Investigating the Difficulties Encountered by EFL University Students in Using Cohesive Devices in Writing at University Level

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating the difficulties encountered by EFL students in using cohesive devices in writing. The researcher adopted descriptive analytical method for data collection. The researcher used test and questionnaire to collect the data of the study. The researcher gave a test to 40 students of second year English major at Al Neelain University Faculty of Arts Department of English Language and 20 English teachers to response the questionnaire. The researcher used SPSS programme to analyze the data, which showed in percentage and numbers of the students. The results obtained confirmed that second year students at Al Neelain University have difficulties in using grammatical and lexical cohesive devices in writing. Moreover, the researcher recommended that , English teachers should encourage the students to use different types of cohesive devices in their writing.