Exploring Academic Writing Development through Reflective Reading Response Journals: A Case Study of First-Year Composition Multilingual Students

Author

Kalpana Shrestha, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Abstract

The article explores how weekly reading-response journals (RRJs) as a self-reflective practice enhances first-year composition (FYC) multilingual students’ academic writing (AW) development. Using Bowen’s (2009) document analysis framework combining components of content analysis that include analyzing words and texts in documents (Bryman, 2003) and thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006), the case study examines 11 FYC multilingual students’ semester-long weekly RRJs along with three phases of reflections on those written artifacts. Additionally, the study analyzed a 5-minute-long individual in-person conference to provide further insights into the students' experiences and learning processes throughout the semester. The findings indicate that the weekly RRJs in FYC class significantly contribute to enhancing foundational AW skills, specifically facilitating multilingual learners' cognitive, metacognitive, linguistic, citation, and content knowledge and fostering reflective writing habits among them. Based on the findings, the study suggests providing enough space for actual reading instruction with a careful selection of reading texts addressing diverse learners’ backgrounds since it leverages critical evaluation of learners’ own thoughts and experiences, leading to more nuanced and insightful reflections. Additionally, it is recommended that students’ reflective writing practices be ascertained by offering constructive feedback to enhance reflection quality.

Advisor

Sarah Henderson Lee

Committee Member

Nancy Drescher

Date of Degree

2024

Language

english

Document Type

APP

Degree

Master of Arts (MA)

Program of Study

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

Department

English

College

Humanities and Social Sciences

Recommended Citation

Shrestha, Kalpana. (2024). Exploring Academic Writing Development through Reflective Reading Response Journals: A Case Study of First-Year Composition Multilingual Students [Master’s capstone project, Minnesota State University, Mankato]. Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds/1426/

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.