Types of Writing Strategies Used by EFL Students with High Achievement in Writing Undergraduate Thesis

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33394/jollt.v13i2.13675

Keywords:

Writing strategies, Writing skills, Writing achievement, Thesis writing, English language teaching

Abstract

One of the most difficult skills in English is writing, especially for university students who have to master academic writing because they have final project in writing undergraduate thesis. The students face many difficulties in writing undergraduate thesis because they need to learn how to communicate the argument rationally and provide evidence in intellectual perspective to present the arguments in a logical order. In order to solve their writing problems, students can apply writing strategies. Therefore, this study is about writing strategies used by EFL students in undergraduate thesis writing process at English Education study program. This study’s objectives are to find out the kinds of writing strategies, and the dominant writing strategy applied by EFL students in writing undergraduate thesis. This research employed descriptive qualitative procedure with case study design. The subjects of the study were eleven EFL students of 2019 class at UNIROW. The data were taken from the questionnaire and interview. Then, the data were analyzed qualitatively through data reduction by identifying, grouping and coding, data display, describing, interpreting, and conclusion drawing. The result showed that the students applied 8 strategies in before writing, 14 strategies in during writing, and 16 strategies in after writing. The dominant strategy applied was during writing with the average score of 3.68, which can be categorized as high frequency, followed by before writing (3.54), and after writing (3.23). In conclusion, writing strategies are essential in assisting students during writing undergraduate thesis to produce better academic writing.

Author Biographies

Putri Amifalahiya Iqlima, Universitas PGRI Ronggolawe

Faculty of Teacher Training and Education,Universitas PGRI Ronggolawe, Indonesia

Christina Innocenti Tumiar Panggabean, Universitas PGRI Ronggolawe

Faculty of Teacher Training and Education,Universitas PGRI Ronggolawe, Indonesia

References

Abas, I. H., & Aziz, N. H. A. (2016). Indonesian EFL Students’ Perspective on Writing Process: A Pilot Study. Advances in Language and Literacy Studies, 7(3), 221-227.

Abas, I. H., & Aziz, N. H. A. (2018). Model of the Writing Process and Strategies of EFL Proficient Student Writers: A Case Study of Indonesian Learners. Pertanika Journal of Social Science and Humanities, 26(3), 1815–1842.

Ajmal, A., & Irfan, H. (2020). Effects of Process-Genre Approach on Writing Anxiety among English Academic Writing Learners in Pakistan. Journal of Business and Social Review in Emerging Economies, 6(2), 741–752.

Alsaedi, N. S., & Alhumsi, M. H. (2024). Saudi Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions of Plagiarism: A Case of EFL Research Writing Tasks During E-Learning Sessions. Heliyon, 10(22).

Al Mubarak, A. A. (2017). An Investigation of Academic Writing Problems Level Faced by Undergraduate Students at Al Imam Al Mahdi University-Sudan. English Review: Journal of English Education, 5(2), 175-188.

Arifin, S. (2020). Investigating the L2 Writing Strategies Used by Skilful English Students. Jurnal Pendidikan dan Pengajaran, 53(1), 78–89. https://doi.org/10.23887/jpp.v53i1.24939.

Azizah, U. A., & Budiman, A. (2018). Challenges in Writing Academic Papers for International Publication Among Indonesian Graduates Students. JEELS (Journal of English Education and Linguistics Studies), 4(2), 175-198. https://doi.org/10.30762/jeels.v4i2.405.

Chen, A. H. (2022). The Effects of Writing Strategy Instruction on EFL Learners' Writing Development. English Language Teaching, 15(3), 29-37.

Cheung, A. (2021). Digitizing the Story-Writing Process for EFL Primary Learners: An Exploratory Study. Language Teaching Research, 13621688211027772. https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688211027772.

Creswell, J. W., & Clark, Vicki. L. P. (2018). Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research (third). SAGE Publications Inc.

Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Dari, R. W., Rahmawati, E., & Akhiriyah, S. (2022). An Analysis of Writing Strategies Used by Students of English Language Department. Journal of Languages and Language Teaching, 10(3), 414-423.

Derakhshan, A., & Shirejini, R. K. (2020). An Investigation of the Iranian EFL Learners’ Perceptions Towards the Most Common Writing Problems. Sage Open, 10(2), 1-10.

Diasti, K. S., & Mbato, C. L. (2020). Exploring Undergraduate Students’ Motivation-Regulation Strategies in Thesis Writing. Language Circle: Journal of Language and Literature, 14(2), 176-183.

