementation in the classroom, and the learning objectives themselves are frequently defined in a generic manner that does not reflect observed and measurable student For examples Hidayati .
found that teachersAo get challenges in teaching English writing on studentsAo English competence that the students lack.
This could resolve the lack of students' interest in learning activities, as stated Mubarak & Rudianto .
that a lack of motivation among the students to improve their writing skills is a challenging factor faced by the teachers of writing skills.
Those challenges could reduce students' motivation to write since planning that does not consider students' needs and levels of ability might result in material that is either too challenging or too easy, lowering the effectiveness of the learning process itself.
Nurtanto et al.
stated that vocational teachers have to improve the systematic writing in their lesson plan based on the rules that have been used as a standard reference in academics.
This means that the teachers need to focus on their professional development on teaching writing strategies so that they can build a supportive environment or conditions for the learning activity.
In order for the present study to address this challenge, a systematic literature review was conducted in order to compare the differences in pedagogical approaches found in several studies aimed at improving the job application letter writing skills of vocational students.
The effectiveness of strategies that are typically rarely implemented was then determined based on a ranking of various methodologies.
The selection of findings is indicated by several approaches identified.
These elements are methodically integrated and aligned with the learning environment.
Some strategies can be improved in learning writing job applications, one of which is by using ThinkPair Share, which can show a positive influence on teaching and learning activities, increasing student interest and motivation (Ngestiningsih, 2022.
With the use of learning methods such as Think Pair Share, this can increase students' motivation and desire to write job applications and be able to provide them with peer-to-peer sharing of ideas in writing appropriate job applications In addition to emphasizing collaborative strategies, this study underlines the importance of providing comprehensive instructions that can be integrated into practical, contextual activities to help students achieve learning objectives.
Therefore, it's important to clearly define and organize the learning objectives in a structured way.
Teachers need to plan every activity in the lesson plan to help students reach those objectives.
Example, when teaching how to write a job application letter, the activities should include analyzing sample letters, discussing their structure and language, and practicing writing them.
Adam & Abid .
stated that a teacher teaching a writing activity has to teach a lot of students with a variety of understanding and provide a guide to help them understand the lesson of writing lesson.
To address these challenges, student involvement in group discussions, role-playing games related to job application material, and other collaborative tasks relevant to the vocational context are recommended.
Integration of multiple pedagogical approaches, coupled with the creation of an engaging and needs-based learning environment, is expected to enhance the effectiveness of learning design for job application letters.
This approach JEEYAL (The Journal of English Teaching for Young and Adult Learner.
Volume : 04 | Number 02 | July 2025 | E-ISSN : 2809-17521 | is designed to be tailored to the needs of vocational students, thereby providing them with practical skills that are applicable to the world of work.
Conclusion As demonstrated in the previous discussion, providing vocational students with assistance in composing effective job application letters necessitates more than the mere dissemination of templates or the administration of grammar exercises.
The foundation of this approach is a methodically designed lesson plan that integrates explicit objectives, engaging activities, and assessments that accurately evaluate progress.
The review revealed that teachers frequently encounter challenges, including unclear objectives, poorly structured lessons, time management issues, and limited student engagement in activities.
Furthermore, students frequently encounter challenges in grammar, structure, and the confidence to utilize English effectively, particularly in significant writing tasks such as job application letters.
However, the positive aspect of this situation is that these issues can be addressed with the implementation of appropriate strategies.
Teaching methods that promote collaboration, such as the Think-Pair-Share strategy and the incorporation of authentic job postings and sample cover letters, have been shown to enhance student motivation and make lessons feel more relevant.
Engaged students demonstrate enhanced writing abilities and develop skills applicable to real-world professional contexts.
In the future, research has the potential to enhance our understanding in several areas, including the improvement of teaching practices.
To comprehensively assess the development of students' writing skills, longitudinal studies are necessary, as opposed to the utilization of postlesson assessments.
It is imperative that we also undertake comparative research that is both clear and readily accessible.
Such research would provide much-needed insight into the most effective teaching approaches.
The exploration of technology-supported writing tools, including online platforms and applications, has the potential to reveal novel methods to enhance learning.
Consequently, a comprehensive analysis of the distinct writing expectations inherent to various industries is imperative to ascertain that the educational experience in the classroom effectively prepares students for the professional environment.
In summary, the pedagogy of job application writing for vocational students should be empirical, captivating, and intimately associated with the tangible world.
Through meticulous planning and continuous research, educators can facilitate students' development of writing skills that are both confident and purposeful, thereby creating pathways to future employment References