A Corpus Analysis of Academic Writing and how it Informs Writing Instruction on a University Pre-Sessional Course

Coates, Andrew (2020) A Corpus Analysis of Academic Writing and how it Informs Writing Instruction on a University Pre-Sessional Course. Doctoral thesis (PhD), Manchester Metropolitan University.

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Abstract

Academic writing can pose difficulties to novice writers, and may be particularly challenging for second language (L2) English-speaking students. Pre-sessional English for academic purposes (EAP) courses aim to prepare L2 students for the linguistic demands they will face during their university courses; however, it is unclear the extent to which materials in such courses reflect any disciplinary variation in specific features of academic writing, or the issues that face learners in effectively using these features. In an effort to inform materials and pedagogy in the specific context of a UK higher education institution (HEI) pre-sessional course, a corpus of academic writing from eight disciplines was built, consisting of assignments by L2 and L1 Level 7 (master’s level postgraduate) students, and published research articles. Four specific features of academic writing – academic vocabulary, lexical bundles, hedging, and citation - were then investigated, with a view to identifying how the various disciplines and writer groups may differ in the use of these features. This analysis was combined with a small qualitative element in the form of semi-structured interviews with L2 students who had previously participated in the pre-sessional course, and with an examination of the existing materials used for writing instruction on the course. The study identifies a number of areas in which recommendations could be made to amend and adapt writing instruction to more effectively address learner needs and acknowledge the importance of disciplinary variation. The recommendations not only address, for the first time, these four writing features with reference to the specific pre-sessional context, but also represent a useful model that can be applied to EAP writing instruction in HEIs more widely, and can potentially help to optimise teaching outcomes for L2 learners when it comes to the complexities of university English academic writing.