Teaching Academic Writing

Teaching Academic Writing M.M. Alameddine 48th International IATEFL Conference-Harrogate Introduction: Academic writing is often developed in students through formal instructional settings, although proficiency in academic writing may be influenced by cognitive development, educational experiences and overall proficiency in second language (L2) for ESL students. Writing is often perceived as one of the most challenging aspects of second language ( L2) learning and difficulties in writing different types of texts may come from the fact that writers have to understand the linguistic features of these different text types (Hyland, 2003b). In addition, being able to write cohesively according to the conventions of a specific academic context is even harder for L2 learners to accomplish (Flowerdew, 2002). Literature Review: A number of process-oriented research studies have explored writing behaviors, composing strategies, and the constraints that learners face in producing a coherent text (e.g., Crooks, 1989’ Raimes, 1985, 1987; Zamel, 1982, 1983). Skilled L2 writers essentially perceived a number of key components in their writing: sense of audience, recursive and nonlinear natures of the writing processes, and proper management of discourse levels. However, they have to be provided with sufficient planning practice. Research findings suggested that L1 and L2 writers are similar in that both writers have constraints on the act of composing itself. The skilled L2 writers engaged in more interaction with the emerging text and were consistently involved in more strategies, including planning, rehearsing, rescanning, revising, and editing. Four essential criteria for developing good academic writing skills have been investigated such as attitudes towards academic writing tasks, planning, writing paragraphs and essays, and evaluating students’ own writing. Advancements in writing proficiency can be accelerated when, with sufficient scaffolding, learners are encouraged to experiment concurrently with several aspects of the writing process, thereby understanding interconnections. In ESL academic writing, instruction has mostly moved away from a traditionally product approach to a process approach where instructors work with students on their written drafts and provide feedback for continuous improvement. The process approach centers around writing activities that engage learners in the process of writing, such as generation of ideas, drafting, revising, editing etc., whereas in the product approach the instructor evaluates grammatical and language structures, and content in general, and grades the work without opportunities for feedback and revisions. Process approaches focus on cognitive strategies that can be applied to writing tasks before developing a piece of writing that is well developed. Through this approach, the process allows the student to develop one’s own voice and they become more self-directed (Matsuda, 2003). In the foundations program, students are introduced to the argumentative or persuasive writing genre and instructors use the process approach to assist students in developing academic writing skills. Instructor feedback assist students in monitoring their own progress and identifying specific language areas that need to be improved (Hedge, 2000). The notion of ‘scaffolding’ emerged from Vygotsky’s concept of ‘zone of proximal development’ which refers to the distance between achievements of learners by their own efforts and what they can achieve through assisted interactions. Formative assessments in writing within ESL classrooms require learners to work closely with their instructors and demonstrate organization, critical thinking, and analytical skills in academic writing. Many researchers recommend that ESL learners must be taught to write effectively and not just correctly (Pratt-Johnson, 2008). Second language (L2) learners require adequate language tools such as grammar and vocabulary in order to construct academic texts and organize coherent written academic discourse (Hinkel, 2002). In the late 1980s and the 1990s, however, theoretical interest in writing instruction shifted to a genre approach that considers writing as a purposeful act and focuses on the analysis of the contextual situation in which writing takes place (Atkinson, 2003; Cheng, 2006, 2007, 2008; Hyland, 2003a, 2003b, 2007; Johns, 2003; Paltridge, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2007; Swami, 2008). Instead the genre approach, particularly at the early learning stage, emphasizes on developing the students’ awareness of reoccurring textural structures. The teacher’s active involvement, through explicit explanation of the contextual dimension, can scaffold for students the distinctive use of the language appropriate to the various genres (Henry & Roseberry, 1998). When L2 students are left to discover for themselves the complexities of how language works in different genres, they are likely to be thrown back on the discourse conventions of their own cultures (Christie, 1999). Then they may fail to produce texts that are either contextually adequate or educationally valued in the Australian context (Freedman, 1993, 1999; Freedman & Medways, 1994). The beneficial aspects of the genre approach have been asserted by a significant number of genre theorists. For example, the genre approach enables students to make sense of the world around them and to become aware of writing as a tool that can be used and manipulated (Kay & Dudley-Evans, 1998). As Paltridge (2001) claims the genre approach focuses on increasing students’ awareness of different ways of organizing information in writing, by discussing distinctive features of different purposeful texts. As a result of this