Fajrina, D., Everatt, J., & Sadeghi, A. (2021). Writing Strategies Used by Indonesian EFL Students with Different English Proficiency. Language Teaching Research Quarterly (LTRQ), 21, 1-15.

Hapsari, A. (2024). EFL Students' Writing Self-Efficacy and Writing Self- Regulated Strategies in Undergraduate Thesis Writing. Linguistics and ELT Journal. 12. 245-252. 10.31764/leltj.v12i2.26663.

Hassen, S. K., Adugna, E. T., & Bogale, Y. N. (2024). EFL Students’ Writing Achievement Via the Execution of Scaffolding Strategies Instruction. System, 125, 103439.

Hutabarat, R. R. (2022). Exploring EFL Students’ Challenges and Solutions in Writing Their Undergraduate Theses. (Doctoral Dissertation, Universitas Jambi).

Iqlima, P.A., Sofia, R., Triassanti, R., & Panggabean, C. I. T. (2023). EFL Students’ Language Learning Strategies in Argumentative Writing Class. JETAR (Journal of English Teaching and Research), 8(2), 211-219.

Ismiati, I., & Pebriantika, E. (2020). Designing Strategies for University Students’ Writing Skill. Journal of Languages and Language Teaching, 8(1), 8-19.

Kasiri, F., & Fazilatfar, A. (2016). L2, The Impact of Task Complexity on Cognitive Processes of Writers and Writing Quality: The Case of Writing Expertise, L1 retrieval, and Lexical. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 232, 561-568.

Kung, F. W. (2015). Bilingual or Monolingual? The Effects of Dictionary Use from A Corpus Perspective in ELT. English Teaching & Learning, 39, 1–27. https://doi.org/10.6330/ETL.2015.39.4.01.

Lestari, D. M. (2020). An Analysis of Students’ Difficulties in Writing Undergraduate Thesis at English Education Program of Muhammadiyah University of Bengkulu. Premise: Journal of English Education and Applied Linguistics, 9(1), 17-29.

Mahbubah, L., Sutaman, S., & Syuhadak, S. (2021). Strategy for Writing Scientific Research among Students in Department of Arabic. Izdihar: Journal of Arabic Language Teaching, Linguistics, and Literature, 4(1), 71-84.

Mastan, M. E. B., Maarof, N., & Embi, M. A. (2017). The Effect of Writing Strategy Instruction on ESL Intermediate Proficiency Learners’ Writing Performance. Journal of Educational Research and Review, 5(5), 71-78. https://doi.org/10.33495/jerr_v6i7.18.147.

Mudra, H. (2023). Delving into Writing Anxiety of Rural College EFL Learners: A Quantitative Study. OKARA: Jurnal Bahasa dan Sastra, 17(2), 172–192. https://doi.org/10.19105/ojbs.v17i2.10407.

Nenotek, S. A., Tlonaen, Z. A., & Manubulu, H. A. (2022). Exploring University Students’ Difficulties in Writing English Academic Essay. Al-Ishlah: Jurnal Pendidikan, 14(1), 909-920.

Noviasari, H. P., Yuliasari, U., & Panggabean, C. I. T. (2023). Writing Strategies Applied by the Fourth Semester Students in Their Argumentative Writing at English Study Program of UNIROW Tuban. Pro-ELLitera, 1(1), 6-18.

Panggabean, C. I. T. (2015). EFL Students’ Reflection in the Process of Writing Their Research Proposal. In Proceeding Conference on Applied Linguistics 8 (p. 73).

Panggabean, C. I. T., & Triassanti, R. (2020). The Implementation of Metacognitive Strategy Training to Enhance EFL Students Oral Presentation Skill. English Education: Journal of English Teaching and Research, 5(1), 32-40.

Parwati, I., & Sugesti, I. (2023). Exploring EFL Students’ Strategies in Writing Research Background at one of the Universities in Cirebon. ALLURE JOURNAL, 3(1), 38-47.

Petric, B., & Czarl, B. (2003). Validating a Writing Strategy Questionnaire. System, 31, 187-215.

Rahayu, E. Y., & Moesarofah. (2022). The Solutions of Writing Undergraduate Thesis: A Narrative Inquiry Case Study. Linguistics and English Language Teaching Journal, 10(2), 57-65.

Ren, B., & Zhu, W. (2023). A Chinese EFL Student’s Strategies in Graduation Thesis Writing: An Activity Theory Perspective. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 61, 101202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2022.101202.

