Learningtowrite:Writingtolearn1

AcademicWriting:ALiteratureReview

Academicwritingplaysamajorroleinthefieldofhighereducation
andistheprimaryformofcommunicationwithinindividualsubject
disciplines.Inrecentyearshowever,concernshavearisen
regardingstudentabilityinthisarea.Manyresearchersand
academicsarenowinvestigatingthecurrentandfutureroleof
academicwritingwithin21st Centuryeducationalinstitutions.This
paperwillthereforediscussthecurrenttheoriesimplementedby
practitionersandthepracticalwaysinwhichsuchdebatescanbe
developed.

Theproblemofacademicwriting

Academicwritingisusedtoexpressacquiredknowledgeina
specificsubjectarea.Suchwritingtendstobeseriousinnatureand
oftendemonstratesparticulartheoriesorargumentsinrelationtoa
specifieddiscourse.Academicwritingismainlyundertakenfor
learningdevelopmentorcourseassessmentpurposesandthesame
principlesapplytopublicationofacademicpapers.

Thechangingnatureofhighereducationiscreatingamajorissuein
thesupportanddevelopmentofacademicwriting.From1987to
1992studentparticipationinhighereducationdoubled,changing
fromanelitistsystemintoamassone(althoughcritics,Layer2006,
arguethatthefailureoffundingagenciestomatchthegrowthof
resourcesmeansthatitissimplycrowded). Inadditiontothis
growth,thepresentgovernmentplanstoincreasethenumberof
studentsinhighereducationsubstantiallyoverthenextdecade
effectively,

expandingtowards50%participation(GreatBritain2003.p.22).

Thisincreaseinstudentnumbershasbroughtwithitaproliferation
instudentdiversity,withhighereducationinstitutionsencountering
studentswithvaryingacademicabilitiesandculturalbackgrounds.
Practically,theincreaseinstudentnumbershasalsocreated
resourceissuesinmanyinstitutionswithbothacademicstaffand
learningfacilitiesbeingconsiderablystretched.TheDearingreport
in1997highlightedtheneedforaradicalchangeinattitudesto
teaching(p.15)inordertocopewiththenewchallengesfacingthe
highereducationsector.

1
Britton,J1970
Themagnitudeoftheissuesraisedabovedemonstratesaneedfor
swiftandsignificantchangeinhighereducationwritingprovision
andhighlightstherequirementforashiftinbothteachingpedagogy
andpracticalmethod(Haggis,2006).Academicwritingis
increasinglybecomingaprominentissuewhichneedstobe
addressed.

Internationally,academicwritinganditstheoriesareevidentin
Australia,SouthAfrica,andNorthernEuropehoweveritisthe
UnitedStatesthathasdevelopedmostsubstantiallyinthefield.
Americaninstitutionshavebeenprovidingtheirstudentswith
writingsupportsincethelate19th century.Inresponse,theories
anddevelopmentsinacademicwritinghavebeendiscussedand
publishedintheUSAsincethe1960s(GrabeandKaplan,1996).
ConsequentlyBritainalsoneedstoimplementarangeof
approachestoacademicwritingtoreflecttheincreasedsizeand
diversityofthestudentpopulation.

Theimportanceofacademicwriting

Academicwritingplaysamajorroleinhighereducation,bothin
studentunderstandingofcoursecontentandtheconsequent
assessmentofstudentknowledge.Recentstudieshavehighlighted
thatacademicstaffareawareoftheimportanceofwriting,withone
surveyhighlightingthatalmost90%ofstafffeltthatitwas
necessarytoteachwritingskillstouniversitystudents(Ganobscik
Williams,2004.p.28).Maintainingstandardsofacademicwriting
hassignificantimplicationsforboththoseteaching,andlearningin
highereducation.