process, students systemically acquire a meta-linguistic awareness of the English language, which empowers them to manipulate information and accomplish different purposes through writing. In short, the genre approach provides students with the confidence to handle ‘real world’ writing as it improves students’ attitudes and desire toward language learning (Swami, 2008). Many arguments have been put forward in support of genre as an organizing principle for the development of L2 learning programs. Arab Learners: Arab learners face problems in acquiring L2 (English) because of negative transference and the interference of their L1 (Arabic) writing style on their L2 writing process and product. Major problems are in the form of sentence structure, translation and lack of understanding of the genres they are expected to write in. research in ESL reveals that these learners require explicit instruction in how to write the genres they are expected to in their class/community. As teachers, we need to use instructional techniques that help our ESL learners overcome difficulties hindering the acquisition of the following skills: Writing Process Required Skills Potential Difficulty Critical Reading • Seeing relationships between sources Relating sources to thesis •Difficulty seeing relationships between sources • Difficulty relating sources to thesis Original Thinking Developing ideas based on readings • Developing a thesis •Synthesizing and evaluating sources in relation to thesis • Difficulty developing and articulating original ideas • Difficulty synthesizing sources in relation to thesis Integrating Sources Analyzing and discussing sources: • Paraphrasing • Quoting • Summarizing • Referencing multiple sources •Establishing coherence/flow (transitioning from one idea to the next, establishing relationships between ideas) •Creating context for cited material • Establishing relevance of cited material to thesis/supporting thesis • Establishing a voice/narrative •Expressing original ideas/analysis •Unclear identification/attribution of sources • Inaccurate paraphrasing and summarizing • Plagiarism • Misrepresentation of sources • Poor selection and use of cited material • Lack of coherence/flow • Difficulty integrating cited material into essay/establishing relevance of cited material • Inadequate support of thesis • Difficulty expressing original ideas • Lack of writer’s voice/lack of control over sources • Inappropriate tone • Poor word choice and sentence construction Strategies: To help students accomplish the required skills we need to make them: Aware of their audience and the purpose of their writing to edit or reformulate their writing Pay more attention to higher processes such as text organization or coordination of intentions Improve their vocabulary word bank to avoid the use of L1 in the composing process and negative transference (translation) Aware of the difference in the writing strategies between L1 & L2: L1 is circular while L2 is direct. Arab learners write in the same way they speak and conduct their daily affairs. They are affected by their culture. This writing style, which does not directly and clearly address the main idea, and is embellished with literary style, posits a problem for Arab learners in communicating their ideas (Alameddine, 2012) Use oral strategies in their writing tasks-strategies include clear transitions and key words Plan for the task since when learners plan, their accuracy becomes high and produce more complex language than when they don’t Aware that the same strategies apply for oral presentation; that is realize that they should pay attention to accuracy and structure Planning becomes important since it helps learners focus on logical relationships which in turn have significant effect on the argumentative texts to be produced. We can also: Give students access to our lectures’ content and notes; for example post them on moodle Use adequate visuals that will help them comprehend the lecture Emphasize major ideas and clearly articulate the required task Point out the critical vocabulary for them Prepare ahead a set of question clearly expressed to be discussed in class Be patient, supportive and understanding Make sure the assignment’s directions are clear and detailed, and provide a rubric with it Provide sufficient examples through critical reading of essays Provide critical and thoughtful feedback that provides ways for improvement Work on teaching citation very well. We need to help them know how to incorporate their sources and cite them properly Application: 1st Month of Class Is spent on critical reading. Different articles, particularly argumentative & persuasive essays are covered in class We analyze the structure of the essay Evaluate the genre and determine key features Locate and evaluate the thesis/claim We determine the main idea of the essay and analyze the procedure the author used in achieving it Look and evaluate the essay’s organization Focus on the linking language used in the essay and practicing our own and working on creating sentences and combining them 2nd Month of Class Assignment broken into steps: Thesis How can you formulate the problem you are interested in, in few words? What central issue do you want to address in your essay? What is your best answer to the central question of you essay? What new ideas do you have that supported your solution to the problem? Argument What kind of relationship exists between the ideas you are discussing? (Cause-effect, contradictory, …) What proofs do you have that support your solution to the problem? What are your sources? What organizational pattern are you going to use? Example: Do you believe that women and men have different communication styles? Defend your view. Page5 Page5 M. M. Alameddine