Digitally Mediated Thesis Writing Among ELT Undergraduates: Strategic Patterns of Multi-Tool Integration Across Writing Stages

Abstract

The increasing integration of digital tools into academic writing has transformed how students compose, revise, and conceptualize scholarly work. Existing research has examined artificial intelligence and writing support technologies in general classroom contexts, but limited attention has been paid to how undergraduate students employ these tools in high-stakes academic tasks such as thesis writing. This gap is particularly significant in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) settings, where linguistic and rhetorical demands are intensified. Accordingly, this study investigates how Indonesian undergraduate ELT students integrate digital tools into their thesis writing. It focuses on the types of tools used, the stages of writing they support, students’ motivations, and patterns of integration. Using a qualitative case study design, data were collected from 38 students through open-ended questionnaires and analyzed thematically. The findings reveal that students engage with a range of generative, translation, and language-refinement tools across multiple stages of thesis writing, particularly during editing, literature review, and discussion development. An iterative draft–consult–revise cycle also emerged as a central integration pattern. It indicates that students maintain agency while coordinating digital mediation. The study concludes that digitally mediated thesis writing reflects emerging forms of academic literacy, which underscore the need for structured digital literacy guidance within ELT writing pedagogy.