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Abstract
A major challenge for second language learners on academic programmes is how they develop their writing abilities. This study uses the framework of process writing (Flower & Hayes, 1981; Hayes, 2012) and an autoethnographic research design data construction (Starfield, 2020; Yazan et al., 2020) to explore how one-second language learner changed how they planned their assignments and responded to feedback from their tutors on a one-year MA programme. Working with a critical friend, the author-researcher draws on six data sets: assignment briefs, guidance provided by lecturers, the author/researcher’s outlines/plans for the assignments with comments from lecturers, notes on journal articles and textbooks, feedback from lecturers and personal reflections on the writing process. The author/researcher’s development became more sophisticated in locating/ using sources and structuring her writing with language feedback impacting writing strategies rather than language knowledge. Her writing development was influenced by contextual features, particularly non-academic factors that limited the time she had for writing, and the structure of the assessment on her programme scaffolded her writing in terms of increasing the length of assignments and the use of the author/researcher’s own experience.
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References
- Abdel Latif, M. M. M. (2021). Remodeling writers’ composing processes: Implications for writing assessment. Assessing writing, 50, 100547. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asw.2021.100547
- Anderson, L. (2006). Analytic Autoethnography. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 35(4), 373-395. https://doi.org/doi:10.1177/0891241605280449
- Badger, R. (2018). From Input to Intake: Researching Learner Cognition. TESOL Quarterly, 52(4), 1073- 1085. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.448
- Badger, R. G., & White, G. (2000). A process genre approach to teaching writing. ELT Journal, 54(2), 153-160.
- Botelho de Magalhães, M., Cotterall, S., & Mideros, D. (2019). Identity, voice and agency in two EAL doctoral writing contexts. Journal of Second Language Writing, 43, 4-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2018.05.001
- Flower, L., & Hayes, J. R. (1981). A Cognitive Process Theory of Writing. College Composition and Communication, 32(4), 365-387. https://doi.org/10.2307/356600
- Flower, L., Hayes, J. R., Schriver, K. A., Haas, C., & Carey, L. (1989). Planning in Writing: The Cognition of a Constructive Process. In P. A. Carnegie-Mellon Univ Pittsburgh (Ed.).
- Green, S. (2013). Novice ESL writers: A longitudinal case-study of the situated academic writing processes of three undergraduates in a TESOL context. Journal of English for academic purposes, 12(3), 180-191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2013.04.001
- Han, Y., & Hyland, F. (2015). Exploring learner engagement with written corrective feedback in a Chinese tertiary EFL classroom [Article]. Journal of Second Language Writing, 30, 31-44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2015.08.002
- Hayes, J. R. (2012). Modeling and Remodeling Writing. Written communication, 29(3), 369-388. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741088312451260
- Hoey, M. (1991). Patterns of Lexis in Text. Oxford University Press.
- Hyland, K., & Hyland, F. (2006). Feedback on second language students' writing. Language Teaching, 39(02), 83-101. https://doi.org/doi:10.1017/S0261444806003399
- Leki, I. (2003). Living through College Literacy: Nursing in a Second Language. Written Communication, 20(1), 81-98. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741088303253571
- Leki, I. (2006). Negotiating socioacademic relations: English learners' reception by and reaction to college faculty. Journal of English for academic purposes, 5(2), 136-152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2006.03.003
- Leki, I. (2007). Undergraduates in a second language: challenges and complexities of academic literacy development. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
- Li, B., Jiang, W., & Chakma, U. (2023). Negotiating identities in western academia: an autoethnographic study of international doctoral students in Australia. Higher education research and development, 42(4), 888-902. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2022.2082388
- Limpo, T., & Alves, R. (2018). Effects of planning strategies on writing dynamics and final texts. Acta Psychologica, 188, 97.
