English Department Writing Team
The English Department Writing Team brings together outstanding undergraduate students from across Alfaisal University to develop their academic writing, critical reading, and argumentation skills and to represent the university in interuniversity writing competition.
The interuniversity writing competition was inaugurated by Prince Sultan University (PSU) in 2024, with PSU hosting the first two competitions during the 2024–2025 and 2025–2026 academic years. The competition brings together undergraduate teams from universities across Riyadh for a two-hour academic writing challenge. Students are given a topic at the start of the writing session, along with four articles that they must read, analyze, and draw upon to produce an 800–1,200-word academic argumentative essay without access to the internet.
Since the competition’s inaugural year, Alfaisal’s Writing Team has established a strong record, winning first place in 2025 and placing third in 2026.
Students are selected for the Writing Team through a competitive process of faculty nominations and student applications. Selected students train throughout the academic year with faculty writing coaches and their fellow team members in preparation for interuniversity competition.
The Writing Team extends the English Department’s commitment to developing dynamic critical thinkers and effective communicators beyond the classroom. Through collaborative training, students sharpen their ability to read critically, synthesize sources, develop independent arguments, and communicate with clarity and purpose. The competition puts these capacities to the test, challenging students to think and write independently under demanding conditions. Such capacities are increasingly vital in the age of artificial intelligence, enabling students to use emerging technologies to extend rather than substitute their own reasoning and judgment.
Together, the training and competition cultivate intellectual and communication skills essential to academic achievement, professional leadership, and meaningful participation in an increasingly complex and technologically driven world.
