EFL students' writing strategies use in Ethiopia: Gender and year level

This study aimed to investigate EFL students' writing strategies used in comparison to gender and year level. A descriptive-comparison design was used for this study, whereby a total of 148 English major students participated from Wolkite University. To this end, the data were collected through questionnaire. The results of this study showed metacognitive (M = 3.59) and cognitive writing strategies (M = 3.51) were the most frequently used by students. An independent sample t-test results showed that there was no significant difference in the use of writing strategies between male and female students (p = 0.220, p > 0.05). The results of this study denoted that gender was not the determinant factor influencing students' writing strategies use. Likewise, the results showed consistent findings in the use of writing strategies between second-year and third-year English majors (p = 0.264, p > 0.05). This finding realized that year level did not influence EFL students' use of writing strategies to address their writing problems. The results of this study indicated that the use of EFL students' writing strategies was not varying due to gender and year-level influences. Therefore, it is suggested that English teachers should train and encourage students to use different writing strategies considering learners' levels and interests. Students should also develop awareness of using a variety of writing strategies in the writing process to improve their writing ability and quality.