Stance toward Writing and Academic Accultura-tion: An Analysis of the Difficulties Encountered by First-Year Students in MoroccoStance toward Writing and Academic Accultura-tion: An Analysis of the Difficulties Encountered by First-Year Students in Morocco

This article examines the role of students’ stance toward writing in the process of academic acculturation among first-year entrants in Morocco. Based on a questionnaire administered to 200 undergraduate students, the study highlights the main challenges they face in appropriating academic writing. The findings reveal three main types of obstacles: linguistic (mastery of academic vocabulary and appropriate register), methodological (structuring, problematization, and argumentation), and affective (writing apprehension and lack of self-confidence). Writing thus emerges as an ambivalent practice: it serves both as an essential tool for learning and as a source of anxiety for many students. The analysis also shows that numerous first-year students resort to coping strategies such as translation, imitation, or peer support, which do not always lead to a genuine appropriation of academic genres. In conclusion, the article proposes pedagogical recommendations centered on explicit and progressive writing support in order to strengthen both the academic and identity integration of students within the university.