- Liu, Q., & Brown, D. (2015). Methodological synthesis of research on the effectiveness of corrective feedback in L2 writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 30, 66-81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2015.08.011
- McIlveen, P. (2008). Autoethnography as a method for reflexive research and practice in vocational psychology. Australian Journal of Career Development, 17(2), 13-20. https://doi.org/10.1177/103841620801700204
- Myhill, D. (2005). Testing times: the impact of prior knowledge on written genres produced in examination settings. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 12(3), 289-300. https://doi.org/10.1080/09695940500337256
- Pennington-Russell, J., & Hughes, S. A. (2017). Autoethnography: Process, Product, and Possibility for Critical Social Research. Sage.
- Robinson, P. C. (1988). Academic writing : process and product. Modern English Publications in association with the British Council.
- Sasaki, M. (2000). Toward an Empirical Model of EFL Writing Processes: An Exploratory Study. Journal of Second Language Writing, 9(3), 259-291. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1060-3743(00)00028-X
- Schmidt, R. W. (1990). The Role of Consciousness in Second Language Learning. Applied Linguistics, 11(2), 129-158. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/11.2.129
- Skyrme, G. (2018). Learning to write in the university after the writing course is over: what helps second language writers? Higher education research and development, 37(6), 1274-1286. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2018.1477741
- Soden, W. (2013). The Role of Written Feedback in the Development of Critical Academic Writing: A Study of the Feedback Experience of International Students in Taught Master’s Programmes University of York.
- Spack, R. (1997). The Acquisition of Academic Literacy in a Second Language: A Longitudinal Case Study. Written communication, 14(1), 3-62. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741088397014001001
- Stanley, P. (2020). Critical autoethnography and intercultural learning : emerging voices. Routledge.
- Starfield, S. (2020). Autoethnography and critical ethnography. In J. McKinley & H. Rose (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of research methods in applied linguistics (pp. 165-175). Routledge.
- Truscott, J. (2015). Consciousness and second language learning (Vol. 83). Multilingual Matters.
- Truscott, J., & Hsu, A. Y.-p. (2008). Error correction, revision, and learning. Journal of Second Language Writing, 17(4), 292-305.
- Tusting, K., McCulloch, S., Bhatt, I., Hamilton, M., & Barton, D. (2019). Academics Writing: the Dynamics of Knowledge Creation. Routledge.
- Wette, R. (2010). Evaluating student learning in a university-level EAP unit on writing using sources. Journal of Second Language Writing, 19(3), 158-177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2010.06.002
- Wilson, E., & Post, J. (2019). Toward critical engagement: affect and action in student interactions with instructor feedback. University of Michigan Press.
- Yazan, B., Canagarajah, A. S., & Jain, R. (2020). Autoethnographies in ELT: transnational identities, pedagogies, and practices. Routledge.
References
Abdel Latif, M. M. M. (2021). Remodeling writers’ composing processes: Implications for writing assessment. Assessing writing, 50, 100547. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asw.2021.100547
Anderson, L. (2006). Analytic Autoethnography. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 35(4), 373-395. https://doi.org/doi:10.1177/0891241605280449
Badger, R. (2018). From Input to Intake: Researching Learner Cognition. TESOL Quarterly, 52(4), 1073- 1085. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.448
Badger, R. G., & White, G. (2000). A process genre approach to teaching writing. ELT Journal, 54(2), 153-160.
Botelho de Magalhães, M., Cotterall, S., & Mideros, D. (2019). Identity, voice and agency in two EAL doctoral writing contexts. Journal of Second Language Writing, 43, 4-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2018.05.001
Flower, L., & Hayes, J. R. (1981). A Cognitive Process Theory of Writing. College Composition and Communication, 32(4), 365-387. https://doi.org/10.2307/356600
Flower, L., Hayes, J. R., Schriver, K. A., Haas, C., & Carey, L. (1989). Planning in Writing: The Cognition of a Constructive Process. In P. A. Carnegie-Mellon Univ Pittsburgh (Ed.).
