A Guide for International Students

Review: An Innovative Resource for Novice Academic Writers (Bailey, 2006)

       This handbook was written by Stephen Bailey, who has been a university teacher of English for Academic Purposes for the last ten years. This highly experienced teacher of English has also worked in other countries such as Spain, Japan, Malaysia and the Czech Republic. Bailey (2006) considers that academic writing is crucial for overseas students who are studying at English-medium colleges and universities. Thus, this practical handbook has been written to help international students develop their academic writing abilities.

       This newfangled handbook is basically organized into four parts. Each part provides easy-to-understand explanations, diagrams and practice exercises. Part one focuses on the writing process and is divided into three main sections: Writing Foundations, Reading and Note-making, and Writing Stages. Part two depicts the different elements of writing, for instance: argument, cause and effect, cohesion, comparison and so forth. Part three emphasizes on accuracy and deals with subjects such as abbreviations, articles, confusing pairs, and punctuation. Part four presents different writing models (formal letters, CVs, essays).

       Within the academic world, plagiarism is one of the major issues to be dealt with. Great importance to this topic is given by Bailey (2006) when he asserts that:

All students have to face the issue of plagiarism. Plagiarism means taking information or ideas from another writer and using them in your own work, without acknowledging the source in an accepted manner. In academic work, plagiarism can be a serious offence (p. 7).

Besides, students are provided with techniques to avoid plagiarism such as paraphrasing and referencing, which are illustrated with appropriately chosen examples extracted from genuine material.

       Several are the strengths of the book, which contribute to the usefulness of the source. This point could be illustrated by means of some examples such as: the fact that this handbook provides a key, with the purpose of developing learners’ autonomy; the presentation of different writing models and the emphasis made on academic lexicon as well. Another beneficial aspect is the implementation of cross-references that generates an easy access to the sections required by students.

       In this second edition of the handbook, Bailey (2006) offers teachers and lecturers who use this book with their students, the possibility of finding extra teaching material within the teacher resources section of the Routledge website at http://www.routledge.com/education.

       An existing third edition of this handbook cannot be omitted. Thus, Ottman (2012) compares this second version of the book with the third one and explains that the latter has been improved considerably as regards content reorganization and the companion website (http://www.routledge.com/education) has been updated with topics and activities that were not covered in the previous edition. Regarding the issue of plagiarism, it seems to be broadly analised by the third edition of the handbook since it offers a more extensive coverage of the topic.

       By means of this second edition,  Bailey (2006) has intended to offer university level students who have to develop their writing skills for academic requirements a practical, updated and easy-to-follow handbook which covers the whole writing process.

References

Bailey, S. (2006). Academic Writing: A Handbook for International Students. Second Edition. London: Routledge.

Ottman,T. (2012). Academic Writing – A Handbook for International Students. Reviews. English Teaching professionally. Retrieved on October, 2012 from http://www.etprofessional.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1409:academic-writing--a-handbook-for-international-students-3rd-ed&catid=17&Itemid=36

This Annotated Bibliography provides an overview on Stockwell's (2012) reply to Ballance's (2012) critical insights

Annotated Bibliography: A Thorough Reply to Ballance’s Critical Pespective

Source: Stockwell, G. (2012). Working with constraints in mobile learning: A response to Ballance Language Learning & Technology, 16(3): 24-31. Retrieved on October, 2012 from http://llt.msu.edu/issues/october2012/ballance.pdf

       Stockwell (2012) aims to reply thoroughly to Ballance’s (2012) critical view on his research project findings obtained in 2010. Stockwell (2012) supports his ideas by means of supplying some responding insights regarding the following claims posed by Ballance (2012): the pen-and-paper nature of Stockwell’s activities designed for MALL (Mobile assisted language learning) and the obsolete essence of Stockwell’s findings research. With the aim of explaining in detail the nature of MALL activities, Stockwell (2012) states that “Perhaps the most important point to clarify is that the vocabulary selected for the activities were taken from authentic videos of human interest stories from a US news program” (p. 24). Besides, he highlights that during the research, students presented learning difficulties with some vocabulary. Consequently, those demanding vocabulary items were used in the activities. Stockwell (2012), finally reflects upon the idea that technological evolution is part of learners’ lives; subsequently, it is also part of the learning and researching environment.

