Chapter 14 Can academic writing style be taught?

2008 ◽  
pp. 281-300
Author(s):  
Jürg Strässler
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Writing Style

Rhetorical Style Across Cultures: An Analysis of Metadiscourse Markers in Academic Writing of Thai and Malaysian Students

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Faridah Hayisama ◽  
Mohamed Ismail Ahamad Shah ◽  
Wan Nur Asyura Wan Adnan
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Writing Style ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Master's Students ◽  
Rhetorical Style ◽  
Instructional Focus ◽  
Style Of Writing ◽  
Style Preferences ◽  
Malaysian Students

It is believed that students from different societies and cultural background have their own preferred rhetorical style of interaction. In writing, such distinctive preference is usually exhibited through the use of linguistic features, of which metadiscourse (MD) markers are considered as one of the signposts to the interpretation of writing style preferences. This study aims to investigate the use of interactional metadiscourse (MD) features and its relevance to the rhetorical style preferences in academic writing of Thai and Malaysian master’s students. Using Hyland’s (2005) taxonomy, their thesis discussions were manually analysed in terms of interactional MD markers to determine their frequency of occurrence and to relate the results to the rhetorical styles of writing preferred by each group of students. The analysis revealed that of all five types of interactional MD features, hedges were the most frequently used device followed respectively by boosters, attitude markers, engagement marker and self-mention. In terms of the rhetorical style of writing, the frequency of MD features suggests that tentative and indirect statements, reader-responsibility, distant-relationship between writer and readers, and less writer-involvement in the texts were the preferred rhetorical styles of interaction of both Thai and Malaysian students. The writing conventions and rhetorical styles of the students can be explained from a sociocultural point of view that they are relevant to the oriental style of interaction from which both groups of students originated. The study draws attention to the pedagogical implications that students in Thai and Malaysia should be given more instructional focus on how to utilize MD features in making academic writing more persuasive and interactive. 

scholarly journals To We or Not to We: Corpus-Based Research on First-Person Pronoun Use in Abstracts and Conclusions

SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 215824402110088
Author(s):  
Shih-ping Wang ◽  
Wen-Ta Tseng ◽  
Robert Johanson
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Corpus Analysis ◽  
First Person ◽  
Writing Style ◽  
Personal Pronouns ◽  
Present Perfect ◽  
Integrated Framework ◽  
Person Pronoun ◽  
Pronoun Use ◽  
Present Tense

A growing trend exists for authors to employ a more informal writing style that uses “we” in academic writing to acknowledge one’s stance and engagement. However, few studies have compared the ways in which the first-person pronoun “we” is used in the abstracts and conclusions of empirical papers. To address this lacuna in the literature, this study conducted a systematic corpus analysis of the use of “we” in the abstracts and conclusions of 400 articles collected from eight leading electrical and electronic (EE) engineering journals. The abstracts and conclusions were extracted to form two subcorpora, and an integrated framework was applied to analyze and seek to explain how we-clusters and we-collocations were employed. Results revealed whether authors’ use of first-person pronouns partially depends on a journal policy. The trend of using “we” showed that a yearly increase occurred in the frequency of “we” in EE journal papers, as well as the existence of three “we-use” types in the article conclusions and abstracts: exclusive, inclusive, and ambiguous. Other possible “we-use” alternatives such as “I” and other personal pronouns were used very rarely—if at all—in either section. These findings also suggest that the present tense was used more in article abstracts, but the present perfect tense was the most preferred tense in article conclusions. Both research and pedagogical implications are proffered and critically discussed.

scholarly journals Academic Writing and Culture: An Overview of Differences between English, French and German

2006 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk Siepmann
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Writing Style ◽  
A Value ◽  
Text Types ◽  
Intellectual Styles ◽  
Cross Language ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Composition Teaching ◽  
Critical Overview

