Transcript Paper0022_AlhassanA

Student-produced library research paper genre:
one genre label but different requirements and
expectations
Awad Alhassan
Department of Language & Linguistics
University of Essex
[email protected]
In this presentation:
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Student academic writing
Review of the literature (research gap)
Focus & context of the study
Significance of the study
Research questions
Methodology
Data analysis
Results & discussion
Implications & insights for the EAP
Conclusion & suggestions for further research
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Overview: student academic writing
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Student coursework assignment genre in tertiary education seems to
have been relatively under- researched in the literature of genre
theory and EAP.
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The investigation, therefore, of this kind of student genre and thus
demystifying its surrounding requirements and expectations is
important to students writers so as to successfully produce this genre
in the university settings.
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Review of the literature (research
gap) (1)
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Most of the studies on student writing in university settings (e.g.,
Canseco & Byrd, 1989; Cooper & Bikowski, 2007; Hale et al 1996;
Horowitz, 1986) adopted survey methodologies.
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Those studies used course syllabuses and lecturers’ handouts in
order to analyse and classify the types of different writing tasks
faculty assign to students in the university settings.
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Review of the literature (research
gap) (2)
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Among the classifications of the types of writing assigned to student
in university settings is the library research paper.
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Library research paper: a paper that incorporates and synthesises
information from multiple bibliographic sources.
For the purpose of my study, I will only focus on this type of writing
and I will elaborate on that later.
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Review of the literature (research
gap) (3)
Moving beyond mere labeling of the genre
Previous studies mapped the types of writing students are required to
produce in university settings.
However, more research is needed to move beyond the mere labeling
of the student genres and further uncover the different socio-contextual
factors surrounding the production of these genres.
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Focus and context of the study
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Three compulsory courses in an Accounting and Finance
postgraduate programme taught in the academic year 2007-2008 in
the Essex School of Accounting, Finance and Management.
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The courses are:
- Issues in Financial Reporting
- Management Accounting
- Corporate Finance
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Significance of the study
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Business studies as subject area seems to be the most attractive area
for international students compared to the other subject areas.
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International students enrolled in these programmes in US and UK
constitutes more than 20 % of the total body of International
students in each of these countries (Davis, 1998; HESA, 2007).
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Research questions
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What types of writing students are asked to produce on the
Accounting & Finance programme?
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In what ways are these types of writing similar and in what
ways do they differ?
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What requirements and expectations Accounting & Finance
programme faculty place on student writers to produce these
types of writing?
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Methodology (1)
Participants
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The main study comprised both student and lecturer participants
but in this paper I will only report on the lecturer participants part
of the study.
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Three lecturers from the Accounting and Finance programme
participated in the study.
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They allowed tape recorded face-to-face interviews.
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They are the same lecturers who were teaching the Accounting and
Finance programme three compulsory courses.
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Methodology (2)
Interviews
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The interviews took the form of discourse-based interviews where
interviewees were given prompt cards and questions, follow-up
questions and probes are evolved around the texts on the prompt
cards (Odell et al, 1983; Lillis, 2001).
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To fully obtain the insider’s ‘emic’ perspective into the
investigation and thereby reducing the outsider researcher’s ‘etic’
presupposed dominant judgment on the genre under research
(Cohen et al, 2000).
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Methodology (3)
Textual sources for the discourse-based interviews
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Cooper and Bikowski’s (2007) taxonomy on writing in tertiary
contexts.
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Lecturers’ feedback on the students’ actual writing.
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The assignment question’ sheets.
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Data analysis
My analysis of data will be based on the data obtained from:
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the type of writing in the three compulsory courses
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lecturers’ demands, requirements and expectations
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the similarities and differences found between writing for the three
compulsory courses
To anonymise the identity of the participants, the following codes
are used: L1, L2 and L3.
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Results and discussion (1)
The type of writing assigned on the Accounting and Finance
programme is library research paper
Where student writers incorporate and synthesise from various
sources in the literature to respond to the questions assigned.