Theabilitytoexpressthemselveseffectivelyisanintrinsic
transferableskillforstudents,whichcanbemasteredand
developedthroughouttheiruniversityeducation. Inorderfor
studentstolearnandcontributetotheirsubjectfield,an
understandingofthelanguageusedandtheabilitytocommunicate
insuchdialogueisessential.Fromapractionersviewpoint,marking
becomesfarlesslaboriouswhentheworkiswellwrittenand
displaysargumentsclearlyandconcisely. Itconsequentlyfallsto
theroleofteachingstafftoinitiatestudentsintotheirdisciplineand
tosupportthemduringtheiracademicprogress.Thedevelopment
ofeffectiveacademicwritingsupportclearlyoffersreciprocalbenefit
tobothstudentsandstaff.Nevertheless,thewaysinwhichitis
integratedintosubjectdisciplinescreatesachallengeforthehigher
educationsector.
KeyTheoriesandMethodologies

Keythinkersinvolvedinthefieldofacademicwritingcomefroma
rangeofdisciplinesandmanyhavetaughtandarestillteachingina
highereducationenvironment.Asacademicsthemselves,writersin
thisfieldhavedocumentedtheirattemptstonegotiateapath
betweenthelimitedresourcesoftheeducationsectorandthe
escalatingdemandsplaceduponthem.

Mostofthecurrentresearchundertakentendstofocusprimarilyon
smallscaleprojectsthatexamineindividualexperiencesasopposed
toawholeinstitutionapproachtoacademicwriting. Consequently,
thefindingsofsuchsmallscaleresearchcannotbeeasilyappliedon
anationalscale.

IntheUKthereisabroadconsensusaboutthethreemain
approachestoacademicwritinginhighereducationtheskills
model,thesocialisationmodelandfinallytheacademicliteracies
approach.

SkillsModel

Theskillsmodel(oftenreferredtoasthedeficitmodel),involves
theteachingofstudyskills,(includingwriting)throughindividual
onetoonesupportsessionsorgroupworkshops. Suchclassesare
usuallybasedinthestudentsupportcentreandareconductedby
nonacademicstaff.Sessionsfocusongenericbasedsupport
outsideofthesubjectdisciplineandtendtofocusonindividual
projectsorassignmentswithwhichstudentsmaybestruggling.Due
tothenatureofsuchsupportitisoftenviewedasaservice
providedforstudentsexperiencingacademicdifficultiesand
thereforehasarelativelevelofstigmaattached. Inpreviousyears
thethinkingbehindstudentwritingandstudysupporthasidentified
academicwritingasastudentcentredproblem(LeaandStreet,
1998).Consequentlytheskillsmodelofferspracticalsolutionsin
linewiththisnotion.Thismodelidentifiestheresponsibilityforthe
problemofacademicwritingaslyingprimarilywiththestudent.
Thisapproachidentifiestheissueasapersonalfailingandoffers
minimalsupporttostudentswhomaybestruggling.Whilst,some
studysupportcentresareattemptingtoprovideaservicethatis,
nonstigmatisedandwhichhasanondeficitmodel(Orrand
Blythman,1999.p.203), itremainstobeseenjusthowtheroleof
studentstudysupportwilldevelopwithregardtogenericacademic
writingskills.

Theskillsmodelalsohastheadvantageofbeingpowerneutral
andanonymousandforsomestudentsthismaymaketheservicea
lessintimidatingactivity.Theskillsmodel,althoughimperfect,does
haveanimportantroletoplaywithregardtostudentswhomaybe
strugglingwithgenericwritingskillsandthereforeismaintainedby
mostinstitutionsasavitalareaofsupport.

SocialisationModel

Thesocialisationmodel,(alsoreferredtoastheinstitutionaldefault
model),impliesthatstudentswillacquireacademicwritingskills
throughimplicitinduction(GanobcsikWilliams,1996.p.32). The
modelholisticallyexaminesstudentsdailyengagementwiththe
subjectdiscoursealongsidetheroleoftheinstitutionalhabitus.

