scholarly journals Perceptions of Challenges in Writing Academically: Iranian Postgraduate Students’ Perspectives

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sedigheh Shakib Kotamjani ◽  
Habsah Hussin
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Doctoral Degree ◽  
Doctoral Degrees ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Academic Assignments

Academic writing skills are essential tools that postgraduate students reading for their doctoral degree have to master to be able to produce dissertations, research reports and academic assignments of quality in the course of their studies; and publish research-based articles in established journals. This paper discusses the perceptions of a group of Iranian postgraduate students pursuing their doctoral degrees at UPM (Universiti Putra Malaysia) on the challenges they face in writing academically. They provided the data for this paper via their responses to a survey.  The findings indicate that these postgraduate students perceived some academic writing skills to be more challenging than the others.  The paper concludes with a discussion on the implications of the findings; and recommendations on how the situation can be improved.

scholarly journals International Postgraduate Students’ Perception of Challenges in Academic Writing in Malaysian Public Universities

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. 191
Author(s):  
Sedigheh Shakib Kotamjani ◽  
Arshad Abd Samad ◽  
Mehrnaz Fahimirad
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Public Universities ◽  
Academic Language ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
English For Academic Purposes ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
English Medium Instruction ◽  
Lexical Phrases

The purpose of this study is to investigate international postgraduate students’ perceptions of difficulty with academic writing in Malaysian public universities. A survey was used to collect students’ perceptions of difficulties and challenges in general academic writing skills and language-related skills. The results revealed that students perceived greater difficulty in language-related problems than general academic writing skills. In terms of language-related skills, they ranked writing coherent paragraph, summarizing and paraphrasing, applying appropriate lexical phrases, utilizing proper academic language and vocabulary respectively as the most difficult areas in writing. However, with respect to general academic writing skills, they perceived the most difficulties in reviewing and criticizing the literature, writing introduction and research gap. The results of this study implied that international postgraduate students who graduated from non-English medium instruction universities should be supported in terms of English for Academic Purposes (EAP), critical thinking skills and language-related skills to become self-directed in learning to write.

scholarly journals "I can't say it any better": Critical reading as a threshold concept in helping postgraduate Arab students become critical and original writers

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Radhika Iyer-O'Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Student Writing ◽  
Critical Reading ◽  
Critical Thought ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Critical Writing ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Threshold Concept

Many studies on plagiarism issues across the globe have arrived at the consensus that in dealing with plagiarism, universities need to do more than provide students with policies and procedures. Education, via academic support classes, has been touted as the way forward in teaching students to develop academic writing skills and avoid plagiarism. Teaching postgraduate students to produce academic writing that is analytical while retaining their individual expression has been a challenge at the British University in Dubai (BUiD). Most of the students at the university come from mainly Arab educational backgrounds. This could mean that their education may not have been in English but more importantly, that they may also have been entrenched in different learning and teaching styles. Previously encouraged to rely on restating exactly what they have read may contribute to students' inability to express critical thought through their writing. Based on analysis of students' critical writing through faculty feedback, samples of student writing and Turnitin reports, this paper seeks to demonstrate that teaching critical reading skills as a threshold concept that translates into critical thinking skills will help students adopt a different approach to reading, which will subsequently help develop critical writing skills. This paper will show how pedagogy was developed to enable students to read critically and produce coherent and thoughtful critical writing while retaining academic integrity.

scholarly journals Combining Movie Viewing and Guided Freewriting to Enhance Student Attitudes in a University Academic Writing Class

2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Julia Harper
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Writing Classes ◽  
Student Reaction ◽  
Writing Class ◽  
Academic Assignments ◽  
Student Confidence

This study describes a combination movie watching and freewriting task used to supplement the regular materials being used in two freshman university writing classes with the aim of creating an enjoyable writing environment in which to build student confidence and skills. The study aimed to explore (1) the benefits of the task as perceived by the student participants, and (2) the benefits with regard to general writing skills as perceived by the instructor. Results showed a positive student reaction, with the majority citing both affective benefits and the improvement of various skills. In addition, teacher analysis of freewriting journals showed improvements in both speed and form over 11 weeks. The instructor also observed that students were able to apply the increased confidence and speed attained by freewriting to their academic assignments, and, at the same time, to apply some of the academic writing skills learned in the class to their freewriting. 本論では、学習者の作文技術の向上と作文に対する自信強化を図るための環境づくりを目的に、大学１年生を対象とする2つの作文クラスで通常の教材を補足する形で行われた、映画鑑賞と自由作文を組み合わせた活動に関する分析結果を報告する。第1の分析は、学生のコメントから得られたこの活動における効果に関するものである。第2の分析は、学習者の課題成果物から教師が得た効果に関するものである。学習者の大部分が課題への積極的な取り組みを見せ、この活動の情意的効果と、自身の作文技術向上を指摘した。さらに、11週にわたり行った自由作文課題の分析からは、作文のスピードや作文構成における向上が確認された。また、ウォームアップ活動としての自由作文と、同じ授業内で課されたアカデミックライティング課題それぞれから習得された作文能力・技術が、相互に効果的な影響を与えていることが認められた。

scholarly journals International Postgraduate Student’s Challenges in Academic Writing in Malaysian Public Universities

