<![CDATA[Academic essay writing plays a crucial role in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) higher education as it fosters critical thinking, academic literacy, and disciplinary communication skills, while recent developments in generative artificial intelligence (AI) such as ChatGPT and Grammarly have reshaped writing pedagogy through automated feedback and language support. This study aims to explore how AI-assisted reflective and collaborative writing is implemented and experienced in an Indonesian EFL essay writing classroom. A qualitative case study design was employed involving 24 undergraduate students and one lecturer in an Essay Writing course. Data were collected through classroom observations, semi-structured interviews, reflective journals, and writing artifacts, and analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings reveal that AI functions as a mediational scaffold that supports idea generation and language refinement, while students actively engage in collaborative negotiation to evaluate AI-generated feedback during writing tasks. Reflective writing emerges as a key mechanism for developing metacognitive awareness, enabling students to critically assess revisions and writing decisions. Furthermore, learner agency is evident in students’ ability to accept, modify, or reject AI suggestions based on peer discussion and contextual judgment. The study is grounded in Sociocultural Theory and Process Writing Theory, highlighting writing as a socially mediated and recursive process shaped by interaction among AI tools, peers, and reflection. The study concludes that integrating ChatGPT and Grammarly into EFL writing instruction enhances reflective and collaborative writing practices when supported by critical pedagogy, offering important implications for designing AI-informed writing instruction in higher education contexts.]]>
