Investigating Academic Writing Skills of the Psychology Students at Bahauddin Zakariya University and its Affiliated Colleges in Multan

Abstract

Writing falls in the category of the primary academic skills and is also considered as one of the productive skills. But sometimes, the learners find it difficult to acquire the writing skills, and resultantly it affects their writing competence. The paper aims to investigate the existing proficiency level of the Masters’ students (Psychology Department at BZU and its affiliated colleges in Multan) in writing skills. One Hundred Master’s students were the sampled population of the study. A questionnaire and an essay writing test were given to them. The research participants’ writing tests were quantitatively analyzed according to the following traits of the writing skills model: organization, content, cohesion, mechanical accuracy, vocabulary, and grammar. The participants’ questionnaires were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The result of this study revealed that the Masters’ students of the Psychology Department at BZU and its affiliated colleges in Multan are encountering difficulties at multiple stages of writing due to their inadequacy in writing skills. Thus, considering the results of the study, the inclusion of the writing process during English for Academic Purposes (EAP) is highly recommended.