While most of the previous studies have focused on writing strategy use of undergraduate students, few studies have investigated that of master-level graduate students, especially in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context. Considering the fact that most PhD students are once master students, it is deemed necessary to understand their learning of academic writing at initial phrase in order to initiate intervention early and better prepare them for academic written communication at an advanced level. Moreover, in terms of theoretical orientation, previous discussion alone the line has been centered on a cognitive or socio-cognitive perspective. Relatively few studies have adopted a sociocultural perspective. The present study achieves both ends by looking into the mediational means of a novice writer Alice in her master-level academic writing activities in the EFL context of Macau, China. This case study was conducted with Alice, a master student in a M. Ed. programme, opting for a PhD study. Non-structured, semi-structured and text-based interviews were used as the primary source of data, with document analysis used for triangulation. By looking into the writer’s mediational means in her academic writing activities, the study aimed to understand the writer’s use of mediational means (types and double-edged characteristics) and their relatedness to her situated context . iv The exploratory study from a sociocultural perspective constributes to our understanding of the EFL novice writer’s meditational means in her situated context. A dialectic view of mediational means could have certain implications for practitioners, curricular design and students’ self-study. . The study identified five mediational means as significant in the novice writer’s academic writing activities, namely journal articles and theses, online writing resources, languages, peers and experts. It also unveiled double-edged features of mediational means and recognized their interplay with the writer’s goals and relatedness to her situated context. Finally, the study suggests to employ a systemic approach to strategy-based instruction, taking in account the writer’s contextualized features. It also underscores the need to increase individualized mediation from experts, to guide peer writing activities, to exploit L1 and rules as mediating resources and to experiment content and EAP/ writing integrated learning in the classroom. (348 words)