Just over half of the participants indicated that they did not enjoy writing the essay. These students included both English first-language (EFL) and EAL speakers, although the majority were EAL speakers. These findings indicate that writing at university level is a specialised form of language use (Archer 2010) that can be challenging for both EFL and EAL speakers, suggesting that both groups require guidance in writing (Wingate 2015). The fact that more than half of the students did not enjoy writing the argumentative essay is of concern, as enjoyment – which may be described as the positive feelings experienced when completing a task – is an important emotion that can encourage students to engage more actively in a task (Derakhshan & Yin 2024). Furthermore, enjoyment of a task is often associated with stronger performance. Students’ reasons for not enjoying the task are discussed in the next section on challenges because of the overlap in themes.

The two main themes relating to students’ enjoyment were the relevance of the topic and the development of literacy practices learnt in the course.

Topic relevance: Some students’ enjoyment of the task was enhanced by their positive engagement with the topic, as reflected in the comment below:

Linnenbrink and Pintrich (2003) argue that when students perceive a task as meaningful, valuable, and interesting, it is more likely to evoke positive emotions, which may in turn positively influence their overall performance.

Development of literacy practices: These practices included critical thinking, and analytical and writing skills as reflected in the following comments:

According to Beniche, Larouz and Anasse (2021), students who are able to think critically are better positioned to present their ideas logically and are more likely to avoid emotional responses and prejudice when supporting their stance.

Students’ overall engagement with the material appeared to be relatively positive. They reported that the lectures were easy to follow, largely because the slides were detailed and clear, numerous examples were provided, explanations were thorough, and the teaching was clear. These factors may have contributed positively to students’ motivation. Almost all students indicated that they made use of the resources available on the course site. However, some students described the resources as being difficult, which may have affected their engagement with the task.

Additionally, the topic appeared to evoke emotional responses among some students, as they perceived it to be sensitive and controversial. Sensitive topics may affect students on a personal level, resulting in discomfort that can potentially stifle critical engagement rather than promote it (Mendelowitz 2003).

Some students experienced the topic as confusing and difficult to understand, as reflected in the following comments:

Understanding the topic is the first and most important step in the writing process, as failure to interpret an essay question correctly often leads to the inclusion of irrelevant information as well as difficulties in mastering the writing skills required in relation to the topic (Mdodana-Zide & Mafugu 2023). Although many factors may contribute to students’ poor writing skills – for instance, inadequate preparedness for the transition to university, language proficiency challenges, and unfamiliarity with university literacy practices and disciplinary conventions (Mudau et al. 2025) – Wingate (2015) stresses the importance of providing students with explicit guidance throughout the essay-writing process, including during the planning stage, which focuses on identifying and understanding the key words relating to the topic.

As discussed earlier, in the AL module the topic was first unpacked during a lecture, after which students brainstormed the topic with a seated partner. However, this approach may present challenges if both students have limited insight into the topic. Hence, group brainstorming is recommended (Dornbrack & Dixon 2014), as there is a greater likelihood that at least one student in the group may possess some knowledge of the topic. Additionally, Dornbrack and Dixon (2014) argue that individual brainstorming alone is insufficient, as students’ own knowledge or understanding of the topic may be flawed or inaccurate. The effectiveness of group brainstorming is further emphasised by Rao (2007), who found that the quality of students’ writing improved when they were first given time to think independently about the topic and generate ideas, then worked in pairs to share those ideas, followed by a class brainstorming session. Dornbrack and Dixon (2014) and Rao (2007) suggest that brainstorming should be explicitly taught to students.

In the AL module, while the concept of brainstorming was briefly explained to students, greater emphasis on the process may have enhanced students’ engagement with the task making it less challenging. Furthermore, although students were encouraged to read the text provided to them on social justice in schools, an ideal starting point may have been a discussion of the text itself. This would have given students who lacked background knowledge or awareness of social justice an opportunity to engage more fully with the topic and gain a better understanding of the essay question, which may in turn have resulted in a more productive brainstorming session.