I’ve set a library research paper, that is I’ve chosen a question that cannot necessarily
be easily answered from one paper, they [student writers] have to go to a number of
sources in order to answer the question. (L1)
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Results and discussion (2)
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This finding confirms those of the previous studies adopting survey
methodologies in that library research paper is one of the types of
the writing tasks students are expected to produce in university
settings.
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However, these studies did not:
- provide sufficient information on different other aspects.
- inform us about the requirements and expectations the production
of this library research- paper- type places on student writers.
- differentiate between different disciplines of business courses for
each of which writing might significantly vary (Zhu, 2004).
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Results and discussion (3)
Writing for the Accounting and Finance programme features some
variations and similarities
Although
these courses belong to one discipline which is accounting
and finance, the
writing
tasks feature some variations and similarities.
Whilst
writing for Issues in Financial Reporting and Management
Accounting is critical, theoretical, subjective in nature, writing for
Corporate Finance is statistical, mathematical and objective in nature.
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Results and discussion (4)
It’s basically been mathematical and statistical methods that this paper [Corporate
Finance] is following. Because essentially this paper that I ask them to write is
mostly quantitative in nature, it’s not qualitative. Figures and statistics and data,
econometrics, etc. (L2)
Management Accounting lecturer agreed with this point:
In corporate finance, it’s more mathematical. But in 901 [Issues in Financial
Reporting] and 903 [Management Accounting], no, it’s more of theory than
practical problems. So, we tend to tell students to write critically and analytically.
(L3)
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Results and discussion (5)
Crossing disciplines in writing for Issues in Financial Reporting
and Management Accounting
Writing
for both Issues in Financial Reporting and Management
Accounting requires students to import theories from other discipline
and use them in their responding to the assignment questions.
For 901 [Issues in Financial Reporting] and 903 [Management Accounting] we
normally use theory to illuminate our problem, our solution. We use what we call
sociological theories, anthropological theories, and philosophical theories. You see
901 [Issues in Financial Reporting] and 903 [Management Accounting] tend to be
interdisciplinary courses. (L3)
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Results and discussion (6)
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This finding confirms Samraj’s (2002), Thaiss et al’s (2006)
findings on that student writing in university settings is surrounded
by a multilayered context in which the discipline layer has
different influences on the writing of the students.
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Results and discussion (7)
Evaluation is an important requirement in the Accounting and
Finance programme students’ writing.
Lecturers seem to focus on the evaluation in the critical evaluation
requirement in the tasks assigned.
Student writers should not just confine themselves to the discussion of
the pros and cons of the topic; they should be capable of stating their
own reasoned opinion at the end.
The key thing is the ‘evaluate’. To critically evaluate is to say you are taking a more
neutral view and it’s something beyond just analysis. It’s not just the advantages and
the disadvantages. But saying why they [students] are important and come to their
own opinion in the end. I always say to my students that descriptive essays can only
secure pass mark. (L1)
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Implications & insights for EAP (1)
Bridging the gap between writing outside and inside the discipline
Teaching
academic writing for accounting and finance students
should be geared towards the requirements and expectations in the
discipline (Hyland, 2002).
teachers could raise student writers’ generic and rhetorical
awareness of the writing expected of them inside the discipline
(Paltridge, 2004; Samraj, 2002, 2004).
EAP
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Implications & insights for EAP (2)
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EAP teachers could use successful previous student papers and
expert papers in the field.
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EAP teachers could also make some contacts with the Accounting
and Finance programme subject specialists.
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Interview subject specialist on the specific requirements and
expectations the writing on their own courses places on students.
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Help EAP teachers gear their teaching in a way that matches with
what is required by the faculty.
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EAP teachers would be able to effectively raise students’ rhetorical
awareness and expectations of what it is like to write inside the
discipline.
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Implications & insights for EAP (3)
Teaching the Accounting and Finance programme students to
write critically and not descriptively
Necessitate
that those students should know how to write critically
and avoid merely descriptive writing.
EAP
instructors:
- should show students how to write critically.
- could compare and contrast samples for descriptive writing,
analytical writing and analytical and evaluative writing.
- should show students that writing in the Accounting and Finance
programme is not just to write about the pros and cons, they should
rather know how to evaluate things in writing and to come up with
their own opinion at the end.
