Article published in:
Revista Española de Lingüística Aplicada/Spanish Journal of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 31:1 (2018) ► pp. 378–407

Understanding the use of mediational means in academic writing

A case study of a novice EFL academic writer

| Shantou University
| University of Macau
While the majority of previous studies on EAP (English for academic purposes) writing have been devoted to professional or academic writing at a more advanced level (i.e., PhD students and scholars) in ESL contexts, little attention has been paid to the academic writing of master-level novice writers in EFL contexts. From a sociocultural perspective, the present case study examined the writing strategies of a master-level novice writer – Alice in Macau context. Non-structured, semi-structured and text-based interviews were used as the primary source of data, with document analysis used for triangulation. The study identified two major categories (i.e., artifacts and community) and five subcategories of mediational means (i.e., journal articles and theses, languages, online writing materials, peers and experts) as significant in the novice writer’s academic writing activities. It also unveiled double-edged features of mediational means and recognized their interplay with the writer’s goals and relatedness to her situated context.
Keywords: mediational means, writing strategies, sociocultural theory, academic writing
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
  • 3.The study
    • 3.1Research design
    • 3.2Context of the study and the participant
    • 3.3Data collection
    • 3.4Data analysis
  • 4.Findings
    • 4.1English journal articles and theses and online writing resources
    • 4.2Languages
    • 4.3Peers
    • 4.4Supervisors and instructor
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • References
Published online: 27 August 2018
https://doi.org/10.1075/resla.15038.yu
References
Arnó-Macià, E., & Mancho-Barés, G.
(2015) The role of content and language in content and language integrated learning (CLIL) at university: Challenges and implications for ESP. English for Specific Purposes, 371, 63–73. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Ash, D., Rahm, J., & Melber, L. M.
(2012) Putting theory into practice: tools for research in informal settings. The Netherlands: Sense Publishers. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Can, G., & Walker, A.
(2014) Social science doctoral students’ needs and preferences for written feedback. Higher Education, 68(2), 303–318. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Carloni, G.
(2013) Content and Language Integrated Learning: A blended model in higher education. International Journal of Technology, Knowledge & Society, 9(4), 61–71. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Cheng, A.
(2006) Analyzing and enacting academic criticism: The case of an L2 graduate learner of academic writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 15(4), 279–306. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Creswell, J. W.
(2007) Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oak: Sage publications.Google Scholar
Cumming, A.
(1989) Writing expertise and second-language proficiency. Language Learning, 39(1), 81–141. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Davis, M.
(2013) The development of source use by international postgraduate students. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 12(2), 125–135. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Duff, P.
(2008) Case study research in applied linguistics. New York: Taylor & Francis.Google Scholar
Engeström, Y.
(2001) Expansive learning at work: Toward an activity theoretical reconceptualization. Journal of Education and Work, 14(1), 133–156. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(1987) Learning by expanding: an activity-theoretical approach to developmental research. Helsinki: Orienta-Konsultit.Google Scholar
Gao, L.
(2012) Investigating ESL graduate students’ intercultural experiences of academic English writing: A first person narration of a streamlined qualitative study process. The Qualitative Report, 171, 1–25.Google Scholar
Kang, Y. -S., & Pyun, D. O.
(2013) Mediation strategies in L2 writing processes: a case study of two Korean language learners. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 26(1), 52–67. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Kuteeva, M.
(2013) Graduate learners’ approaches to genre-analysis tasks: Variations across and within four disciplines. English for Specific Purposes, 32(2), 84–96. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Kwan, B. S. C.
(2009) Reading in preparation for writing a PhD thesis: Case studies of experiences. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 8(3), 180–191. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2013) Facilitating novice researchers in project publishing during the doctoral years and beyond: a Hong Kong-based study. Studies in Higher Education, 38(2), 207–225. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Lantolf, J. P., & Thorne, S. L.
(2000) Sociocultural theory and second language learning. In J. P. Lantolf (Ed.), Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning (pp. 197–221). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Lavelle, E., & Bushrow, K.
