This paper examines the effects of integrating AI writing assistant tools into a university-level EFL composition course on students' writing quality and self-confidence as writers. A quasi-experimental study was conducted with 148 undergraduate students at New Uzbekistan University over 14 weeks. The experimental group (n=74) received instruction that embedded AI writing assistants — used for planning, drafting, and revision — alongside explicit strategy instruction; the control group (n=74) followed a conventional process-writing approach without AI support. Writing quality was assessed using an analytic rubric across four criteria: task achievement, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, and grammatical range and accuracy. Learner confidence was measured using a validated self-efficacy writing scale administered at weeks 1, 7, and 14. Results showed statistically significant advantages for the experimental group across all four writing criteria (p < .05), with the greatest gains observed in coherence and cohesion (Δ = 0.79) and task achievement (Δ = 0.77). The experimental group also demonstrated substantially steeper growth in writing self-efficacy across the semester. Qualitative analysis of learner reflection journals highlighted the particular value of AI-generated structural templates, iterative feedback on draft coherence, and the reduction of "blank page" anxiety at the planning stage. Implications for writing pedagogy and AI tool design are discussed.

AI writing assistant, EFL composition, writing quality

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. Freeman.

Flower, L., & Hayes, J. R. (1981). A cognitive process theory of writing. College Composition and Communication, 32(4), 365–387.

Hyland, K. (2003). Second language writing. Cambridge University Press.

Pajares, F. (2003). Self-efficacy beliefs, motivation, and achievement in writing: A review of the literature. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 19(2), 139–158.

Ranalli, J. (2018). Automated written corrective feedback: How well can students make use of it? ELT Journal, 72(1), 42–51.

Stevenson, M., & Phakiti, A. (2014). The effects of computer-generated feedback on the quality of writing. Assessing Writing, 19, 51–65.