Rizqiya, R. S., Pamungkas, M. Y., & Inayah, R. (2017). The Use of POWER Learning as a Learning Strategy to Improve Students Writing Competency. OKARA: Jurnal Bahasa Dan Sastra, 11(2), 253-262.

Sa’diah, S., Rukmayadi, Y., Tanjung, K. S., Lestari, N. P., & Rizki, A. (2022). Problems and Strategies in Developing Writing Undergraduate Thesis: A Study in EFL Students. Loquen: English Studies Journal, 15(2), 131-137.

Salsabila, A. R., Sari, M. N., Panggabean, C. I. T., & Triassanti, R. (2024). Exploring The Use of Chat GPT in Language Learning in Students' Writing Skill. Pro-ELLitera, 2(1), 13-29.

Silfiani., Aziz, Z. A., & Daud, B. (2018). Plagiarism in English Academic Writing: Students’ Perceptions. English Education Journal (EEJ), 9(1), 102-123.

Syafryadin, S., Shah, S. B. S. A., & Astrid, A. (2023). Higher Order Thinking Skill (HOTs): EFL Students’ Levels and Challenges in Writing Discussion Sections of Theses. Journal of Languages and Language Teaching, 11(4), 868-878.

Syahriani, & Madya, S. (2020). Study of Writing Strategies Used by English Major Students. Jurnal Pendidikan Dan Pengajaran, 52(3), 153-162. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.23887/jpp.v52i3.18137.

Teng, M. F., Wang, C., & Zhang, L. J. (2022). Assessing Self-Regulatory Writing Strategies and Their Predictive Effects on Young EFL Learners’ Writing Performance. Assessing Writing, 51, 100573.

Turmudi, D. (2019). Diary Gambits: Understanding Writing for Research Publication. Metro: CV. Laduni Alifatama. Retrieved from ISBN: 978-602-582-583-5.

Virdyani, N. K. (2016). Teaching Writing Skill by Using Brainwriting Strategy. OKARA: Jurnal Bahasa Dan Sastra, 1(1), 67-77.

Wahyuni, D., Oktavia, W., & Marlina, L. (2019). Writing Anxiety Among Indonesian EFL College Students: Levels, Causes, and Coping Strategies. Lingua Cultura, 13(1), 67. https://doi.org/10.21512/lc.v13i1.5239.

Yaman, İ. (2015). Exploring The Dictionary Preferences of Prospective English Language Teachers. International Journal of Languages’ Education, 1, 1478–1490. https://doi.org/10.18298/ijlet.345.

Zhang, Y., & Chieh, Y. (2025). The Effects of Two Self-Regulated Learning Interventions on Chinese EFL Students’ Self-Regulated Writing-Strategy Use, Motivational Beliefs, and Writing Performance. System, 129, 103603.

Zhu, J., Yang, Y., & Yan, Z. (2024). Relationships Between Teacher Feedback and English Writing Proficiency in Chinese Students: The Mediating Effect of Writing Self-Regulated Learning Strategies. System, 123, 103338.

Downloads

Additional Files

Published

2025-04-19

How to Cite

Iqlima, P. A., & Panggabean, C. I. T. (2025). Types of Writing Strategies Used by EFL Students with High Achievement in Writing Undergraduate Thesis. Journal of Languages and Language Teaching, 13(2), 746–758. https://doi.org/10.33394/jollt.v13i2.13675

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 2 (2025)

Section

Articles

Citation Check

License

License and Publishing Agreement
In submitting the manuscript to the journal, the authors certify that:

  1. They are authorized by their co-authors to enter into these arrangements.
  2. The work described has not been formally published before, except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, thesis, or overlay journal.
  3. That it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere,
  4. That its publication has been approved by all the author(s) and by the responsible authorities – tacitly or explicitly – of the institutes where the work has been carried out.
  5. They secure the right to reproduce any material that has already been published or copyrighted elsewhere.
  6. They agree to the following license and publishing agreement.

Copyright
Authors who publish with JOLLT Journal of Languages and Language Teaching agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-SA 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. 
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.

Licensing for Data Publication

JOLLT Journal of Languages and Language Teaching uses a variety of waivers and licenses, that are specifically designed for and appropriate for the treatment of data:
Other data publishing licenses may be allowed as exceptions (subject to approval by the editor on a case-by-case basis) and should be justified with a written statement from the author, which will be published with the article.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.