(2007) Writing approaches of graduate students. Educational Psychology, 27(6), 807–822. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Lei, X.
(2008) Exploring a sociocultural approach to writing strategy research: Mediated actions in writing activities. Journal of Second Language Writing, 17(4), 217–236. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2009) Understanding writing strategy use from a sociocultural perspective: a multiple-case study of Chinese EFL learners of different writing abilities. Unpublished doctoral thesis, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Leki, I.
(1995) Coping strategies of ESL students in writing tasks across the curriculum. TESOL quarterly, 29(2), 235–260. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Leont’ev, A. N.
(1981) The problem of activity in psychology. In J. Wertsch (Ed), The concept of activity in Soviet psychology (pp. 37–71). Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.Google Scholar
Li, Y.
(2013) Three ESL students writing a policy paper assignment: An activity-analytic perspective. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 12(2), 73–86. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Li, Y., & Casanave, C. P.
(2012) Two first-year students’ strategies for writing from sources: Patchwriting or plagiarism? Journal of Second Language Writing, 21(2), 165–180. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Manchón, R.
(Ed.) (2009) Writing in foreign language contexts: Learning, teaching, and research (Vol. 431). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Maxwell, J. A.
(2005) Qualitative research design: An interactive approach (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M.
(1994) Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Pecorari, D.
(2003) Good and original: Plagiarism and patchwriting in academic second-language writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 12(4), 317–345. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Phakiti, a., & Li, L.
(2011) General academic difficulties and reading and writing difficulties among Asian ESL postgraduate students in TESOL at an Australian University. RELC Journal, 42 (3), 227–264. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Roca de Larios, J., Murphy, L., & Manchón, R.
(1999) The use of restructuring strategies in EFL writing: A study of Spanish learners of English as a foreign language. Journal of Second Language Writing, 8(1), 13–44. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Sasaki, M.
(2000) Toward an empirical model of EFL writing processes: An exploratory study. Journal of Second Language Writing, 9(3), 259–291. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Swain, M., Kinnear, P., & Steinman, L.
(2011) Sociocultural theory in second language education: An introduction through narratives (Vol. 71). Bristol, UK: Multilingual matters.Google Scholar
Tian, J., & Low, G. D.
(2012) To what extent are postgraduate students from China prepared for academic writing needed on UK master’s courses? Language, Culture and Curriculum, 25(3), 299–319. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Torrance, M., Thomas, G. V., & Robinson, E. J.
(1994) The writing strategies of graduate research students in the social sciences. Higher Education, 27(3), 379–392. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Villamil, O. S., & de Guerrero, M. C. M.
(1996) Peer revision in the L2 classroom: Social-cognitive activities, mediating strategies, and aspects of social behavior. Journal of Second Language Writing, 5(1), 51–75. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Vygotsky, L. S.
(1978) Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Wang, W., & Wen, Q.
(2002) L1 use in the L2 composing process: An exploratory study of 16 Chinese EFL writers. Journal of Second Language Writing, 11(3), 225–246. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Wellington, J.
(2010) More than a matter of cognition: an exploration of affective writing problems of post-graduate students and their possible solutions. Teaching in Higher Education, 15(2), 135–150. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Wertsch, J.
(1991) Voices of the mind. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Yu, S., & Lee, I.
(2013) Understanding supervisors’ commentary practices in doctoral research proposal writing: A Hong Kong study. Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 22(4), 473–483. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2014) An analysis of EFL students’ use of first language in peer feedback of L2 writing. System, 471, 28–38. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2016) Exploring Chinese students’strategy use in a cooperative peer feedback writing group. System, 581, 1–11. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 1 other publications

Spies, Tracy Griffin
2021.  In Handbook of Research on Developing Students’ Scholarly Dispositions in Higher Education [Advances in Higher Education and Professional Development, ], ► pp. 169 ff. Crossref logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 18 april 2022. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.