An Investigation of Writing Anxiety among Freshmen University Students in an EFL Context

This study investigated the level, dominant type, and reasons for writing anxiety among EFL students through a quantitative research design. The participants were one group of ۷۵ (۴۰ female and ۳۵ male) freshmen students from the Department of English at Karbala University, Iraq. Their ages ranged from ۱۹ to ۲۴, selected through a purposive sampling technique based on their intermediate level of English proficiency. The Language Writing Anxiety Inventory and the Causes of Writing Anxiety Inventory (CSLWAI) were administered. Data were analyzed using SPSS software. The findings of this survey research design study showed that EFL students have a high level of writing anxiety. Moreover, cognitive anxiety was found to be the predominant type of writing anxiety. The main reason for writing anxiety was fear of teachers' negative comments. This study has significant implications for English language teachers, indicating that they cannot assume their students to be homogeneous in terms of writing anxiety. This suggests that while designing assignments and activities for their programs, teachers should be more aware of the effect of writing anxiety.