This study looks at the culture of writing of second language (L2) writers in English who are in transition from secondary school to postsecondary education. It looks at four case studies of students in their first semester of postsecondary education in a public university. It examines their negotiation of culture of writing in secondary school to the culture of writing in postsecondary education from the perspective of sociocultural theory. Data was obtained from interviews, personal narratives and observation. The findings show that sociocultural theory can offer an understanding of these ESL writers as they move from one culture of writing to another.