Integrating The Flower and Hayes’ Cognitive Process Model with the SOAR Writing Framework in Mobile Supported Synthesis Instruction

Abstract

Synthesis writing remains one of the most challenging academic writing skills for tertiary learners, particularly in English-medium instruction (EMI) contexts, due to its high cognitive and metacognitive demands and the lack of explicit instructional scaffolding. While the Flower and Hayes (1981) Cognitive Process Model provides a robust theoretical account of the mental processes involved in writing, it offers limited guidance on how these processes can be operationalised into teachable strategies for synthesis instruction. At the same time, the SOAR strategy (Select, Organise, Associate, Regulate) has been shown to support learning from multiple texts, yet its theoretical alignment with cognitive writing models remains underexplored. This conceptual paper addresses this gap by systematically integrating the Flower and Hayes Cognitive Process Model with the SOAR writing framework as the pedagogical foundation of the SEESOAR mobile learning module. Specifically, the paper maps each SOAR component onto key cognitive writing processes, namely planning, translating, and reviewing, in demonstrating how complex cognitive behaviours in synthesis writing can be transformed into structured, teachable, and mobile-supported learning tasks. The integration is discussed within the context of instructional design for tertiary learners in EMI environments, highlighting implications for Technology-Enhanced Language Learning (TELL) and Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL). The paper contributes a theory-driven instructional model that is expected to enhance learners’ cognitive engagement, metacognitive awareness, and synthesis writing proficiency in higher education settings.