Students’ previous educational experiences may have had a significant influence on their writing proficiency, as reflected in the following comments:

Similar findings were reported by Mudau et al. (2025), who assessed first-year students’ perceptions of the factors affecting their academic writing. Mudau et al. (2025) highlight the varying levels of writing preparation across different high schools in South Africa. They argue that students from schools where the emphasis was primarily on rote learning, examinations, and group work often find the transition to university writing requirements significantly more difficult. In contrast, students who had received effective writing instruction at high school level felt better equipped to deal with writing tasks at university-level. This is evident in the following comment:

It is possible that Lindt’s strong schooling foundation helped to ease her transition to university writing. Additionally, the support provided within the AL module may have further assisted her in adapting to the required writing conventions. However, in cases where students had not previously been exposed to different writing genres, the support offered in the module may not have been sufficient. This possibly suggests the need for greater emphasis on the initial stages of the writing process, such as the planning and brainstorming phases as discussed earlier. Furthermore, the use of sample essays or exemplars has been found to be useful in demonstrating quality and developing students’ understanding of what constitutes good work (Sin 2019).

The topic of social justice evoked tension and discomfort among some students, as illustrated in the following comment:

Mendelowitz (2003) argues that the writer’s identity plays an important role in the way texts are produced. Furthermore, students need to feel empowered to adopt positions with authority and confidence (Mendelowitz 2003). While some students, such as Takumi iko, appeared comfortable with the topic and were able to draw from their own experiences, Ezekiel, on the other hand, felt uncomfortable expressing views that she believed might offend others.

Research studies (Dustin, Schmalz & Allen 2022; Millner 2023; Zembylas 2017) argue that discomfort in the classroom should be embraced. While it is important for teachers to create a ‘safe’ classroom environment, this does not mean that the classroom should be entirely free from discomfort. Boler (1999:176) argues that students should be encouraged to move ‘outside their comfort zones’ and to question their ‘beliefs and assumptions’, which, according to Zembylas (2017), may lead to shifts in thinking and possibly even social transformation.

Within this theme, two sub-categories emerged, namely writing a claim and sub-claims, and providing counter-arguments, as illustrated in the following comments:

These comments reflect the difficulty some students experienced in positioning themselves within the argument, identifying points to support their stance, and simultaneously considering possible counter-arguments – all of which are key and interrelated components of an argumentative essay. For example, failure to adopt a clear position can negatively affect students’ ability to develop rebuttals, which require a basic understanding of position-taking (Kleemola et al. 2022). Similarly, students’ limited knowledge of the topic may prevent them from adequately analysing and evaluating information, resulting in difficulties in identifying conflicting viewpoints (Wingate 2012).

Additionally, students are expected to establish a position, which requires them to express a voice and adopt a stance. These are less obvious features of academic writing and are often not made explicit to students. Furthermore, once students have established a position, they are expected to present it coherently and logically. These aspects of developing an argument pose considerable challenges for students.

To assist students in overcoming some of these difficulties, Wingate (2012) suggests that writing instruction should focus on the importance of developing an argument by establishing one’s own position – which lies at the core of argumentation – rather than focusing solely on linguistic or ‘surface’ features. Students should also be made aware of how features such as structure and style contribute to the development of an argument. In addition, Wingate (2012) highlights the value of exemplars in providing students with an authentic understanding of the expected standards. Finally, Dang et al. (2020) concur that it is not uncommon for students to experience challenges with structure, as well as with generating and developing ideas logically, as these tasks require strong research skills, which students in the current study also identified as challenging.