Abstract This article provides a critical overview of recent research on cross-cultural divergences between English, French and German academic writing, demonstrating its relevance to translation. The author starts by discussing Galtung’s notion of culture-specific intellectual styles. He then explores the relationship between composition teaching and writing style. This is followed by a detailed discussion of cross-language comparisons of various text types which lend evidence to significant differences between the linguacultures under survey. The resultant plurality of linguacultures, the author goes on to argue, must be preserved as a value in itself, and merits special attention on the part of the translator.

scholarly journals The Development of Academic Vocabulary in International Foundation Students’ Assessed Academic Writing

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana Therova
Keyword(s):  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
University Student ◽  
Student Writing ◽  
Academic Vocabulary ◽  
Writing Style ◽  
Foundation Programme ◽  
Written Assignments ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Academic Year

Despite extensive research into academic vocabulary in university student writing, little is known about academic vocabulary in international foundation-level students’ assessed academic writing. Considering that academic vocabulary is regarded as a key element of academic writing style and written assignments are one of the main forms of assessment in university contexts, this is an important omission. This study addresses this gap by employing a corpus-based approach to investigate the development of academic vocabulary in assessed academic writing produced by international students (N=193) in a foundation(gateway) programme over an academic year in the context of a British university based in England and its overseas campuses in the United Arab Emirates and Mauritius. The findings show an increase in the usage of academic vocabulary over the course of the foundation programme and highlight the impact of the assignment topic and brief.

scholarly journals Language and Globalization: An Autoethnographic Approach: Book Review of a Collection of Personal Narratives

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anuja Sarda
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Personal Narratives ◽  
Writing Style ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
The World ◽  
Personal Connections ◽  
And Linguistics ◽  
Geographical Locations

Maryam Borjian’s (2017a) edited book, Language and Globalization: An Autoethnographic Approach, provides real and personal narratives of authors from different geographical locations across the globe around complex issues surrounding linguistic globalization. Using autoethnography as a method, the book steps away from the typical academic writing. It engages readers into plots contextualized in several parts of the world about diverse languages which are intertwined with theoretical frameworks and concepts specific to the field of language and linguistics. The format of the book allows all readers to comprehend complex concepts through the medium of stories and help make personal connections. The simplicity of the writing style makes it easy for any reader to understand the influence of globalization from a language perspective.

scholarly journals Avianomics: The Beginning at the End

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 70-78
Author(s):  
Mary Komp ◽  
◽  
Rebecca Bowie ◽  
Jean-Rémi Teyssier ◽  
Brooke C. Bodle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Reading Skills ◽  
High Order ◽  
Writing Style ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Inquiry Skills ◽  
Thesis Writing ◽  
Independent Thinking

The research-teaching nexus is the pinnacle of academic activity. As a scientist and educator, my overall objective is to give students access to cutting-edge research and help them develop high order inquiry skills. In addition, as research and thesis writing frequently involves the development of new complex reading skills associated with comprehension and synthesis of a tremendous volume of information, along with in-depth critical analysis, evaluation, and elegant academic writing style, I decided to assign this editorial to my 2020-Biochemical Nutrition graduate students. As my students have diverse educational and cultural backgrounds and have been exposed to a variety of tech-based learning, we decided to summarize here recent advances in omics research in avian species to facilitate the discussion by asking new questions, which may help open new vistas for future investigations. By following the “scaffolded” approach, my students highlighted progress in Transcriptomics (Komp M and Bowie R), Proteomics (Tabler T and Lee T), Kinomics (Hernandez RM and Zuo B), Epigenomics (Ferver A), Metabolomics (Maynard C and Mullenix G), and Microbiomics (Teyssier JR and Bodle B). I would like to thank my students for their motivation, dedication, determination, perseverance, connection, consistency, and support. I would also like to thank AFTNS-OJ for inviting me to write this editorial and I hope by getting my students involved would promote their curiosity, help them understand complex questions, explore more sources, stimulate their independent thinking, and create research- and question-mindsets.

