Empowering the Apprentice Academic

Teaching Writing at Postgraduate Level

Authors

  • Annette Frances Sachtleben Auckland University of Technology Author
  • Pat Strauss Auckland University of Technology Author
  • Elizabeth Turner Auckland University of Technology Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/wap.v1i2.249

Keywords:

postgraduate writing, discipline specific language support, writing in the disciplines, graduate education

Abstract

Tertiary institutions offer a variety of provision for postgraduate students aimed at the development of academic writing skills. This article using a series of workshops and individual tutorials designed specifically for students engaged in writing theses and exegeses in certain discipline areas in a large New Zealand university. It outlines and reflects on the process of identifying and analysing relevant information for the design, content and on-going development of the workshops. This includes supervisors’ expectations, students’ needs and feedback, as well as the features of published texts and unpublished theses and exegeses. The post-workshop tutorial provision is underpinned by the two key principles of dialogue to assist clarity of expression, and encouragement for students to express their own voice. The experience gained from this work has led to the development of a discipline specific online paper for students in their first year of postgraduate study. 

Author Biographies

  • Annette Frances Sachtleben, Auckland University of Technology

    Annette Sachtleben is a Senior Lecturer at Auckland University of Technology in the School of Languages and Social Sciences. She has developed and taught post-graduate academic writing, and provides assistance to thesis writers. In addition to her work with students’ development of academic literacy with a discipline specific focus, she has research interests in the acquisition of pragmatic competence in a second language.

  • Pat Strauss, Auckland University of Technology

    Pat Strauss is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Languages and Social Sciences, Auckland University of Technology. She is interested in the sociocultural and linguistic problems that face second language postgraduate students at English-medium universities and the corresponding challenges encountered by their teachers and supervisors. She has developed and runs a discipline-based online academic literacy course at postgraduate level, and is involved with U.K. colleagues in setting up an online, discipline-based writing support network.

  • Elizabeth Turner, Auckland University of Technology

    Elizabeth Turner is a Senior Lecturer at Auckland University of Technology, where she has developed undergraduate and postgraduate academic writing courses, and is responsible for the coordination of these, as well as developing postgraduate workshops and an online course. Her teaching areas include academic writing, academic literacies, and thesis supervision. Elizabeth’s research interests include writing needs analysis, discourse and rhetorical analysis, and the construction of argument in literature reviews.

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Published

2010-06-06

Issue

Section

Reflections on Practice

How to Cite

Sachtleben, A. F., Strauss, P., & Turner, E. (2010). Empowering the Apprentice Academic: Teaching Writing at Postgraduate Level. Writing and Pedagogy, 1(2), 249-262. https://doi.org/10.1558/wap.v1i2.249

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