INDONESIAN JOURNAL OF APPLIED LINGUISTICS Vol. 12 No. 1, May 2022, pp. 16-27 Available online at: https://ejournal.upi.edu/index.php/IJAL/article/view/46428 https://doi.org/10.17509/ijal.v12i1.46428 16 * Corresponding Author Email: annatambunan@unimed.ac.id Investigating EFL students’ linguistic problems using Grammarly as automated writing evaluation feedback Anna Riana Suryanti Tambunan * , Widya Andayani, Winda Setia Sari, and Fauziah Khairani Lubis English department, Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas Negeri Medan, Jl. Willem Iskandar Psr. V. 20221, Medan, Sumatera Utara, Indonesia ABSTRACT A plethora of previous studies has shown that corrective feedback can benefit students to progress in their learning. Due to technological advancement, there is a need to investigate the profile of corrective feedback to students’ writing via automated writing evaluation (AWE), particularly in the Indonesian higher education context. Therefore, this research aims to employ an AWE platform, Grammarly, to investigate the Indonesian English as a foreign language (EFL) students’ writing profiles in spelling, grammar, punctuation, enha ncement suggestion, sentence structure, and style check. This ex post facto study explored the assignment written by 54 fourth-semester English department students enrolled in an academic writing course at an Indonesian university. The students’ writing profiles were classified, identified, and categorized using the Grammarly platform. Descriptive statistics were used to obtain the average, standard deviation, and significant differences according to the writing profiles between male and female students. The result stated that grammar is the major problem possessed by students. Furthermore, teachers are expected to provide online corrective feedback for students in the Academic Writing course learning process. Keywords: Automated writing evaluation; corrective feedback; EFL; Grammarly; writing profile First Received: 24 January 2022 Revised: 25 April 2022 Accepted: 20 May 2022 Final Proof Received: 27 May 2022 Published: 31 May 2022 How to cite (in APA style): Tambunan, A. R. S., Andayani, W., Sari, W. S. & Lubis. F. K. (2022). Investigating EFL students’ linguistic problems using Grammarly as automated writing evaluation feedback . Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 12(1), 16-27. https://doi.org/10.17509/ijal.v12i1.46428 INTRODUCTION Acquainting oneself with unfamiliar higher education academic writing processes is crucial to first-year student success (French, 2018). Despite the importance of academic writing to students, Yorke and Longton (2007) emphasized that a sudden shift toward unfamiliar undergraduate subjects is common. For students who struggle to present their subject-specific understanding, academic writing activities might help them connect the dots (French, 2018). In the first year, many students struggle and often fail to finish projects owing to “weak writing skills.” It seems to happen to students who are admitted to all fields, including the English department students. Grammar (sentence structure), clarity (of each sentence), and consistency (of each sentence) are all areas where teachers may help children who struggle with writing. Thus, one of the most challenging tasks for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) writers is linguistic accuracy (Xie, 2019). To evaluate the students’ linguistic accuracy in essays, university lecturers frequently provide written corrective feedback (WCF) to both disciplinary knowledge and the linguistic, rhetorical, and conventional aspects of writing (Jabulani,