Demistyfying Academic Writing

In this chapter I debate the nature of writing, and specifically academic writing. Relying on the concepts of knowledge telling and knowledge transforming, invention, and creativity, I argue that academic writing should be treated as all other forms of writing. Since any writing happens in a process, requires attention to audience, content, and form, teaching writing for the academe should focus on student writers, their interests, needs, and capacities. When academic writing is taught in a foreign language, instruction may tend to focus on formal aspects of language. Whenever this is the case, writing practice easily becomes decontextualized, which, as a consequence, may lead to resentment on the part of novice writers. In such situations, it is particularly important that the requirements of formal register and academic genres, rather than as limitations, are seen and taught as means of facilitating communication within the academic discourse community. I therefore conclude that the writing instructor’s role is that of an experienced guide who establishes a learning environment in which his advice and feedback help the novice develop new writing, language, and critical thinking skills. In this way, even foreign language students can develop not only their formal knowledge of the target language and academic genres, but also skills and strategies of expressing themselves in writing.