Individual differences matter in foreign language writing. Yet, little information exists on female students in Saudi Arabia, a patriarchal society that is being re-engineered to foster gender equity. This study asked whether particular psychological dispositions can account for the performance in English composition of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and non-STEM Saudi female students (i.e. an understudied population whose first language is Arabic). Examined were dispositions such as anxiety, which was expected to be detrimental to attainment, and self-efficacy and emotional intelligence, which were expected to be beneficial. A sample of 430 Saudi female students for whom English was their second language was surveyed. Students had completed a required English composition course the previous semester. Cluster analysis illustrated three distinct groups of students. Students who did not report anxiety were either STEM or a subsection of non-STEM students. The remaining non-STEM students reported anxiety as well as lower self-efficacy, emotional intelligence, and writing attainment than the other two groups. Findings suggest that, within this particular understudied population, consideration of individual differences can inform the selection of remedies for at-risk students in English composition courses.

中文翻译：

---

外语写作倾向的影响：阿拉伯语-英语学习者的案例

个体差异在外语写作中很重要。然而，关于沙特阿拉伯女学生的信息却很少，沙特阿拉伯是一个正在重新设计以促进性别平等的父权社会。本研究询问特定的心理倾向是否可以解释 STEM（科学、技术、工程和数学）和非 STEM 沙特女学生（即母语为阿拉伯语的待研究群体）英语作文的表现。检查的内容包括焦虑（预计对成就有害）以及自我效能和情商（预计有益）等性格。对 430 名以英语为第二语言的沙特女学生进行了调查。学生上学期已完成必修的英语作文课程。聚类分析说明了三组不同的学生。没有报告焦虑的学生要么是 STEM 学生，要么是一部分非 STEM 学生。与其他两组相比，其余的非 STEM 学生表示焦虑，并且自我效能感、情商和写作成绩较低。研究结果表明，在这个特定的研究对象中，考虑个体差异可以为英语作文课程中高危学生的补救措施的选择提供依据。