Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Volume 12. Number1 March 2021 Pp. 527-542
DOI:https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol12no1.34
Proposed Model to Assist Saudi Postgraduate Students in their English Academic Writing
Noof Saleh Alharbi
English Language Centre, Taibah University
Madinah, Saudi Arabia
Recived: 1/4/2021 Accepted: 3/14/2021 Published: 3/28/2021
Abstract:
This current research forms part of a broader investigation into the problems Saudi postgraduate students face in English academic writing. The study used the interpretive paradigm to investigate and interpret the perceptions of Saudi postgraduate students and their supervisors in relation to the difficulties they encountered regarding academic writing in English. Therefore, the study adopted a sequential mixed-methods design. The quantitative phase of the research employed a questionnaire whereas the qualitative phase employed semi-structured interviews and document analysis. In total, 275 students completed the prepared questionnaire whilst 15 students, both male and female, and 9 supervisors participated in the semi-structured interviews. The research also used ten samples of written feedback students had received from their supervisors. SPSS descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data quantitatively, and MAXQDA software was used to analyse the data qualitatively. The study identified that Saudi postgraduates encounter a range of difficulties in their academic writing, which were due to several underlying causes. Therefore, to address this issue and to contribute to knowledge in the field, the author of this study devised a theoretical model to assist Saudi postgraduate students overcome their difficulties with English academic writing. The main focus of the current study is to explain this model in detail.
Key Words: academic writing, postgraduate students, writing difficulties
Cite as: Alharbi, N. S. (2021). Proposed Model to Assist Saudi Postgraduate Students in their English Academic Writing.
Arab World English Journal, 12 (1) 527-542 .
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol12no1.34
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