These challenges related to the availability of information, difficulties in finding relevant information, and difficulties in distinguishing relevant from irrelevant information, as illustrated in the following comments:

From these comments, it appears that some students may not have known how to conduct research and were therefore unable to locate relevant information, while others may not have known how to use information effectively in a presentable manner. Alternatively, they may have struggled to comprehend the information because of inadequate reading skills. Similar findings were reported by Pineteh (2014) in a study on the academic writing challenges of undergraduate students. Pineteh (2014) found that students displayed poor research skills and experienced difficulties in reading, interpreting, and synthesising information from different sources. As a result, they had limited ideas about the topic and were unable to provide sufficient evidence in support of their views, leading to unsubstantiated claims.

It is well established that both reading and writing are essential to argumentation (Newell et al. 2011). Possessing the necessary background knowledge on a topic, acquired through reading, is critical if students are to express and support their claims effectively (Dang et al. 2020). These factors may therefore help to explain why students experienced difficulties with the structure of the essay. In light of this, it becomes essential to provide sustained reading support and to embed information literacy more explicitly within the AL course.

A few students indicated that they did not experience any difficulties when writing the introduction and/or conclusion, as reflected in the following comments:

This may be because the introduction typically involves summarising the topic and stating the aim of the essay, while the conclusion generally requires a summary or reflection on the essay. These are often regarded as lower-order skills (Anderson & Krathwohl 2001) or more familiar AL practices (Lea & Street 1998).

Interestingly, the students who reported that they found the structure of the essay least challenging were mostly EAL speakers. This may be because they attended schools in which English had long been established as the language of learning and teaching; however, this could not be confirmed. This is evident in statements such as:

Pre-writing support includes the guidance and resources made available to students before they begin writing and should be provided in a scaffolded manner. An important part of this process includes, among other aspects, unpacking the essay question, identifying key concepts, and clarifying the expectations of the task to enhance students’ understanding of both the task and/or the topic. Dornbrack and Dixon (2014) suggest brainstorming as a means of improving understanding of the topic. While brainstorming and mind mapping formed part of the pre-writing stages in the AL course, the responses of Barbie and Ntosh suggest that greater attention should be given to these stages.

Buehl (2011) proposes collaborative brainstorming, which allows students to recognise the limitations of their own thinking and learn from one another simply through the sharing of ideas. As such, creating spaces for dialogue and discussion throughout the argumentative-writing process is important, especially for EAL students. Such oral-language opportunities can support students in managing the complexities of academic writing (Hadaway & Young 2006). These steps, together with unpacking the essay topic, including, for example, explanations of key words or phrases (Wingate 2015), are crucial in helping students begin the writing process and better meet the required expectations. They may also contribute to building students’ self-confidence.

While the methods discussed above may help students identify gaps in their knowledge and develop a clearer understanding of the topic, students are still required to write their essays according to the appropriate academic conventions for constructing a claim, sub-claims, and counter-arguments. These tasks require more sophisticated linguistic skills, with which many students in the module reported difficulty.

Wingate (2012) suggests that, in order to model writing effectively, a research text and/or exemplar on the topic could be used to demonstrate different arguments, evidence, counter-arguments, as well as the appropriate register and discourse markers. Modelling both content and form is especially important for EAL speakers, as it helps them acquire the language of argumentation and develop as academic writers. Since not all students may have exposure to academically informed discussions or come from communities that engage in the forms of argumentation expected in higher education, reading for writing becomes essential (Buehl 2011).

Students should be able to conduct research, distinguish relevant from irrelevant information, and synthesise information from different sources. These are skills with which students often struggle (Pineteh 2014), and similar challenges were expressed by participants in the AL course. Embedding information literacy within the course may therefore provide a more intentional way of developing students’ research skills. Information-literacy skills ‘enable students to become research-oriented, hold critical approaches to knowledge, be critical thinkers, consider things from different perspectives, develop their own ideas and defend and share these in an ethical manner’ (Bharuthram, Mohamed & Louw 2019). Closely related to researching and writing, is reading (Shanahan 2016). Reading skills and strategies should therefore also be integrated throughout the course, as good reading skills will enable students to engage more critically with the information they encounter in their research.