UoS Presentation

• What is EAP for you?
• How is it different from general English?
• How (if) is EAP different to other academic experiences you had in your native language (or any other language)?

Introduciton

To english for academic purposes

This is made the focus of the first few sessions, in order to lay a solid base for students to develop on. Focus is often given to how to develop arguments, but research shows that both students and teachers feel like the concept of argumentation is not clear enough and needs to be better and more largely explored (WINGATE, 2012)

Argumentation - session aims

By the end of this session will:

1. Understand what is and the importance of argumentation in academic writing

3. Understand what is and the importance of supporting an argument (sources)

2. Be aware of the difference between an academic argument and an opinion

3. Identify the main focus of each paragraph in the samples4. Highlight sentences and/or expressions the author has used to indicate their argument 5. Highlight sentences/expressions used to indicate any counter arguments

+ Info

The writing process

Explore the samples of academic text and identify:1. The argument 2. How the argument is supported

Discussion: use of factual information versus reproducing other authors' views

Why is supporting your argument important in academic writing?

Discussion: can multiple views be used in support of an argument (including opposite views)?

List some possible appropriate academic sources

01

04

05

02

03

Sources/Literature

Supporting your argument

Discuss what it means to support your argument

References

Canagarajah, S. (2002) ‘Multilingual writers and the Academic Community: Towards a critical relationship’, Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 1(1), pp. 29–44. doi:10.1016/s1475-1585(02)00007-3. Fitzpatrick, D., Costley, T. and Tavakoli, P. (2022) ‘Exploring EAP teachers’ expertise: Reflections on practice, pedagogy and professional development’, Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 59, p. 101140. doi:10.1016/j.jeap.2022.101140. Hirvela, A. and Du, Q. (2013) ‘“why am I paraphrasing?”: Undergraduate ESL writers’ engagement with source-based academic writing and reading’, Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 12(2), pp. 87–98. doi:10.1016/j.jeap.2012.11.005. Larsson, T. and Kaatari, H. (2020) ‘Syntactic complexity across registers: Investigating (in)formality in second-language writing’, Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 45, p. 100850. doi:10.1016/j.jeap.2020.100850. Larsson, T. and Kaatari, H. (2020) ‘Syntactic complexity across registers: Investigating (in)formality in second-language writing’, Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 45, p. 100850. doi:10.1016/j.jeap.2020.100850.

References

Lee, J.J., Hitchcock, C. and Elliott Casal, J. (2018) ‘Citation practices of L2 University students in first-year writing: Form, function, and stance’, Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 33, pp. 1–11. doi:10.1016/j.jeap.2018.01.001. Luna, M. et al. (2020) ‘Improving university argumentative writing through an online training’, Journal of Writing Research, 12(vol. 12 issue 1), pp. 233–262. doi:10.17239/jowr-2020.12.01.08. Politzer-Ahles, S., Girolamo, T. and Ghali, S. (2020) ‘Preliminary evidence of linguistic bias in academic reviewing’, Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 47, p. 100895. doi:10.1016/j.jeap.2020.100895. Tang, K.N. (2018) ‘The importance of soft skills acquisition by teachers in Higher Education Institutions’, Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences [Preprint]. doi:10.1016/j.kjss.2018.01.002. Wingate, U. (2012) ‘“argument!” helping students understand what essay writing is about’, Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 11(2), pp. 145–154. doi:10.1016/j.jeap.2011.11.001.

On the first session I would start by eliciting from and encouraging students to talk about and discuss any prior knowledge they may have of EAP, perhaps even compre their experiences in their country of origin and the UK.

In line with a social-process based approach, I believeThere needs to be empathy and understanding of what it means for students to be studying in L2 and in a different country, the unique challenges they face because of this and how this may impact their performance. Therefore, creating a safe and welcoming environment for students is one of my priorities (CANAGARAJAH, 2002).

Leveraging students' prior knowledge

• Shows I welcome and see value in their input
• Eases the tension of the "unknown"
• Encourages student autonomy and boost confidence
• Starts building a solid base for understanding the purpose of EAP (TANG, 2028)

Students must understand the concept and importance of fact based writing as opposed to narrative styles (LARSSON and KATAARI, 2020).

This expands on the previous activity. Students are grouped and instructed to have each member of the group read one sample, and then convene to the group so that they can find the argument and support together. It is a monitored activity, with the teacher checking in with each group during production. There is a student-led, open-class feedback at the end (teacher elicits and steps in when needed).

Most students at undergraduate level have difficulty grasping the concept of multiple views playing a crucial role in supporting claims. This is something that needs to be established overtime, with its foundation being laid before entering the stage of technicalities (paraphrasing, synthesising, summarising, etc) (WINGATE, 2012)

NOTE: the process-based approach has its limitations, especially considering that academia adheres to strict rules for publishing, therefore it is essential to stress that, although students backgrounds can add value to their academic work, adherence to these conventions is still vital. More studies are needed in this area for further development, especially in course design (FITZPATRICK, COSTLEY, TAVAKOLI, 2022)

The approach to start by laying a solid foundation for what is EAP and argumentation and their importance encourages students think critically, promotes autonomy, and helps them see how these are valuable assets for their own academic journeys. Hence, they are more likely to engage with and adhere to academic conventions (WINGATE, 2012; HIRVELA and DU, 2013).

It has been shown that students both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels struggle on a macro level to construct argument based writing using sources. This is because there is little emphasis put into understand what support means and why it is valuable (LUNA et al. 2020; HIRVELA and DU, 2013). This discussion based activity aims to: 1. Leverage students understanding of the "what" and "why" in order to assess areas of focus for improvement, and; 2. Encourage students to explore their own practices and start gaining a broader understanding of this.

Students should be given plenty of opportunity to practice these skills, as they are crucial elements in defining academic writing. Additionally, attention should be given to the use of longer texts for research purposes, so that students are not overly reliant on paraphrasing small pieces of text, and start developing the ability to paraphrase main ideas as well (HIRVELA and DU, 2013; LARSSON and KATAARI, 2020).

At this stage, academic conventions are introduced. Students are taught to organise their argument (there would be, preferably, an entire session dedicated to developing their own topic for argumentation) on a macro level (paragraphing), and then the micro levels are introduced in the form of topic sentences, adjectives and prepositions, hedging, cohesive devices, as well as paraphrasing, synthesising, summarising.

Studies show that the way in which students/authors use sources tend to vary according to discipline. This activity about discovering sources in academic writing is in line with the suggestion that by understanding their current views and/or practices related to use of sources, teachers can better prepare to assist students in improving them (LEE, HITCHCOCK, CASAL, 2018). This activity will normally include a game where students are grouped and compete to decide on acceptable versus non-acceptable (credible) sources for academic writing. This is followed by an open class feedback to check understanding and take notes of what needs to be reiterated.