Multilingual Master's Students’ Perceptions of Academic Writing Development in the Context of Collective Research Supervision in Australian Higher Education

ABSTRACT This qualitative case study examines three multilingual master's students’ perceptions of their academic writing development within a collective, dialogic, and peer‐supported supervision context in an Australian university. Although previous research has documented multilingual students’ writing challenges and the pedagogical value of collective supervision, little is known about how such supervision—where supervisory scaffolding and peer dialogue are embedded—shapes students’ development in academic writing, including aspects of voice, epistemic awareness, and identity negotiation. Informed by the academic literacies approach, the study conceptualizes writing as an epistemological, social, and institutional practice. Data from interviews and post‐interview reflections were analyzed thematically. Findings show that, despite challenges, participants reported progress in academic writing, characterized by growing epistemic awareness, rhetorical control, and authorial confidence. Peer dialogue, responsive supervisory scaffolding, and reflexive engagement with digital tools supported their negotiation of epistemic positioning and the development of authorial identity. The study contributes new insights to academic literacies research, demonstrating how collective supervision opens dialogic spaces that support multilingual students’ growth as agentive writers and enable critical engagement with disciplinary knowledge. The findings offer implications for pedagogy, supervision, and policy, highlighting collaborative and equity‐oriented approaches to academic writing in linguistically and epistemically diverse higher education contexts.