The impact of writing strategies on the written product of EFL Saudi male students at King Abdul-Aziz University

Abstract

The present study investigates the composing processes and strategies in the written composition of final-year Saudi male students majoring in English at King Abdul-Aziz University. The aim of this investigation is to identify and analyse the writing processes of those students in order to understand some of the reasons behind their poor written output. It also aims to investigate the way skilled and less-skilled students compose their English writing, to classify the differences in the use of strategies between the two groups, and to study the impact of using strategies on the written product. Moreover, the thesis tries to gain a deeper understanding of the sub-processes of writing, such as planning, structuring, reviewing, and revising. To this end, data was collected that included written samples, a writing strategy questionnaire (WSQ), and think-aloud protocols (TAP). The findings of the data analysis indicate first that the students have problems at the sentential and intersentential levels. Second, the findings show that the students are conscious of writing strategies, so they are expected to plan, translate and edit their writing. Third, the findings of the WSQ reveal that students do not report what they actually do. Fourth, the results of the analysis of the TAPs show that the students used mainly meta-cognitive, cognitive, and affective strategies. However, only skilled students planned their writing globally or locally, and both skilled and less-skilled students were involved in the cognitive process.