References

Ballance, J. O. (2012). Mobile language learning: More than just “the platform”. Language Learning & Technology, 16(3): 21-23. Retrieved on October, 2012 from http://llt.msu.edu/issues/october2012/ballance.pdf 

Stockwell, G. (2012). Working with constraints in mobile learning: A response to Ballance. Language Learning & Technology, 16(3): 24-31. Retrieved on October, 2012 from http://llt.msu.edu/issues/october2012/ballance.pdf

Outline. This outline intends to depict how Ballance (2012) critically focusses on Stockwell's (2010) research findings on MALL

Outline: A Critical View on Mobile Assisted Language Learning

Purpose: this outline aims to provide an overview on Ballance’s (2012) technological-educational article, by means describing how the ideas throughout the article are organized so as to convey the author’s critical view on Stockwell’s (2010) research.

Audience: educational and technological fields’ readers.

Thesis statement: According to Ballance’s (2012), Stockwell’s (2010) findings are not only limited by the fast pace of technological development, but also by the scope of the research itself.

I.                   Ballance (2012) explains that he will focus critically on Stockwell’s (2010) research on MALL.

II.                Background information is provided.

A.    CALL origins and description.

B.      The importance of the internet emergence for CALL and MALL.

C.     MALL emergence

III.             Ballance (2012) explores some negative aspects of Stockwell’s (2010) research.

A.    Research findings become obsolete because of the speed of the technological development.

B.     The difference posed by the existence of different kinds of platforms.

C.     Technological devices present physical differences.

IV.             Ballance (2012) criticizes the nature of the activities used throughout Stockwell’s (2010) project.

A.    Ballance (2012) provides reasons for which he considers Stockwell’s project activities to be designed for pen-and-paper completion.

B.     Ballance (2012) expresses his point of view by means of suggesting the use of apps.

V.                Ballance’s (2012) final conclusion

A.    Stockwell’s (2010) research findings are obsolete because of the existence of two main limitations:

a)      Technology develops at a fast pace.

b)      The research itself presents a limited scope.

A Subtle Introduction to Academic Writing

Academic Summary: " Providing a Real Purpose to Learn"

      “Writing For the World: Wikipedia as an Introduction to Academic Writing” is an educational article, which aims to show how novel academic writers “gain a real sense of audience and enjoy the satisfaction of seeing their work published on a high-traffic global website” (p. 18). In order to have the article published, students will have to fulfil the necessary academic requirements of the task by means of focusing on the following eight steps.

      This project provides students with easy scope steps to guide them and help them to fulfil the academic requirements of the already mentioned assignment. The first step within the composing process consists on examining Wikipedia while searching for different articles as examples. Then, “after students have gained some familiarity with Wikipedia and its conventional forms, they can begin to identify potential topics for their own articles” (Tardy, 2010, p. 5).

      The upcoming stage involves outlining and paraphrasing. Tardy (2010) reflects upon the idea that producing specific outlines will foster an easier move to the subsequent drafting stage. Drafting implies making a coherent text respecting the Wikipedia style for writing the article. The previously mentioned draft should be revised considering content, organization and style. In the following formatting stage, students are expected to deal with citations accordingly to what Wikipedia's demands. At this instance, students have to polish their productions and do a final proofreading.

      Then,“After registering as Wikipedia users, students can publish their articles in just a few steps. While articles are published immediately, some are quickly flagged for problems (such as missing references or insufficient content) and authors are asked by Wikipedia editors to make further revisions” (Tardy, 2010, p.18).

      To sum up, and in the light of Tardy's words:

The Wikipedia-writing project described here introduces students to many skills of academic research writing in a manageable and interesting way. While the assignment may be best suited to undergraduate or graduate-level writing, even secondary students could engage with stages of the assignment, perhaps contributing to existing Wikipedia articles rather than producing their own original articles (2010, p.18).

      Rounding up, this article aims to depict how students can be purposefully and practically introduced to the academic writing world. In order to have their articles published, students managed to fulfil the academic requirements of the task taking into account Tardy’s step-by-step guide.

