“…Instead, PhD researchers are expected, seemingly, to become competent discursive practitioners just by watching, mimicking or modifying how more established academics formulate and articulate questions, comments and observations. Given that such learning strategies are now seen to be inadequate for the development of postgraduate writing skills (Aitchison and Lee, 2006;Delyser, 2003;Ferguson, 2009;Larcombe et al, 2007;Lee and Kamler, 2008), it is strange that the development of discursive skills has been left largely untouched within formal PhD training programmes. One explanation for this absence, perhaps, is deficiencies in pedagogic repertoires.…”