Examining the relationship between the tendency to use metacognitive writing strategies and writing anxiety

The primary aim of this study is to reveal the relationship between middle school students' tendencies to use metacognitive writing strategies and their levels of writing anxiety. The research was designed in accordance with the quantitative research method and conducted using a relational survey model. The study group consisted of 437 middle school students studying at public schools affiliated with the Antalya Provincial Directorate of National Education during the 2024-2025 academic year. Two scales were used as data collection tools to determine students' tendencies to use metacognitive writing strategies and their levels of writing anxiety. The data obtained from the data collection process were analyzed using independent samples t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation analyses after conducting a normality test. The analysis results revealed differences based on gender and grade level. According to the analysis based on the gender variable, a statistically significant difference was found between the groups, indicating that female students had a higher tendency to use metacognitive writing strategies compared to male students. Moreover, male students exhibited significantly higher levels of writing anxiety than female students. In terms of grade level, the analysis showed that 5th-grade students had a significantly higher tendency to use metacognitive strategies compared to 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade students. However, no statistically significant differences were observed among the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. Although there was a trend toward differentiation in writing anxiety across grade levels, this differentiation was not statistically significant in multiple comparisons. As a result of the relational survey, a negative, moderate, and significant correlation was found between students' tendency to use metacognitive writing strategies and their writing anxiety. This suggests that students who use metacognitive strategies more frequently experience lower levels of anxiety during the writing process.