Cognitive Writing Strategies of English as Second Language Students in Higher Education: A Sociocultural Perspective

摘要

This study examined the cognitive strategies used in academic writing by ESL students in relation to their participation in the community of academic writing in higher education. This study was based on sociocultural theory and concept of community of practice. 80 students from a localpublic university were the sample for this study. The instrument used to collect data was a questionnaire which looked into cognitive strategies students used in academic writing. The results showed that the cognitive strategies used more by the students in academic writing were those relatedto information for writing while those that were lesser used were related to revising. There were also different emphasis of use for different speculations within the same cognitive strategies. The results indicated that to an extent, the students showed awareness of cognitive strategies.This study has implications for instruction in academic writing in L2 context in that students’ awareness and use of cognitive strategies should be promoted to enhance their writing proficiency and participation in the community of writing in higher education.