Demystifying the publication process – a structured writing program to facilitate dissemination of teaching and learning scholarship

This paper reports on a writing program to support academic staff to publish in peer-refereed journals. Nine participants completed a 12-week program, which involved regular meetings, set writing tasks, and peer feedback on drafts. A pre- and post-survey and follow-up interviews were used to gather feedback. Participants especially valued the discipline of weekly sessions and peer feedback. They reported increased skills and confidence in their writing, greater knowledge of the publication process, and intention to continue writing. Although five papers were published, a 12-month follow-up revealed that original writing intentions were not sustained. Thus, while a structured writing program can be effective, the pressures academic staff experience trying to meet conflicting requirements of teaching, administration, and research, must also be addressed.     

Student formation in higher education: teachers’ approaches matter

Teaching in higher education encompasses more than merely helping students develop knowledge and skills. It entails engaging students in their own formation as persons, professionals and citizens. From this perspective, this article investigates how approaches to teaching academic writing contribute to formation. By analysing a case from initial teacher education in Norway, we identify and examine one teacher educator’s beliefs about writing and his approaches to teaching writing. Theoretical framework rests on six discourses of writing developed by Roz Ivani? and on the formative possibilities and constraints embedded in these different literacy discourses. Thus, we provide students’ experien-ces with this teacher’s approaches and discuss what formation his approaches seem to have initiated. The findings point to the need for more critical reflection on the formative impact of teaching approaches in higher education more generally.     

《全球化语境下的学术写作：英语出版的政治与惯例》评介

本文评介了Theresa Lillis 与 Mary Jane Curry于2010年合作出版的新作《全球化语境下的学术写作：英语出版的政治与惯例》。文章首先对该书的结构和内容进行简要介绍,然后从三个方面对其进行评述：在理论及实践上的重要指导意义;研究工具的多样性及研究方法的创新性;以及贯穿全书的深刻批判性。该书对学术论文写作及发表的政治与惯例所进行的分析具有开拓性,对应用语言学、写作教学与研究及英语作为第二语言和外语教学具有重要价值。     

“It takes two”: The added value of structured peer-assisted writing in explicit writing instruction

High-quality writing instruction is vital to supporting developing writers as they learn to plan, compose, and revise text. It is equally important that such instruction enhances students’ self-efficacy for writing as well as their motivation to write. The main aim of the present study was to investigate the incremental effect of peer-assisted writing in an explicit writing instruction program on Flemish upper-elementary students’ writing performance, self-efficacy for writing, and writing motivation. A randomized control design, using multilevel analyses, was conducted to determine the differential effectiveness of two experimental writing treatments (EI+PA and EI+IND) compared to a business as usual control condition (BAU). Both experimental writing treatments involved explicit instruction in writing, with students in one condition writing with a peer (EI+PA) and students in the other condition writing individually (EI+IND). Participating classes (N = 431 students, N = 20 teachers) were randomly assigned to the three conditions and students were assessed before and after instruction. EI+PA students outperformed both EI+IND and BAU students on the writing measure in the instructed genre but not in the uninstructed genre. Additionally, although EI+PA students were more confident as to their capability (self-efficacy) to generate ideas when compared to their EI+IND counterparts, EI+PA students’ writing motivation, characterized by internal or external motives, was significantly lower than EI+IND students. The findings of the present study corroborate and extend the limited number of prior studies illustrating the surplus value of peer-assisted writing in explicit writing instruction programs.     

Writing retreats as a milestone in the development of PhD students’ sense of self as academic writers

Writing retreats are structured events during which a group of people write in the same room over several days. In this paper, we report on findings from a study exploring the impact of writing retreats on PhD students’ writing and their sense of self as academic writers. A second aim of the study was to contribute to the search for appropriate pedagogies to support writing at the PhD level. The data consist of interviews with 19 PhD students who had taken part in writing retreats as well as evaluations and pre- and post-retreat reflections by these students. In the interviews, we discussed the role of writing retreats in the context of the students’ wider biographies as writers and how it relates to their experiences of writing. Our findings suggest that writing retreats can be important events for PhD students positively affecting their relationship with literacy [Besse, J.-M. 1995. L’écrit, l’école et l’illettrisme. Paris: Magnard]. Taking part in a retreat generates pleasure, emphasising the role of emotions in academic writing. Writing retreats and the opportunities they offer students to write and to reflect on their experiences as writers are a valuable part of PhD training.     

