Undergraduate EFL Students’ Perceptions of Essay Writing Course Effectiveness through Qualitative Content Analysis

This study investigated the perceptions of undergraduate (BA-level) EFL students regarding the effectiveness and possible improvement of Essay Writing as the most academically related writing course in the BA program. In doing so, the study relied on qualitative content analysis. To collect data, a researcher-made questionnaire (with three sections) was designed, which followed the conceptual findings of previous research in the literature on second language writing and education. The factors observed were arranged as four questions in the questionnaire, which dealt with “curriculum standards”, “educational objectives”, “reluctance and willingness to write”, and “linguistic competence.” Qualitative content analysis made it possible to reach a profound understanding of the students’ direct experiences. A total of 51 Iranian respondents participated in this study, out of whom, 37 ones (72.5%) belonged to the 22-24 age-group, while the majority of the students (64.7%) were females in terms of gender. The qualitative content analysis revealed 93 codes, 15 categories, and 4 themes. The most important observations suggested that the curriculum in Iran predominantly introduced Essay Writing to students on a surface level, while most students were not conceptually prepared for academic writing. Adding a course called “Academic Thinking” and using practice-oriented strategies could help to further address the shortcomings in the curricular system.