EFL STUDENTS' DIFFICULTIES AND STRATEGIES IN WRITING RESEARCH PROPOSALS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MUHAMMADIYAH MALANG

This qualitative phenomenological study explores the difficulties and strategies experienced by EFL graduate students in writing research proposals at Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang. Eight students were selected purposively, and data were collected through interviews and document analysis. The study identified six primary difficulties: (1) formulating a clear and relevant research title, (2) finding appropriate references to support the theoretical framework, (3) conducting and organizing literature reviews, (4) identifying research gaps and explaining originality, (5) selecting the appropriate methodology and validating instruments, and (6) organizing structure, coherence, and paraphrasing. To address these challenges, students employed six strategies: (1) reading a lot of references to strengthen content and ideas, (2) consulting supervisors for academic feedback, (3) using online tools to access current literature, (4) referring to approved proposals as models, (5) applying writing templates, and (6) seeking academic support from peers and family. These strategies were found helpful in enhancing students’ academic writing performance and proposal completion. The study provides insight for educators to improve supervision and academic writing support in EFL contexts.