Mixed-Method Research On EFL Graduate Students’ Academic Writing Practices

Abstract

This study aims to identify (i) how EFL graduate-level students at various Turkish universities regard the level of difficulty in terms of the different sections of a scholarly work in their academic writing practices, (ii) whether their perceptions concerning the difficulty of the various sections show a significant difference depending on their demographics, (iii) the solutions they employ when they are challenged with difficulties in academic writing and (iv) their views about the process of academic writing in general. Data from 34 graduate EFL students were reported. The study adopted a mixed-method research design, and the data were collected with Academic Literacies Questionnaire (ALQ) (Chang, 2006; Evans & Green, 2007). The participants also responded to open-ended questions about the challenges they face in academic writing and their solutions. The results revealed that EFL graduate students had problems with academic conventions, and found expressing themselves succinctly problematic. However, they were familiar with the mechanics of the target language.