Dynamic interaction of factors influencing university students’ academic writing practices in English: a case study in Turkey

Abstract

The study investigates the dynamic interaction of educational and contextual factors influencing Turkish university students’ academic writing practices. The main participants of the study were twelve freshman year and seven senior year students studying English as a major at a foundation university in Turkey. Qualitative research design and data collection methodologies were employed for the purposes of the study. The main data of the study was obtained from multiple sources: (1) background questionnaire, (2) semi-structured interviews, (3) elicited narratives and stimulated recall interviews, and (4) document analysis. The secondary participants of the study were three English language teachers and six faculty members from the context of the study. Four semi-structured interviews and one focus group interview were conducted with the teacher participants. To draw a more comprehensive picture of the writing situation, the main findings of the study were cross-analyzed with the results obtained from the interviews conducted with teacher participants. The findings suggest that Turkish university students’ academic writing practices are influenced by an array of multiple interrelating factors: (1) past L1 and L2 writing knowledge and experience, (2) teachers’ attitudes toward writing, (3) students’ perceptions about academic writing and disciplinary-specific text genres, (4) prolonged engagement with the academic context and discourse, and (5) expectations of faculty members. The insights gained from the study have important implications for the writing situation in Turkey and for similar cases in other EFL contexts.