Realizing the importance of writing strategies, there are numbers of researches conducted in figuring which of the proposed models is the most effective strategy in conducting writing tasks. In writing stages, one of the most basic and important stages is "pre-writing stage". Pre-writing stage is known for its efficiency in constructing a well-organized essay regardless of the types of essay questions. The purpose of this study is to explore students' perceptions towards pre-writing stage as a

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... trategy in writing directed essay. Thirty students were selected from an academy known as Menara Gading which is located in Pahang, Malaysia. Based on the findings, it could be observed that students do use pre-writing stage but they are not aware that it is considered as a strategy in writing directed essay. This is because the students were not aware of the term used for the first few steps before writing was called "pre-writing stage". As far as the students' perception is concerned, it could be concluded that students have positive perception on the pre-writing strategy as the strategy helps them to be more confident in writing. In a nutshell, teachers should ensure that students are aware of the importance of "pre-writing stage" and conduct interesting pre-writing activities which are helpful, fun, time-saving and effective in order to enhance students' skills in writing.