THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN ACADEMIC ESSAY WRITING AND CRITICAL READING AMONG UZBEK EFL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
Keywords:
Uzbek EFL students, academic writing, academic literacy, the relationship between reading and writing and critical thinking.Abstract
For Uzbek university students studying English as a second language academic writing continues to be one of the most challenging abilities. Despite reading academic texts in English on a regular basis many students find it difficult to formulate cogent arguments, incorporate sources and articulate critical opinions in their writing. This implies that students' ability to read texts critically may be a problem in addition to their language skills.
This study examines how academic essay writing performance among EFL university students in Uzbekistan is related to critical reading abilities. A quantitative correlational research design was used to gather information from sixty undergraduate students in their second and third years at a public university. In addition to writing an argumentative essay that required the use of source material participants finished a critical reading test based on academic texts. An analytical academic writing rubric was used to evaluate the essays and the relationship between the two variables was examined using Pearson's correlation coefficient.
The quality of students' academic writing is strongly positively correlated with their critical reading skills according to the findings. Essays written by students who were more adept at identifying arguments, assessing supporting data and identifying author perspectives were more analytically developed, coherent and well-supported. These results support the idea that critical reading is a crucial cognitive basis for successful academic writing in EFL settings.
The study emphasizes the necessity of incorporating critical reading instruction into academic writing courses at Uzbek universities in order to raise students' writing proficiency and academic literacy.
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