Thisapproachassumesthatstudentswilldevelopknowledgeand
skillsintheirchosendiscoursesimplybybeingimmersedinthe
cultureofhighereducation.Assuchthesocialisationmodelismore
attunedtoissuesofcontextandculturethanthatoftheskills
model,andchallengesthepresumptionthatacademicwritingis
solelyanindividualissue. Whilstthisapproachhighlightsthe
studentneedtoidentifyandinterpretthelanguageofthediscourse,
italsorecognisestheuniversityanditsteachingstaffasbeing
integralinthetransferenceofacademicwritingskillsand
knowledge.

Thesocialisationmodelallowsforanappreciationoftheconceptof
acculturationandfindsitsrootsinconstructivisteducationmethods.
Byidentifyingthat,Learningisasocialactivity(Hein,1991.p.2)it
becomesclearthatsocialisationintothehighereducationculture
playsanimportantroleinstudentdevelopment. Whilstan
emergenceinthecultureofhighereducationmayplayanimportant
partwecannotsupposethatsimplesocialisationmayremedy
academicwritingissues.Ultimatelythesocialisationmodeltreats
theuniversity,

Asahomogenousculture,whosenormsandpracticeshavesimply
tobelearnttoprovideaccesstothewholeinstitution.(Leaand
StreetascitedinLeaandStierer,2000.p.35)

Discussionsoflinguisticsandacademicliteracies(SpackandZamel,
1998)however,demonstratetousthecomplexitiesoflanguage,
highlightingthatitcannotbeassumedthatstudentswillsimply
soakupthelanguageofacomplexdiscoursethatmayhavetaken
theirlecturerthemselvesmanyyearstounderstand.

Togetherthetwoapproacheshaveprovidedthetheoreticalbasisfor
practicalacademicwritingprovisionthroughouthighereducation
institutionsintheUK.Howeverthelimitationsofthesetwo
approacheshasleadresearcherstoproposethatamoreholistic
approachtoacademicwritingisrequired.Consequentlyinthelast
decadetheprominenceoftheacademicliteraciesapproachhas
developedintotheprimaryschoolofthought,withmuchof
proposedfutureactionbeingbasedarounditspropositions.

AcademicLiteraciesModel

Academicliteraciesisaprominenttheoreticalinfluenceupon
practitionersresearchingacademicwriting.Theapproachchallenges
thenotionthatwritingissolelyatechnicalskilloranindividual
actionbutinstead,

identifieswritingasasocialanddisciplinarypractice(Lillis1999.
p.26)

Theacademicliteraciesmodelthereforeexaminestheinstitutional
cultureinwhichwritingtakesplaceandthewayinwhichthismay
encourageorhinderwritingdevelopment.Thetheorytakesa
holisticapproachtowritingandexaminesthewaysinwhichcurrent
modelsandpracticesmayneedtobeadaptedinorderto
accommodatethechangingcultureofhighereducation.
Bydevelopingtheskillsandsocialisationmodelsacademicliteracies
hasbeguntoquestiontheverynatureandcontextofacademic
writing.Byexaminingwritinginsuchamoreholisticmanner,
academicliteraciesexploresthecultureandcontextinwhichwriting
takesplaceandconsequentlytheverynatureofhighereducation
itself.

Researchinthefieldofacademicwritingisprimarilybasedonsmall
scalecasestudiesandethnographicaccountsofwritingat
university(Ivanic,1998).Suchresearchprovidesamuchdeeper
understandingofthepersonalintricaciesandculturalissuesraised
bystudentsandstaffwithregardtoacademicwritingprovision.
Onekeyfeatureofthisapproachisthatitintrinsicallylinks
academicwritingandpersonalidentityhighlightinghow,

Astudentspersonalidentitymaybechallengedbytheformsof
writingrequiredinthedifferentdisciplines(LeaandStreet,2000.
p.35)

