Reconceptualising the notion of finding information: How undergraduate students construct information as they read-to-write in an academic writing class

This paper seeks to problematise the concept of finding information in EAP (English for Academic Purposes) writing programs. Drawing on the experiences of a group of female Emirati undergraduate students in an academic writing class in the United Arab Emirates, the paper argues that the act of finding information is not straightforward or universal, but is a social construction. Through the theoretical lens of activity theory (Engestro center dot m, 1987; Leont'ev, 1981/2009), the paper presents the view that information is constructed as a goal oriented, socially situated activity mediated by physical and symbolic artefacts. The present study examined the types of mediating artefacts students used as they constructed information and the tensions and contradictions they experienced as they did so. Data collected via screen capture recordings, student reflections and interviews suggested that students constructed information by drawing on Discourses of being proficient Internet users, local Discourses of truth and the norms and assumptions underpinning the academic writing class they were enrolled in. The findings of the study are significant in shaping the reading-to-write processes and practices of EAP writing pedagogy.