Integrating Structured Reflection into Process Writing: Enhancing Metacognitive Engagement and Writing Performance in Collaborative and Individual ESL Contexts

This study investigates how structured reflection embedded within process-oriented writing improves ESL learners' writing quality and metacognitive engagement in both collaborative and individual contexts. Drawing upon Murray's Process Writing Model and Moon's Reflective Thinking Model, a mixed-methods study involving 60 Malaysian undergraduates revealed that collaborative learners consistently outperformed their individual peers in writing traits and reflective depth. CEFR-aligned assessments and thematic analysis of journals and surveys underscored that structured reflection heightened writing awareness, purposeful revision, and metacognitive growth. Collaborative settings further amplified dialogic reflection through peer interaction. The findings support embedding structured reflection within the process writing cycle to enhance ESL writing outcomes and recommend its pedagogical adoption.