Writing descriptive text has been recognized as one of the most challenging skills for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners because many students experience difficulties in generating, organizing, and developing ideas into coherent written texts. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of the Mind Mapping Technique on students' writing ability in descriptive text at SMK N 2 Padang Panjang. This study employed a quantitative approach using a quasi-experimental research design. The population consisted of all eleventh-grade students at SMK N 2 Padang Panjang, and a sample of 60 students was selected through purposive sampling. The data were collected through a descriptive writing test administered before and after the instructional process. Students' writing was evaluated using an analytical scoring rubric covering content, organization, vocabulary, language use, and mechanics. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the Shapiro–Wilk normality test, Levene's homogeneity test, paired-sample t-test, and independent-sample t-test with IBM SPSS Statistics. The findings showed that the data were normally distributed and homogeneous. The statistical analysis revealed a significant improvement in students' writing ability, with a significance value of 0.000 (p < 0.05). The analysis also indicated a significant difference in writing achievement between the two groups, with a mean difference of approximately 8.03 points. These findings demonstrated that the Mind Mapping Technique effectively improved students' ability to organize ideas, develop descriptive paragraphs, and produce more coherent written texts. It was concluded that the Mind Mapping Technique was an effective instructional strategy for improving descriptive writing ability among eleventh-grade vocational high school students
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