Tackling the Challenges Faced by the University Students in Writing

This study aims to identify the challenges faced by university students in academic writing and evaluate the effectiveness of targeted interventions designed to address these obstacles.Following a quantitative approach, data was collected from 100 undergraduate students at Cihan University–Erbil using a validated questionnaire that assessed writing difficulties across grammar, vocabulary, and coherence domains, complemented by the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS). Statistical analysis revealed that lack of first language writing experience (34.48%), insufficient teacher feedback (28.74%), and lack of motivation (28.74%) constituted the primary writing challenges, while anxiety related to unprepared writing emerged as the most significant psychological barrier (37.93%). An experimental intervention targeting these identified challenges was implemented with a randomly selected group of students. Comparative analysis of pre-test and post-test scores demonstrated statistically significant improvement in the experimental group's writing performance (p = 0.016), with mean scores increasing from 10.55 to 18.85, compared to the control group's increase from 11.10 to 16.05. These findings highlight the importance of addressing both technical writing skills and affective factors in EFL writing instruction, suggesting that comprehensive interventions that simultaneously target multiple challenge layers can effectively enhance students' writing proficiency.