Green, S. (2013). Novice ESL writers: A longitudinal case-study of the situated academic writing processes of three undergraduates in a TESOL context. Journal of English for academic purposes, 12(3), 180-191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2013.04.001
Han, Y., & Hyland, F. (2015). Exploring learner engagement with written corrective feedback in a Chinese tertiary EFL classroom [Article]. Journal of Second Language Writing, 30, 31-44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2015.08.002
Hayes, J. R. (2012). Modeling and Remodeling Writing. Written communication, 29(3), 369-388. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741088312451260
Hoey, M. (1991). Patterns of Lexis in Text. Oxford University Press.
Hyland, K., & Hyland, F. (2006). Feedback on second language students' writing. Language Teaching, 39(02), 83-101. https://doi.org/doi:10.1017/S0261444806003399
Leki, I. (2003). Living through College Literacy: Nursing in a Second Language. Written Communication, 20(1), 81-98. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741088303253571
Leki, I. (2006). Negotiating socioacademic relations: English learners' reception by and reaction to college faculty. Journal of English for academic purposes, 5(2), 136-152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2006.03.003
Leki, I. (2007). Undergraduates in a second language: challenges and complexities of academic literacy development. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Li, B., Jiang, W., & Chakma, U. (2023). Negotiating identities in western academia: an autoethnographic study of international doctoral students in Australia. Higher education research and development, 42(4), 888-902. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2022.2082388
Limpo, T., & Alves, R. (2018). Effects of planning strategies on writing dynamics and final texts. Acta Psychologica, 188, 97.
Liu, Q., & Brown, D. (2015). Methodological synthesis of research on the effectiveness of corrective feedback in L2 writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 30, 66-81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2015.08.011
McIlveen, P. (2008). Autoethnography as a method for reflexive research and practice in vocational psychology. Australian Journal of Career Development, 17(2), 13-20. https://doi.org/10.1177/103841620801700204
Myhill, D. (2005). Testing times: the impact of prior knowledge on written genres produced in examination settings. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 12(3), 289-300. https://doi.org/10.1080/09695940500337256
Pennington-Russell, J., & Hughes, S. A. (2017). Autoethnography: Process, Product, and Possibility for Critical Social Research. Sage.
Robinson, P. C. (1988). Academic writing : process and product. Modern English Publications in association with the British Council.
Sasaki, M. (2000). Toward an Empirical Model of EFL Writing Processes: An Exploratory Study. Journal of Second Language Writing, 9(3), 259-291. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1060-3743(00)00028-X
Schmidt, R. W. (1990). The Role of Consciousness in Second Language Learning. Applied Linguistics, 11(2), 129-158. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/11.2.129
Skyrme, G. (2018). Learning to write in the university after the writing course is over: what helps second language writers? Higher education research and development, 37(6), 1274-1286. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2018.1477741
Soden, W. (2013). The Role of Written Feedback in the Development of Critical Academic Writing: A Study of the Feedback Experience of International Students in Taught Master’s Programmes University of York.
Spack, R. (1997). The Acquisition of Academic Literacy in a Second Language: A Longitudinal Case Study. Written communication, 14(1), 3-62. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741088397014001001
Stanley, P. (2020). Critical autoethnography and intercultural learning : emerging voices. Routledge.
Starfield, S. (2020). Autoethnography and critical ethnography. In J. McKinley & H. Rose (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of research methods in applied linguistics (pp. 165-175). Routledge.
Truscott, J. (2015). Consciousness and second language learning (Vol. 83). Multilingual Matters.
Truscott, J., & Hsu, A. Y.-p. (2008). Error correction, revision, and learning. Journal of Second Language Writing, 17(4), 292-305.
Tusting, K., McCulloch, S., Bhatt, I., Hamilton, M., & Barton, D. (2019). Academics Writing: the Dynamics of Knowledge Creation. Routledge.
Wette, R. (2010). Evaluating student learning in a university-level EAP unit on writing using sources. Journal of Second Language Writing, 19(3), 158-177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2010.06.002
Wilson, E., & Post, J. (2019). Toward critical engagement: affect and action in student interactions with instructor feedback. University of Michigan Press.
Yazan, B., Canagarajah, A. S., & Jain, R. (2020). Autoethnographies in ELT: transnational identities, pedagogies, and practices. Routledge.