Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions of Writing Skills Difficulties at Al-Marj Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Abstract

This study aims to explore the difficulties faced by students in writing and the factors that influence their ability to write a text or paragraph based on the cognitive process. It was conducted in the third semester of the English Language department during the academic year 2022-2023 at the Faculty of Arts, Al-Marj, University of Benghazi. The researchers purposefully selected five participants randomly, two males, and three females, and used semi-structured interviews as a data collection tool to investigate their writing experiences. Data was collected by conducting face-to-face interviews and through indirect interviews via voice messages on WhatsApp. The data analysis of this study was qualitative and descriptive. Based on the results, students found difficulties in utilizing capitalization, punctuation, and conjunctions in their writing. The analysis revealed that learners encountered difficulties in concision, “mechanics/grammar”, limited time, lack of motivation, deficiency of confidence, vocabulary, and grammatical difficulties. The outcomes of this study illustrate that students faced obstacles in organizing and developing their ideas. To improve their writing skills in English, it is suggested that students should write more frequently.