Peer scaffolding plays an important role in second-language writing, but learners’ perceptions of support across instructional stages remain underexplored. This study examined 60 Vietnamese undergraduate English majors’ perceptions of senior-junior scaffolding across the four stages of the Teaching and Learning Cycle (TLC). Using a quantitative descriptive design, data were collected through a 40-item questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics and Cronbach’s alpha. All four scales demonstrated satisfactory reliability (α = .832 - .884). Perceived scaffolding was strongest during Building the Field (M = 3.54, SD = 0.80) and Modelling/Deconstruction (M = 3.44, SD = 0.78), followed by Joint Construction (M = 3.20, SD = 0.73) and Independent Construction (M = 3.02, SD = 0.68). Students particularly valued support for academic vocabulary, prior knowledge connections, model analysis, and feedback, while reporting lower confidence in independent writing and argument evaluation. These findings reveal a descriptive decline in perceived support across TLC stages, highlighting that reduced external assistance does not necessarily indicate readiness for independent academic writing. The study underscores the need to distinguish scaffold withdrawal from learners’ perceived capacity for independent reading-to-write regulation.