In this dissertation, drawing from activity theory, I investigate how Chinese students prepared themselves for undergraduate studies in U.S. universities in terms of English writing from three perspectives: English writing instruction in high schools, private supplementary tutoring (PST) in English writing in cram schools, and experience with writing online and using online resources. On the basis of data from a questionnaire, interviews, classroom observations, and examinations of written materials and a forum, I provide a picture of the writing instruction experience and writing background that Chinese students bring to writing classrooms in U.S. universities. It was found that other than writing instruction in high schools that was assumed to be the main source of support for students, PST in English writing students received in cram schools was dominant in the process of preparing themselves for English writing. Online resources were also important for students although students used them mainly for test preparation rather than for improving their English writing ability. What Chinese students have achieved and are not prepared to do in English writing are also discussed in terms of aspects of writing, perceptions of a good piece of writing, amount of writing, genres of writing, feedback, and writing pedagogy. I hope this dissertation will shed light on second language writing teaching in the U.S. as well as in China and second language writing research
","abstract_html":"<p>In this dissertation, drawing from activity theory, I investigate how Chinese students prepared themselves for undergraduate studies in U.S. universities in terms of English writing from three perspectives: English writing instruction in high schools, private supplementary tutoring (PST) in English writing in cram schools, and experience with writing online and using online resources. On the basis of data from a questionnaire, interviews, classroom observations, and examinations of written materials and a forum, I provide a picture of the writing instruction experience and writing background that Chinese students bring to writing classrooms in U.S. universities. It was found that other than writing instruction in high schools that was assumed to be the main source of support for students, PST in English writing students received in cram schools was dominant in the process of preparing themselves for English writing. Online resources were also important for students although students used them mainly for test preparation rather than for improving their English writing ability. What Chinese students have achieved and are not prepared to do in English writing are also discussed in terms of aspects of writing, perceptions of a good piece of writing, amount of writing, genres of writing, feedback, and writing pedagogy. I hope this dissertation will shed light on second language writing teaching in the U.S. as well as in China and second language writing research</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Zhang, Cong"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"English","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Tony Silva","Margie Berns","April Ginther","Junju Wang"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:53:55Z","subjects":["English as a Second Language","Education","Chinese students","High school English teaching","High school English writing teaching","Online learning","Private supplementary tutoring in cram schools","Second language writing","Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_dissertations/733","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Tony Silva","Margie Berns","April Ginther","Junju Wang"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Zhang, Cong"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["English as a Second Language","Education","Chinese students","High school English teaching","High school English writing teaching","Online learning","Private supplementary tutoring in cram schools","Second language writing","Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_dissertations/733"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In this dissertation, drawing from activity theory, I investigate how Chinese students prepared themselves for undergraduate studies in U.S. universities in terms of English writing from three perspectives: English writing instruction in high schools, private supplementary tutoring (PST) in English writing in cram schools, and experience with writing online and using online resources. On the basis of data from a questionnaire, interviews, classroom observations, and examinations of written materials and a forum, I provide a picture of the writing instruction experience and writing background that Chinese students bring to writing classrooms in U.S. universities. It was found that other than writing instruction in high schools that was assumed to be the main source of support for students, PST in English writing students received in cram schools was dominant in the process of preparing themselves for English writing. Online resources were also important for students although students used them mainly for test preparation rather than for improving their English writing ability. What Chinese students have achieved and are not prepared to do in English writing are also discussed in terms of aspects of writing, perceptions of a good piece of writing, amount of writing, genres of writing, feedback, and writing pedagogy. I hope this dissertation will shed light on second language writing teaching in the U.S. as well as in China and second language writing research
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Writing their way to the university: An investigation of Chinese high school students' preparation for writing in English in high schools, cram schools, and online"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Tony Silva","Margie Berns","April Ginther","Junju Wang"],"dc:creator":["Zhang, Cong"],"dc:description.abstract":["In this dissertation, drawing from activity theory, I investigate how Chinese students prepared themselves for undergraduate studies in U.S. universities in terms of English writing from three perspectives: English writing instruction in high schools, private supplementary tutoring (PST) in English writing in cram schools, and experience with writing online and using online resources. On the basis of data from a questionnaire, interviews, classroom observations, and examinations of written materials and a forum, I provide a picture of the writing instruction experience and writing background that Chinese students bring to writing classrooms in U.S. universities. It was found that other than writing instruction in high schools that was assumed to be the main source of support for students, PST in English writing students received in cram schools was dominant in the process of preparing themselves for English writing. Online resources were also important for students although students used them mainly for test preparation rather than for improving their English writing ability. What Chinese students have achieved and are not prepared to do in English writing are also discussed in terms of aspects of writing, perceptions of a good piece of writing, amount of writing, genres of writing, feedback, and writing pedagogy. I hope this dissertation will shed light on second language writing teaching in the U.S. as well as in China and second language writing research
"],"dc:identifier":["https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_dissertations/733"],"dc:subject":["English as a Second Language","Education","Chinese students","High school English teaching","High school English writing teaching","Online learning","Private supplementary tutoring in cram schools","Second language writing","Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education"],"dc:title":["Writing their way to the university: An investigation of Chinese high school students' preparation for writing in English in high schools, cram schools, and online"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:53:55Z"}