Abstract: The study involves 299 firstgrade nonEnglish majors.Through questionnaire and analyses，the status quo of the students′ English writing is studied concerning their writing habits，basic understanding，attitudes，writing resources and the demand for teachers′ instruction.The result reveals that students have positive attitude toward and basic concepts of English writing.However students display vague awareness and understanding of discourse and style，and they demonstrate a strong demand for teachers′ instruction.Based on the status quo of the students，supported by Systemic Functional Grammar，suggestions for college English writing teaching are discussed and forwarded from the aspects of teaching contents and methods，textbook complying，and resources utilizing.

Key words: English writing, college English, questionnaire, Systemic Functional Grammar, discourse awareness