EXPLORING VISUAL THINKING STRATEGY IN ACADEMIC WRITING INSTRUCTION FOR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: A PRELIMINARY STUDY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21009/ishel.v2i1.69022Keywords:
academic writing, visual thinking strategy, preliminary studies, writing skills, indonesian language learningAbstract
Academic writing is an essential competency for students in developing ideas, constructing arguments, using evidence, and conveying academic positions systematically. However, students still face difficulties in generating ideas, organizing writing, developing arguments, maintaining coherence, and using references appropriately. This study aims to analyze academic writing learning needs, identify students’ difficulties, and formulate an initial design of the Visual Thinking Strategy (VTS) model for academic writing instruction. This preliminary study employed an exploratory qualitative approach supported by descriptive quantitative data. The participants were students of the Indonesian Language and Literature Education Study Program at Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University Jakarta who were enrolled in a Writing Skills course. Data were collected through observations, questionnaires, interviews, and analysis of students’ written work. Qualitative data were analyzed through data reduction, presentation, interpretation, and conclusion drawing, while questionnaire data were analyzed descriptively. The findings indicate that VTS has the potential to facilitate students in observing, interpreting, discussing, mapping, and constructing ideas more logically, visually, and argumentatively. The study produced an initial VTS model design as a foundation for further development of an academic writing instructional model.
References
Al Fatta, H., & Marco, R. (2015). Analisis pengembangan dan perancangan sistem informasi akademik smart berbasis cloud computing pada sekolah menengah umum negeri (smun) di daerah istimewa yogyakarta. Telematika, 8(2).
Albert, C. N., Mihai, M., & Mudure-Iacob, I. (2022). Visual thinking strategies—theory and applied areas of insertion. Sustainability, 14(12), 7195.
Anwar, M., Rangkuti, A. A., Rully, T., & Amir, F. R. (2026). Canonical Syntax: A Strategy for Constructing Linguistic Politeness Among Generation Z. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 16(4), 1287–1296. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1604.24
Budiarto, Rasyid, Y., & Lustyantie, N. (2023). Creating cooperative-communicative learning environment in speaking class through think-pair-share and roleplay: An action research at STIBA IEC Jakarta. 060008. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0142505
Calvo, S., Celini, L., Morales, A., Martínez, J. M. G., & Utrilla, P. N. C. (2020). Academic literacy and student diversity: Evaluating a curriculum-integrated inclusive practice intervention in the United Kingdom. Sustainability (Switzerland), 12(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/su12031155
Cappello, M., & Walker, N. T. (2016). Visual thinking strategies: Teachers’ reflections on closely reading complex visual texts within the disciplines. The Reading Teacher, 70(3), 317–325.
Cerqueira, A. R., Alves, A. S., Monteiro-Soares, M., Hailey, D., Loureiro, D., & Baptista, S. (2023). Visual Thinking Strategies in medical education: a systematic review. BMC Medical Education, 23(1), 536.
Cottrell, S. (2017). ritical Thinking Skills: Effective Analysis, Argument and Reflection.
Delgado-Osorio, X., Koval, V., Hartig, J., & Harsch, C. (2023). Strategic processing of source text in reading-into-writing tasks: A comparison between summary and argumentative tasks. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 62, 101227.
Firat, E. E., Joshi, A., & Laramee, R. S. (2022). Interactive visualization literacy: The state-of-the-art. Information Visualization, 21(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/14738716221081831
Hailey, D., Miller, A., & Yenawine, P. (2015). Understanding visual literacy: The visual thinking strategies approach. In Essentials of teaching and integrating visual and media literacy: Visualizing learning (pp. 49–73). Springer.
Housen, A., & Yenawine, P. (1996). What is VTS.
Hudson, J. (2024). Fostering academic literacy in English for academic purposes students through online academic communities of practice. Studies in Technology Enhanced Learning, 4(2).
Hyland, K. (2009). Academic discourse.
Hyland, K. (2010). Metadiscourse: Mapping interactions in academic writing. Nordic Journal of English Studies, 9(S2), 125–143.
Ishiguro, C., Sato, Y., Takahashi, A., Abe, Y., Kakizaki, H., Okada, H., Kato, E., & Takagishi, H. (2021). Comparing effects of visual thinking strategies in a classroom and a museum. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 15(4), 735.
Jancsary, D., Höllerer, M. A., & Meyer, R. E. (2016). Critical analysis of visual and multimodal texts. Methods of Critical Discourse Studies, 3, 180–204.
Kadir, N. A., Subki, R. N., Haneem, F., Jamal, A., & Ismail, J. (2014). The Importance of Teaching Critical Reading Skills in A Malaysian Reading. The 2014 WEI International Academic Conference Proceedings.
