EXPLORING THE COLLABORATIVE WRITING CHALLENGES OF STUDENTS IN THE ACADEMIC WRITING CLASS

Abstrak

This study investigates the challenges faced by fifth-semester students at Politeknik Tonggak Equator (Polteq) in implementing collaborative writing within their Academic Writing class. Although collaborative writing has been widely acknowledged as a powerful pedagogical strategy that enhances language learning, student engagement, and critical thinking, it often presents significant difficulties in practice. Based on Chisholm’s framework, this research categorizes the main challenges into four themes: resistance, inexperience, friction, and fairness. A descriptive qualitative method was employed involving 16 student participants through interviews and questionnaires. The findings revealed that all four challenges were present, but fairness was the most dominant concern, as many students perceived unequal participation and grading in group work. Inexperience and interpersonal friction further complicated the collaborative process, while resistance was typically tied to students’ preference for individual work and previous negative experiences. Despite these barriers, students recognized the potential benefits of collaborative writing when properly facilitated. The study concludes that successful collaborative writing in EFL settings requires structured preparation, role clarity, peer assessment, and instructor support. Practical recommendations are offered to help educators design more effective collaborative writing tasks that foster both language development and group accountability. This research contributes to the pedagogical discourse on collaborative writing and offers insights for improving group-based writing activities in tertiary education.