Abstrak
ASYIFA NURUL AMELIA, Student ID 22 301 040 04, entitled: “STUDENTS’ CHALLENGES IN WRITING EXPOSITORY TEXT: A STUDY OF THE THIRD-SEMESTER OF ENGLISH TEACHING DEPARTMENT AT UIN MAHMUD YUNUS BATUSANGKAR.” English Teaching Department, Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teacher Training, State Islamic University (UIN) Mahmud Yunus Batusangkar. Writing is one of the most important skills in English language learning. Among various types of writing, expository writing is often considered challenging because it requires students to present ideas logically, support arguments with factual evidence, and maintain coherence throughout the text. This study aimed to explore the challenges experienced by third-semester students of the English Teaching Department at UIN Mahmud Yunus Batusangkar in writing expository texts. This study employed a qualitative research design with a phenomenological approach to understand the lived experiences of students in writing expository texts. The participants consisted of eight third-semester students selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and analyzed using Miles and Huberman to identify recurring patterns and themes related to students’ writing challenges. The findings revealed seven major challenges encountered by the participants in writing expository texts. These challenges included the complexity of expository writing, logical organization, grammatical challenges, challenges in maintaining objectivity, spelling challenges, challenges in idea development and challenges in organizing text structure. The findings indicated that students struggled not only with linguistic aspects such as grammar and vocabulary but also with higher-order writing skills, including critical thinking, idea organization, and argument development. These challenges often affected students’ confidence and ability to produce effective expository texts.