Impact of Information Literacy and Discourse Synthesis Strategy Use on Multimodal Information-Based Integrated Writing Among Secondary School Students

Integrating multimodal information in writing has become a key competency in the information society. Based on the information-based model of academic writing (IBAW), the present study explores the impact of information literacy and discourse synthesis strategy use on multimodal information-based integrated writing (MIIW). The participants, 223 secondary school students from mainland China, completed an MIIW task involving multiple modes (videos, news articles, papers, and forum discussions presented on a thematic website) and filled out questionnaires measuring information literacy and discourse synthesis strategy use. Structural equation modeling analyses revealed that information literacy significantly impacts three key discourse synthesis strategies: selection, organization, and connection. Furthermore, the organization and connection strategies fully mediate the relationship between information literacy and MIIW performance. Pedagogical implications based on the findings are offered.