La Academic writing: perceptions and evaluation of students from a Chilean university

Abstract

Abstract: Writing is considered a complex activity, as it involves cognitive, social, psychological and emotional processes (Aguirre, 2023). The objective of the study is to establish an overview of the incoming writing skills of freshmen students of three careers in a Chilean public university. The methodology is qualitative, exploratory, descriptive-correlational, cross-sectional, non-experimental, through two instruments: a perception questionnaire on writing practices and a diagnostic test. With these inputs it is possible to scaffold a set of Academic Literacy (AL) strategies (Navarro, 2021). The results indicate that half of the students perceive themselves prepared to write a text in college, while the other half are not. It also reveals a lack of knowledge and little mastery of the written production process. The assessment results show a basic beginner and basic intermediate type of writer. This information makes it feasible to propose an adequate pedagogical-didactic strategy. Keywords: academic literacy, academic writing, writer profile, perceptions.