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sedigheh Sahkib Kotamjani
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Positive Attitude ◽  
Public Universities ◽  
Home Country ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
English Medium Instruction

The purpose of this study is to investigate International postgraduate perceptions of difficulty with academic writing in Malaysian public universities. This research employed survey and semi-structured interview to collect data. A survey was used to collect demographic data and students’ perceptions of difficulties in general writing and language-related skills. The results revealed that students had a positive attitude towards academic writing; however, they were not well-prepared in terms of academic writing skills in their home country. Moreover, students perceived greater difficulty with language related problems than general writing skills.  This study implied that international postgraduate students who graduated from non-English medium instruction universities should be supported in terms of general writing and language related skills through computer-assisted writing instruction to be autonomous writers.

Impact of Faculty and Programmatic Resources on the Proportion of Academic Doctoral Degrees in Professional Physical Therapist Education Programs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tara Dickson ◽  
Beth Deschenes ◽  
Peggy Gleeson ◽  
Jason Zafereo
Keyword(s):  
Professional Education ◽  
Higher Education Policy ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Physical Therapist ◽  
Doctoral Degree ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Doctoral Degrees ◽  
Physical Therapist Education ◽  
Core Faculty ◽  
Therapist Education

Abstract Objective The Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education has introduced a requirement that 50% of core faculty members in a physical therapist education program have an academic doctoral degree, which many programs are not currently meeting. Competition between programs for prestige and resources may explain the discrepancy of academic achievement among faculty despite accreditation standards. The purpose of this study was to identify faculty and program characteristics that are predictive of programs having a higher percentage of faculty with academic doctoral degrees. Methods Yearly accreditation data from 231 programs for a 10-year period were used in a fixed-effects panel analysis. Results For a 1 percentage point increase in the number of core faculty members, a program can expect a decline in academic doctoral degrees by 14% with all other variables held constant. For a 1% increase in either reported total cost or expenses per student, a program could expect a 7% decline in academic doctoral degrees with all other variables held constant. Programs that have been accredited for a longer period of time could expect to have proportionately more faculty members with academic doctoral degrees. Conclusions Programs may be increasing their core faculty size to allow faculty with academic doctoral degrees to focus on scholarly productivity. The percentage of faculty with academic doctoral degrees declines as programs increase tuition and expenditures, but this may be due to programs’ tendency to stratify individuals (including part-time core faculty) into teaching- and research-focused efforts to maximize their research prowess and status. Impact This study illuminates existing relationships between physical therapist faculty staffing, time spent in research versus teaching, and program finances. The results of this study should be used to inform higher education policy initiatives aimed to lower competitive pressures and the costs of professional education.

scholarly journals Learner autonomy, self-regulation skills and self-efficacy beliefs – How can students’ academic writing skills be supported?

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 381-402
Author(s):  
Åsa Mickwitz ◽  
Marja Suojala
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Efficacy Beliefs ◽  
Traditional Learning ◽  
Multiple Choice Questions ◽  
Regulatory Strategies ◽  
Academic Settings

Abstract High self-efficacy beliefs and effective self-regulatory strategies are increasingly important in academic settings, and especially in developing academic writing skills. This article deals with how students develop academic writing skills in two different pedagogical settings (as autonomous learners and in a traditional learning environment), and how this is associated with the students’ self-regulatory strategies and self-efficacy beliefs. In the study, self-regulatory skills referred to the ability to take charge of, manage and organize the learning process, while self-efficacy beliefs were defined as the strength of students’ confidence to accomplish an extensive task and sense of succeeding. The method was quantitative, including some qualitative elements, and data was elicited through a survey answered by 150 students, after they had attended courses in academic writing. The survey consisted of 1 open-ended question and 16 multiple-choice questions (a five-point Likert scale). The data was analyzed using SPSS. The results show that self-regulatory skills and self-efficacy beliefs have a greater impact on learning academic writing skills in traditional learning settings than in learning settings where the students are supposed to work more independently, and where teacher support is not available to the same extent.

scholarly journals An Attempt at Promoting Undergraduate Sudanese EFL Students’ Performance in Academic Writing Skills

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ammar Mohammed Ahmed Mudawy
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Extensive Reading ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Holy Quran ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
University Level

The study aims at suggesting effective methods and techniques that could improve English as a foreign language EFL students’ performance in writing skills. The researcher uses the descriptive, analytical method. Four tools were adopted pretest, post-test, supporting program, and a questionnaire for teachers for collecting data. Twenty-five students in Holy Quran University, Sudan, were chosen purposively, and thirty EFL teachers at a university level were randomly selected as a sample for the study. Ninty percent of the teachers agree on the suggested program and techniques. The findings of the study indicate that: using varied techniques and activities in pre-writing stage promotes students’ performances in writing, integration of reading and writing skills in the classroom improves students’ writing skills, as well as encouraging extensive reading outside the classroom promotes students’ performance in writing skills. Accordingly, the researcher recommends that: teachers should focus on the prewriting stage through different activities as well as reading and writing should be used in an integrated way in-class writing to guide the writing process.

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