东西方画家在“书写”表现形式上的差异研究——以赵无极为例

赵无极绘画中"书写性"语言出现在其转折期的作品中,他绘画中的"书写性"表达形成了他独特的抒情抽象画风。与此同时,在西方特别是美国的抽象表现主义也兴起了一场"书写热"。但是赵无极的"书写式"语言更加东方化。本文试图通过阐述赵无极绘画语言中所表达出的东方气质的"书写性",与西方绘画在视觉上的书写形式和书写意境上的差异,从而探讨了"书写性"语言在现当代艺术中的体现和发展。     

Do students' beliefs about writing relate to their writing self-efficacy,apprehension, and performance?

This study tested a model in which beliefs about writing, writing self-efficacy, and writing apprehension predict writing performance. The Beliefs About Writing Survey, the Writing Self-Efficacy Index, and the modified Writing Apprehension Test were administered to 738 undergraduates to predict their grade on a class paper. In a hierarchical regression, beliefs about writing predicted variance in writing scores beyond that accounted for by writing self-efficacy and apprehension. Audience Orientation, a new belief associated with expert practice, was the strongest positive predictor of the students' grade. Transmission, a belief in relying on material published by authorities, was the leading negative predictor. Writing self-efficacy predicted performance, albeit modestly. The traditional measure of writing apprehension (anxiety about being critiqued) was not significant, but Apprehension About Grammar, a new construct, significantly and negatively predicted performance. These results support the possibility that beliefs about writing could be a leverage point for teaching students to write.     

Backwards writing: An unexpected ability in writing

Summary The case of a left-handed female patient is described who presented serious problems in learning how to write during childhood, particularly in relation to directionality and letter sequence. The patient then learned to write correctly with her left hand, but practiced and maintained her ability to write backwards (from the last letter to the first). Implications of the case are discussed.Send Correspondence to Dr. Alfredo Ardila, Miami Institute of Psychology of the Caribbean Center for Advanced Studies, 8180 NW 36 Street, Second floor, Miami, Florida 33166-6612.     

应用文写作教学中思维训练的思考

应用文写作思维与普通写作或文学创作的思维有很大的区别，两者思维活动的方式不同，思维活动的基础不同，思维活动的过程不同。要切实提高学生的应用写作能力，就必须加强训练学生的思维能力，即非创造性思维、立体思维、创造性思维的训练。     

写作何以成为哈佛大学唯一一门必修课程——南希·萨默斯与赫明珠、于海琴的对话

写作是一种用文字和隐喻标记世界的方式,是一个引领学生批判地、深度地阅读和有效地、清晰地书写的过程,是一个让学生发现自己真正关心所在和写出自己所思所想的路径。写作课在美国高校通常是必修课,旨在培养学生的书面沟通能力和批判性思维。哈佛大学说理文写作课程创建于1872年,如今是本科生的唯一一门必修课。对话从南希·萨默斯完成的著作以及她对中国的关注开始,依次展开缘何倾情于写作教育、为何关注修订和反馈研究领域、如何创立哈佛本科生写作工程、因何设立研究生写作工作坊等话题。在对话过程中,萨默斯将所获成功归结为喜爱阅读、喜欢写作,指出学习写作是本科生学习科目的一种方式,认为写作是帮助学生确定人生方向的力量,强调写作是本科教育的核心、修订是写作的核心。另外,萨默斯还对学生写作者的修订策略、对学生写作者的反馈、工作坊中的写作伙伴、一万个小时定律、说与写的关系、写作时内心的恐惧、避免抄袭或剽窃等话题进行了阐述。