ESL and EFL writers encounter all sorts of writing difficulties, also known as rhetorical problems and these are encountered each time a writer embarks on a writing task. It is vital to further understand how ESL writers perceive these rhetorical problems because each writer may respond differently to these problems. The study sought to explore the perception of learners on rhetorical problems in writing and the writing process. In addition, the study also sought to identify the relationship between rhetorical problems and the writing process. The data was collected through the administration of a 5 Likert-scale quantitative survey and is rooted from Flower & Hayes (1980) and Petric & Czalf’s (2003). The survey includes four sections namely ‘writing difficulty’, ‘before writing’, ‘while writing’ and ‘when revising’. 125 of ESL learners from three public universities responded to this survey. The study found out that majority of the respondents agreed that writing is difficult due to the needs of long-term
memory usage. Most respondents also prefer to revise the requirements of the task before writing and write the introduction first before continuing to complete the task during ‘when writing stage’. Checking their essay for task fulfilment is the most preferred strategy when revising their writing task. On one hand, correlation analysis indicates that there is a low significant correlation between rhetorical problems and translating. The correlation analysis also shows a strong positive relationship between translating and reviewing. Overall, findings suggest that university students are mainly concerned with the task fulfilment and this is continuously reflected in their choice of writing strategies. Future research should look at how learners gain their background knowledge and the sources of information they prefer. In conclusion, the teaching and learning of writing should also incorporate the latest technology in order to capture learners’ attention and boost their motivation.
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