L2 Writing: A Luxury?

Writing remains to be a cornerstone for all EFL learners particularly Iranian university students of English-related fields (IUSEF). This deficiency in writing becomes even more magnified when they are asked to prepare outlines and summaries on class lectures and/or when they have to take essay-type tests on courses such as linguistics or poetry. The curriculum of these English-related fields provides three separate courses of "advanced writing", "letter writing", and "essay writing"; nevertheless, even seniors seem to be caught in the different ends of the maze of English writing. This paper will reappraise the nature of writing, its kinds, and the skills that IUSEF need in order to meet their short-term and long-term ,vriting objectives. It will also elaborate on teaching techniques based on pair and teamwork. Finally, emphasizing the use of LI for low proficient writers, the paper will introduce some productive learning strategies that students should be taught and encouraged to use in planning, drafting, and editing their writing.