A study investigated the role of writing apprehension in the writing competency and performance of college students. Specifically, the study examined whether high writing apprehensives would perform differently than low apprehensives on standardized tests of writing-related skills and on two different types of essays. Based on the results of a writing apprehension measure, 55 high apprehensive and 55 low apprehensive writers were chosen for the study. In addition to the writing apprehension measure, the students completed eight measures of writing competency and wrote one narrative/descriptive and one argumentative essay (in which they were not allowed to use personal experiences). The results revealed that high writing apprehensives scored lower than low apprehensives on tests of writing-related skills for all but two measures. The measures showing a significant effect for apprehension were two assessments of general verbal ability, a measure of reading comprehension, and two objective tests of writing ability. The high apprehensives also produced essays that were significantly shorter and less syntactically mature than did low apprehensives. However, differences in indices measuring syntactic development and in judgment of writing quality were observed only in the narrative/descriptive essays, not in the argumentative ones--suggesting that high apprehensive writers may be more anxious about expressing themselves than about arguing for a particular viewpoint. (FL)