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Conclusion and suggestions for
further research (1)
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Student writing in university settings in general and in business
studies in particular turned out to be less-researched in the
literature of genre theory and EAP.
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Student writing assignments in university contexts cannot be fully
uncovered through the sole use of survey methodologies.
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There are many rhetorical requirements and faculty expectations
underlying the effective production of these genres.
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Conclusion and suggestions for
further research (2)
Limitations of the present study
Involvement
of the EAP teachers into my investigation.
Future studies on student writing in university contexts, could make
up for that by the involvement of the EAP teachers of such
investigations.
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Research
questions in relation to this point could, for instance, be on:
- the awareness EAP teachers/instructors hold about the generic
variations found in writing on the Accounting and Finance programme.
-Whether the textbooks and the ways those teachers teach the
Accounting and Finance programme students academic writing
acknowledge these variations.
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Conclusion and suggestions for
further research (3)
Caution!!!
The
School of Accounting, Management and Finance is one of the
Essex biggest schools:
- More than 120 postgraduate students enrolled in various schemes.
- More than 40 staff members teaching on these programmes.
-Due to time and space constraints, the study was limited to only one
graduate programme.
- Only eight informants (students and staff) participated in the
investigation.
So,
caution should be taken when the findings of this study are
interpreted.
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References (1)
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Canseco, G., & Byrd, P. (1989). Writing Required in Graduate Courses in
Business Administration. TESOL Quarterly, 23 (2). Pages: 305–316.
Cohen, L., Manion, L., Morrison, K. (2000). (5th ed). Research Methods
in Education. London: Routledge.
Cooper, A & Bikowski, D. (2007). Writing at the graduate level: What
tasks do professors actually require? Journal of English for Academic
Purposes, 6(3). Pages: 206-221.
Davis, T.M. (1998). Open doors 1997/98: report on international
educational exchange. New York: Institute of International Education.
Hale, G., Taylor, C., Bridgeman, B., Carson, J., Kroll, B., & Kantor, R.
(1996). A study of writing tasks assigned in academic degree programmes.
Educational Testing Service Research Report 54. Princeton: Educational
Testing Service.
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References (2)
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HESA: Higher Education Statistics Agency. It is the central source for the
collection and dissemination of statistics about the publicly funded higher
education institutions in UK. It provides information on all higher
education students in UK by the level, mode and the subject of study.
http://www.hesa.ac.uk/dox/dataTables/studentsAndQualifiers/download/su
bject0607.xls Accessed 5 August 2008.
Horowitz, D.M. (1986). What professors actually require: Academic tasks
for the ESL classroom. TESOL Quarterly, 20(3 ). Pages: 445-460.
Hyland, K. (2002). Specificity revisited: how far should we go now?
English for Specific Purposes, 21(4). Pages: 385-395.
Lillis, T.M. (2001). Student Writing: Access, Regulation, Desire. London:
Routledge.
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References (3)
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Odell, L., Goswami, D., & Herrington, A. (1983). The discourse-based
interview: A procedure for exploring the tacit knowledge of writers in
nonacademic settings. In. P. Mosenthal, L. Tamor, & S.A. Walmsley
(Eds.). Research on Writing: Principles and Methods. New York:
Longman.
Paltridge, B. (2004). Academic writing: Review article. Language
Teaching, 37 (2). Pages: 87-105.
Samraj, B. (2002). Texts and Contextual Layers: Academic Writing in
Content Courses. In. A.M Johns (Eds.). Genre in the Classroom: Multiple
Perspectives. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Samraj, B. (2004). Discourse features of the student-produced academic
research paper: variations across disciplinary courses. Journal of English
for Academic Purposes, 3(1). Pages: 5-22.
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References (4)
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Thaiss, C. & Zawacki, T.M. (2006). Engaged writers and
dynamic disciplines: research on the academic writing life.
Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook.
Zhu, W. (2004). Writing in business courses: an analysis of
assignment types, their characteristics, and required skills. English
for Specific Purposes, 23(2). Pages: 111-135.
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