Recentresearchhasalsoexaminedissuesofidentityandwriting
withregardtoclass,race(Lillis,1999.p.24)andgender(Francis,
B.2001),highlightingtheeffectsofincreasingdiversitywithinthe
fieldofhighereducation.Lillis(1999)foundthatsomestudents
wereactuallyfullyawareofthecorrectstylesandtechnicalitiesof
writingacademically.Despitethis,theyfeltthatbywritinginsucha
mannerthepieceofworkdidnotfeelreflectiveoftheirpersonal
style. Thesefindingschallengetheskillsandsocialisation
approaches,insteadprovidingsoundevidenceforamoreholistic
model,examiningthecultureandcontextinwhichwritingtakes
place.Whilsttheacademicliteraciesapproachinfluencesthe
majorityofwritingsupportestablishedinAmerica,themajorityof
UKhighereducationinstitutionsdonotpracticetheacademic
literaciesapproach,butareinsteadtrappedinanineffectivesystem
basedprimarilyontheskillsandsocialisationmodels.Itis
importanttonotehoweverthatnoneofthesemethodsaloneis
sufficienttotackletheissueshighlightedaboveandinstitutions
needtobeawarethatthemodels,

arenotmutuallyexclusiveanddonotfollowasimplelinear
pattern(GanobscikWilliams,2004.p.36).

Itisinsteadconsideredthatthethreemodelsinterlinkandthat
eachplaysanimportantroleinthevariousfacetsofacademic
writing.Individualinstitutionsconsequentlyneedtobeawareof
eachoftheseapproachesandabletoutilisethemasandwhen
appropriate.

Thepracticalapplicationofacademicwritingtheory

Academicliteraciestheorychallengescurrentpracticeswithregard
towritingsupportandhaspromotedasubjectbasedapproachto
teachingwritingskills. Consequentlythroughthemergingofskills,
socialisationandacademicliteraciesapproaches,arangeof
practicalmethodshavebeenestablished.Thisunificationof
approachescanbeseeninanumberofinitiativesfromcompulsory
writingcoursesforstudentsintheirfirstyearthroughto
institutionalwritingcentres.Despiteclearfindingsfromthefieldof
academicliteraciesandpracticalapproachestakeninAmerica,the
majorityofmeasurestakenintheUKhavesimplyinvolved
integratinggenericwritingassistanceintostudentsupport
programmes.Nevertheless,practicalacademicwritingsupportcan
beeffectiveinanumberofwaysfromgenericwritingcoursestothe
implementationofsubjectspecificwritingwithinlectures. Academic
literaciestheorysuggeststhatinstitutionsneedtodevelopagreater
awarenessoftheissueandthereforestaffdevelopmentandtraining
wouldprovebeneficial.Allofthesemethodscanbeimplementedin
avarietyofwaysandareinformedbytherangeoftheoretical
approachesdiscussedabove.Oneoutcomeofthecurrentinterestis
thecreationoftwoCETLsLearnhigher2 andWriteNow3 whoare

2
http://www.learnhigher.ac.uk/
3
http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/depts/dops/writingcentre/writenowcetl.cfm
currentlyinvestigatinganddevelopingcollaborativeresourcesfor
sectoruse.

Insummary,academicwritingisasubstantialissuethatneeds
attentionandsupportfromtheacademiccommunity.By
amalgamatingboththeskills,socialisationandacademicliteracies
approach,institutionshavetheopportunitytodevelopeffective
frameworkstoassiststudentsintheiracademicdevelopment.
Embeddedineventhemostabstractofwritingtheoriesisthe
possibilityforpracticalinitiativestoimprovestudentwriting. Itis
thereforenecessaryforvariouspracticalwritingmethodstobe
implementedandevaluatedatbothaninstitutionwideand
individualprogrammelevelinordertodeveloparangeof
resources.Withoutsuchsupportproblemsmayarisenotonlyfor
retentionbutalsoforstudentengagementandoverallcourse
satisfaction.

Althoughthispapersuggestsafewpracticalwaysofintroducing
anddevelopingsubjectspecificacademicwritingsuchprocesses
needtobedevelopedandadaptedtofitprogrammesandindividual
academicstyles.Whilstissuesofresourcesandtimewillalwaysbe
present,theresearchoutlinedinthispaperallowsacademicstaff
theopportunitytodeveloptheirownpracticeandconsequently
improvethelearningexperiencefortheirstudents.
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