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Writing from sources: How three undergraduate multilingual writers negotiated elements of source-based writing in an EAP course that used literary and nonliterary source texts.

D'Silva, Faye I
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1386765963

Abstract Details

2014, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, EDU Teaching and Learning.
The long-standing debate over the value of literature in the teaching of L2 academic writing has been ongoing. Given the general discomfort with the use of literature in source-based writing and in EAP writing instruction and the absence of literary texts in EAP writing courses, studies that look at how source texts are used in L2 writers` acquisition of academic literacy skills are rare. Operating in response to that debate, this study sought to explore how three undergraduate multilingual academic writers negotiated the specific academic discursive practice of using both literary and nonliterary texts to complete source-based writing tasks. In doing so, the overarching goal of this study was to explore the use of literature within the context of teaching source-based writing in an EAP writing course. Theoretical formulations drawn from Vygotsky`s sociocultural theory of mediation as extended by Lantolf (2000) formed the core framework of analysis for the study. Using qualitative methods of data gathering such as, participant observation, interviews, and document analysis, the primary sources of data examined were personal journals, course artifacts, questionnaires, interview transcripts, and field notes. The study sheds light on the complexities involved in learning multifaceted academic discursive practices such as source-based writing. The findings suggest that although the participants encountered some discursive challenges in the practice of using sources, they negotiated the practice of source-based writing in individually nuanced ways by adopting an agentive approach to employing mediating semiotic resources in their social context. A substantive new finding was related to how the use of a literary text has the potential to enhance and encourage the participant`s creativity in the composition of their own texts. This finding could be characterized as a grounded theoretical hypothesis and was evident in the ways that elements of creativity were embedded in their composed texts. Ultimately, then, the study has contributed new knowledge to the ongoing debate about the use of literary texts in research-based EAP writing instruction.
Alan Hirvela , Ph.D (Advisor)
David Bloome , Ph.D (Committee Member)
Keiko Samimy , Ph.D (Committee Member)
294 p.
Education
source-based writing, EAP, academic writing, literary texts, nonliterary texts, mediation, qualitative case study

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • D'Silva, F. I. (2014). Writing from sources: How three undergraduate multilingual writers negotiated elements of source-based writing in an EAP course that used literary and nonliterary source texts. [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1386765963

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • D'Silva, Faye. Writing from sources: How three undergraduate multilingual writers negotiated elements of source-based writing in an EAP course that used literary and nonliterary source texts. . 2014. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1386765963.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • D'Silva, Faye. "Writing from sources: How three undergraduate multilingual writers negotiated elements of source-based writing in an EAP course that used literary and nonliterary source texts. ." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1386765963

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1386765963
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.