12. Skills for success in coursework assessments

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maureen Spencer ◽  
John Spencer
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Assessment Criteria ◽  
Available P ◽  
Writing Style ◽  
Questions And Answers ◽  
Flow Charts ◽  
Distinguishing Features

The Concentrate Questions and Answers series offers the best preparation for tackling exam questions. Each book includes typical questions, bullet-pointed answer plans and suggested answers, author commentary and illustrative diagrams and flow charts. This chapter gives guidance on answering coursework questions and expands on the distinguishing features of coursework which are research, authorities and citation. You will be expected to have researched in more than usual depth to answer these types of questions and to give full as well as accurate references for your arguments and analysis. The chapter also covers writing and reading; sources; academic writing; keeping organised notes; analysis, writing style and referencing; and assessment criteria. A coursework example question, with accompanying answer guidance, is also available.

Researching Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality for your Dissertation

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Mason
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Research Topic ◽  
Writing Style ◽  
Master's Students ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Book Covers ◽  
The Uk

This book is based on teaching, supervising and examining Master’s students for over twenty years in three countries: the UK, Australia and New Zealand. It is aimed primarily at Master’s students in English speaking countries, or where English is the language of the classroom. However, it should also be useful to undergraduate students in the related fields of Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality. It may also serve as an introduction to those about to embark on PhD study in these related fields. The key areas that the book covers are: 1 Becoming self-aware of your research capability 2 Developing your formal, academic writing style 3 Selecting and refining your research topic 4 Creating your Literature Review 5 Writing your Methodology 6 Presenting your Results 7 Analysing and Discussing your Results 8 Presenting Conclusions

scholarly journals “Umm you know…” Speaking or Writing?: Examining EFL Students’ Writing Style in Argumentative Essays

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-22
Author(s):  
Nina Setyaningsih ◽  
Anisa Larassati
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Short Form ◽  
English Department ◽  
Writing Style ◽  
Writing Classes ◽  
Academic Texts ◽  
Direct Question ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Argumentative Essays ◽  
Negative Form

Writing in English has always been a difficult skill to be mastered by Indonesian students. In the English Department of Universitas Dian Nuswantoro, students often face challenges in writing concerning grammatical rules and using suitable style in various text types. This research is aimed at investigating whether the students have applied formal academic style in their academic argumentative essays. The method used to analyse the data was descriptive qualitative. The findings demonstrate that there are still some significant errors made by students in their writing. Of the nine types of academic writing style errors proposed by Yakhontova (2003), there are eight types found in the data. These include contraction, addressing the reader directly, direct question, adverb in initial or final position, interjection and hesitation filler, short form of the word or slang, inappropriate negative form, and figures at the beginning of the sentence. Furthermore, the data also reveal a novel finding that there are two other kinds of error that cannot be categorised under Yakhontova’s framework, namely the use of spoken form and emoticon. This research suggests that students’ need to be specifically taught the differences between formal and informal styles of language in speaking and writing classes. They also need to be exposed to English academic texts more so as to be accustomed to formal or academic style.

scholarly journals Improving student writing: working in partnership to develop the Student Academic Literacy Tool (SALT). (Project Report)

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sue Becker ◽  
Luke Kennedy ◽  
Holly Shahverdi ◽  
Nadine Spence
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Academic Literacy ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Academic Ability ◽  
Student Writing ◽  
Writing Style ◽  
Project Report ◽  
Literacy Tool

Developing an effective academic writing style can be a crucial determinant for degree success in undergraduate programmes which rely almost exclusively on written assessments to measure academic ability. The SALT project has brought together academic staff and students to develop an accessible and useful tool to enable students to recognise the characteristics of academic writing which need to be developed in order to be successful in written assessments. Crucial to the success of the project so far has been the involvement of student research partners as co-creators and owners of the tool. This report describes the development of the project and presents a model of partnership working in academic research which recognises the importance of students as owners of co-created research outputs and intellectual property.

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