Kellogg, R. T. (2008). Training writing skills: A cognitive developmental perspective. Journal of Writing Research, 1(1), 1–26.
Kelly-Hedrick, M., Chugh, N., Zahra, F. S., Stephens, M., & Chisolm, M. S. (2022). Art museum-based teaching: visual thinking strategies. Academic Medicine, 97(8), 1249.
Khalil, E. R. (2024). The Effect of Visual Thinking Strategies on Iraqi EFL StudentsCommunication Skills. Journal of the College of Education for Women, 35(3), 24–42.
Kress, G. (2009). Multimodality: A social semiotic approach to contemporary communication. routledge.
Kress, G., & Van Leeuwen, T. (2020). Reading images: The grammar of visual design. Routledge.
Lea, M. R. (2008). Academic literacies in theory and practice. In Encyclopedia of language and education (pp. 634–645). Springer.
Lea, M. R., & Street, B. V. (2006). The “academic literacies” model: Theory and applications. Theory into Practice, 45(4). https://doi.org/10.1207/s15430421tip4504_11
Lustyantie, N. I. F. N. S. Y. R. Y. R. P. (2022). The Effect of Cognitive Style, Critical Thinking, And Digital Literature on Argumentative Writing Skills. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 22(1), 127.
Mayuni, I., Leiliyanti, E., Palupi, T. M., Sitorus, M. L., & Chen, Y. (2022). Designing Literacy E-Coaching Model For English Language Teachers Of Junior High Schools In Indonesia. Teflin Journal - A Publication On The Teaching And Learning Of English, 33(2), 310. Https://Doi.Org/10.15639/Teflinjournal.V33i2/310-329
Meza, C. S. R. (2021). A bibliometric analysis of academic literacy: a review of the state of the art, from the past to the future. Revista de Educacion, 2021(394). https://doi.org/10.4438/1988-592X-RE-2021-394-501
Mohana Aishwarya, K. (2025). Impact of Visual Thinking Skills in Enhancing Writing Proficiency of English Literature Students. In Thinking Skills in Higher Education (pp. 261–275). Springer.
Nickel, K. L. (2022). Growing literacy skills with visual thinking strategies on virtual art museum tours. Literacy Practice and Research, 47(1), 3.
Nowell, L. S., Norris, J. M., White, D. E., & Moules, N. J. (2017). Thematic Analysis. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406917733847
O’Brien, D., & Scharber, C. (2008). Digital literacies go to school: Potholes and possibilities. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(1), 66–68.
Paltridge, B. (2004). Academic writing. Language Teaching, 37(2), 87–105.
Permana, F., Guntara, Y., & Saefullah, A. (2025). The Influence of Visual Thinking Strategy In Augmented Reality (ViTSAR) to Improve Students’ Visual Literacy Skills on Magnetic Field Material. Phi: Jurnal Pendidikan Fisika Dan Terapan, 11(1), 71–81.
Rahman, A., Rifki, M., & Effendi, D. (2026). Implementasi Pembelajaran Berbasis Teks Dalam Meningkatkan Literasi Akademik Mahasiswa Pascasarjana Bahasa Indonesia. Pendas: Jurnal Ilmiah Pendidikan Dasar, 11(01), 176–187.
Rautiainen, K.-H., & Jäppinen, A. (2017). Visual literacy from the perspective of the VTS method. Journal of Literature and Art Studies, (8).
Resyadi, H., Safitri, D. S., & Fitriansyah, D. (2021). Confirming university students’ individual reading habit on academic text. International Journal of Research on English Teaching and Applied Linguistics, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.30863/ijretal.v1i1.1193
Street, B. (2010a). “Academic literacies approaches to genre”? Revista Brasileira de Linguística Aplicada, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.1590/s1984-63982010000200004
Street, B. (2010b). “Academic Literacies approaches to Genre”?* Abordagens de gênero para letramentos acadêmicos’? Belo Horizonte, 10(2).
Sutama, S., Wulandari, N. A., Ishartono, N., Narimo, S., & Sutopo, A. (2020). Visual thinking strategies based picture book media for thematic learning in elementary schools. AKSIOMA: Jurnal Program Studi Pendidikan Matematika, 9(4), 1249–1259.
Wingate, U. (2012). Using Academic Literacies and genre-based models for academic writing instruction: A’literacy’journey. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 11(1), 26–37.
Wrigglesworth, J. (2019). Pedagogical applications of academic literacies theory: a reflection and case study. Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, (15). https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.v0i15.552
Yenawine, P. (1999). VTS: Visual Thinking Strategies. Writing for Adult Museum Visitors, New York: Visual Understanding in Education.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Didah Nurhamidah, Yumna Rasyid, Ilza Mayuni
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
