INVESTIGATING COLLEGE STUDENTS' METACOGNITIVE AWARENESS IN ENHANCING ESP WRITING PROFICIENCY

Abstract

This study investigated levels of metacognitive awareness among Saudi Arabian applied college students, focusing on the impact of gender and academic majors on their writing skills. A total of 90 participants from Information Technology (IT) and Supply Chain Management majors were recruited, and data were collected through the Metacognitive Awareness of Writing Questionnaire (MAWQ). Results showed that participants had a moderate level of knowledge of cognition related to writing skills and a relatively high degree of regulation of cognition when it came to writing. Female students demonstrated higher metacognitive awareness than males, and IT students had higher mean scores on both "knowledge of cognition" and "regulation of cognition" than Supply Chain Management students. These findings have implications for educators and policymakers seeking to promote academic success and metacognitive awareness among college students, especially in terms of developing targeted interventions to improve writing skills.