University students and instructors’ perceptions of challenges in academic writing

Abstract

Academic writing in courses taught in English is one of the areas which pose challenges for university students. Due to a lack of consistent practices in teaching writing in secondary education, school graduates encounter serious difficulties in their transition to academic discourse and writing in English required for some disciplines. The article discusses students’ attitudes and perceived challenges in writing, and reveals discrepancies between students and instructors’ perspectives. The discussion is mapped against the widely researched area of challenges in academic writing, and is based on analyzing quantitative and qualitative data, obtained from a small-scale survey with BA and MA students of English studies in a Bulgarian university, and focus-group interviews with their instructors. The findings of this interdisciplinary study provide insights into students’ challenges in academic writing. It also helps to raise students’ awareness of their own strengths and weaknesses, and identify areas for instructors’ intervention and remedial work.