References

Tardy, C. M. (2010). Writing for the world: Wikipedia as an introduction to Academic Writing. English Teaching Forum, 1, pp. 12-19, 27. Retrieved from

http://exchanges.state.gov/englishteaching/forum/archives/docs/10-48-1-c.pdf

Attempting to reflect upon Discourse Communities

An Attempt to provide a Descriptive Reflection on Discourse Communities

               In the light of Swales’(1990) theory  a discourse community  should meet the following features: common goals, participatory mechanisms, information exchange, community-specific genres, highly specialized terminology, and a general level of expertise. The central purpose of this paper is to provide a reflection upon the significance of the previously mentioned requirements of a discourse community.

              One of the main characteristics of a discourse community is to have common goals. The members of a discourse community prevail together since they have a collective purpose to achieve and to struggle for. Hoffman- Kipp, Artiles, and  Lopez-Torres. (2003) put forward the idea that:

The goal-directed nature of human activity in cultural contexts supports learning environments where people collaborate, use artifacts, strategize solutions to problems, and relay on other, more experienced members of the activity system. For example, several teachers working in urban multicultural schools might voluntarily gather on monthly basis to study their own professional practice as it relates to addressing the needs of minority students. Inquiry and deep reflection drive their meetings and define this micro community within the school. (para. 17).

             Thus, common goals enhance collaborative work and provide novices with the opportunity of learning from other community members with more experience. Undoubtedly, a community of teachers working together fosters a profound sense of collective reflection and mutual academic and professional enrichment.

            Two other requirements of a discourse community, which are intricately related, are participatory mechanisms and information exchange. The members of a discourse community should provide other members with information and feedback, and this will only occur if they are immersed in an enriching process of permanent sharing of reflections within an intercommunicative environment. Summing up, Hoffman-Kipp et al’s., (2003) words, it can be said that, reflecting without participating is as impossible as thought without language. Whenever we refer to a discourse community, we should consider that reflection goes hand-in-hand with participation, being both factors of valuable importance for the professional development of discourse community members.

            Other important features that a member of a discourse community should take into consideration are the academic genre conventions and the use of specialized lexis as well. According to Kelly-Kleese’s (2001) perspective, “The use of such language and definitions exemplifies the argument that the communicative competence within academe belongs to the university discourse community ” (para. 2). A member of a discourse community at university level is expected to respect academic genre conventions and to be able to manipulate language skillfully to make his/her voice heard.

            The last requirement of a discourse community is the level of expertise of its members, for instance, in the area of teaching, as it is our case. We are all part of a collaborative culture in which reflecting critically upon our own praxis and upon how to improve the teaching-learning process is the principal goal. For ourselves, for our learners, for a better education, and as McLaughlin and Talbert (1993) uphold, “For the learning to have long-standing impact, “teachers need teachers to grow with” in a discourse community. A discourse community cannot exist in the absence of a collaborative culture and an environment that supports risk-taking and reflection.” ( as cited in Wenzlaff & Wieseman, 2004, para. 32).

            To conclude, and taking into consideration Swales' (1990) six principles as well as all the reflections published by the above cited authors, it can be asserted that a discourse community, to be considered as such, should be characterized by the six previously mentioned features.

 

References

Hoffman-Kipp, P., Artiles, A. J., & Lopez Torres, I. (2003). Beyond reflection: teacher learning as praxis. Theory into Practice. Retrieved October 2007, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_mONQM/is_3_42/ai_108442653

Kelly-Kleese, C. (2001). Editor’s choice: An open memo to Community College Faculty and Administrators. Community College Review. Retrieved October 2007, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HCZ/is_1_29/ai_77481463

McLaughlin & Talbert, 1993. (Wenzlaff, T. L., & Wieseman, K.C. (2004). Teachers need teachers to grow. Teacher Education Quarterly. Retrieved October 2007, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3960/is_200404/ai_n9349405 )
Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Presentation

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to my academic blog! I`m Valeria Fernandez, I´m 32 years old, I´m an English teacher and I live in Tandil. I graduated from teachers training college in 2006 and I love keeping update and facing new challenges all the time!

As a way of getting updated I have decided to study at Universidad Caece a distance learning programme of studies called "Licenciatura en la Enseñanza del idioma Inglés".
In one of the courses I am  attending during this semester,called "EAP" (English for Academic Purposes) we were asked to create this blog as a way of learning collectively, while sharing our works with classmates and tutors.

I am sure we will have a great experience working, sharing and learning together.

Valeria