Teaching Academic Writing in European Higher Education

Björk, Lennart A.; Bräuer, Gerd; Rienecker, Lotte; Jørgensen, Peter Stray

doi:10.1007/0-306-48195-2

Cited by 29 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…The vast majority of doctoral candidates have experienced writer's block since the start of the pandemic. While writer's block is common among doctoral candidates (Lonka, 2003); the numbers reported in this study demonstrate the extent to which the pandemic may have driven a significant increase in the incidence of writer's block.…”

Section: Conclusion Writing Outputmentioning

confidence: 62%

Doctoral Candidates’ Academic Writing Output and Strategies: Navigating the Challenges of Academic Writing During a Global Health Crisis

Caux

2021

IJDS

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Aim/Purpose: To date, few studies have investigated the impact of global health crises on the academic writing of doctoral candidates. This paper seeks to start a conversation about the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on doctoral candidates’ academic writing output and strategies. Background: This paper employs and analyses data elicited from surveys and interviews involving doctoral candidates from around the world. Data were collected during April 2020, at a time when government-mandated lockdowns and restrictions on movement were in full force in many countries around the world. Methodology: Surveys were conducted with 118 doctoral candidates from over 40 institutions based in four continents. Follow-up interviews were carried out with four doctoral candidates enrolled in an Australian institution. A qualitative descriptive design, employing thematic analysis, is used to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on doctoral candidates’ writing output and strategies. The data analysis includes statistical descriptions of the surveys. Contribution: This paper provides insights into the myriad challenges and obstacles facing doctoral candidates during the COVID-19 pandemic. It describes the writing strategies adopted by doctoral candidates during a period of significant societal disruption, and illustrates how thematic analysis can be employed in research involving global health crises. Findings: Despite the adoption of novel approaches to academic writing, which appear in an insignificant minority of respondents, doctoral candidates’ overall commitment to academic writing has been negatively impacted by the pandemic. Similarly, delays to academic research activities caused by the pandemic have resulted in a significant decline in commitment (motivation) to academic writing and a substantial impact on doctoral candidates’ ability to write about their research. Recommendations for Practitioners: Supervisors and mentors should strive to provide doctoral candidates with timely feedback during the pandemic. Given the impact of the pandemic on doctoral candidates’ mental health and motivation to write, increased institutional and peer support is required to help doctoral candidates overcome academic issues during the pandemic and future health crises. This researcher recommends consulting regularly with and offering individually tailored solutions to doctoral candidates who are struggling to work on their theses during the pandemic. Similarly, institutions should empower supervisors in ways that allow them to provide greater levels of support to doctoral candidates. Recommendation for Researchers: Further research on the impacts of the pandemic on various academic cohorts, such as early career researchers (doctoral candidates, postdoctoral researchers, and assistant professors) and student cohorts (e.g., undergraduate and postgraduate), will clarify the extent to which the pandemic is impacting the academic writing of doctoral candidates. Impact on Society: The pressure placed on doctoral candidates to produce quality academic writing seems to have been heightened by the pandemic. This has a range of adverse effects for the higher education sector, particularly administrators responsible for managing doctoral candidate success and the academe, which recruits many of its faculty from holders of doctorate degrees. Future Research: Additional focus on academic writing of doctoral candidates during the pandemic is needed. Research should include randomised samples and represent a range of academic disciplines.

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Section: Conclusion Writing Outputmentioning

confidence: 62%

Doctoral Candidates’ Academic Writing Output and Strategies: Navigating the Challenges of Academic Writing During a Global Health Crisis

Caux

2021

IJDS

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“…But despite being a routine activity, academic writing is not always explicitly taught nor is support given to students to help them in the writing process. However, research shows that students need support from both instructors and peers to achieve the writing competences required in higher education (Kirschner, Sweller, & Clark, 2006;Lonka, 2003;Scheuer, Loll, Pinkwart, & McLaren, 2010;Van Merriënboer & Kirschner, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Effects of feedback on collaborative writing in an online learning environment

et al. 2013

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The need for supporting student writing has received much attention in writing research. One specific type of support is feedback-including peer feedback-on the writing process. Despite the wealth of literature on both feedback and academic writing, there is little empirical evidence on what type of feedback best promotes writing in online environments. This article reports on research that tries to determine what type of feedback best improves the quality of collaborative writing and what the effects of feedback are on student learning in an environment based on asynchronous written communication. The results reveal that concerning the type of feedback, epistemic feedback or epistemic and suggestive feedback best improve the quality of collaborative writing performance. The nature of the feedback-giver (whether teacher feedback or teacher and peer) makes a difference to the final text only when the feedback is epistemic, or epistemic and suggestive.

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European Perspectives on Second Language Writing Pedagogy

Kuteeva

2018

The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching

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English has been increasingly used as a medium of instruction in European universities, where it is often used as a lingua franca alongside national languages. Both students and teachers require support in the development of English language literacy, particularly writing skills. Writing is fundamental to knowledge construction, and the specificity of different European contexts inevitably impacts writing practices. The student writers often need to adapt their texts to multilingual and multicultural audiences. The teaching of second language writing in European contexts involves acquiring knowledge of texts and genres, understanding different contexts of writing, and developing pedagogical awareness required for working in multilingual environments. Implications for second language writing pedagogy are discussed with regards to texts and genres, students and teachers, and approaches to teaching writing.

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Teaching Academic Writing in European Higher Education

Cited by 29 publications

References 0 publications

Doctoral Candidates’ Academic Writing Output and Strategies: Navigating the Challenges of Academic Writing During a Global Health Crisis

Doctoral Candidates’ Academic Writing Output and Strategies: Navigating the Challenges of Academic Writing During a Global Health Crisis

Effects of feedback on collaborative writing in an online learning environment

European Perspectives on Second Language Writing Pedagogy

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