Title: The Impact of Writing Conferences on Academic Writing Motivation: A Longitudinal Study of Ethiopian EFL Learners

AbstractThis longitudinal study investigates the impact of structured writing conferences on the academic writing motivation (AWM) of undergraduate English majors in Ethiopia. Utilising a single-group time-series design (N=47), data were collected at four intervals via a validated questionnaire and focus group discussions. Results indicated a significant motivational gain from pre-test (M = 2.53) to post-test (M = 3.84), with an exceptionally large effect size (d = 8.43, p < .001). A distinct hierarchy of impact emerged, where writing apprehension reduction (d = 8.11) served as the primary catalyst for subsequent gains in goal orientation, self-regulation, and self-efficacy. Repeated Measures ANCOVA revealed a significant time x baseline interaction (p = .006), identifying the intervention as a "psychological leveller" that disproportionately benefitted students with the lowest initial motivation. Qualitative themes corroborated these shifts, highlighting a transition from evaluation-based fear to proactive learner agency. The study proposes a hierarchical dual-mechanism model, suggesting that in resource-constrained EFL settings, dialogic scaffolding must first mitigate affective deficits before building cognitive capacity.