“Critically evaluate Lin, 2009. Is it true that an international student must learn a new way of thinking and writing when they come to study in a UK-type academic environment?”
INTRODUCTION
Nowadays, there is a lot of scientist and professional who want to learn English to benefit from its leading position of power in modern research and economy. Linn (2009) mentioned that he agree with what Schneider & Fujishima (1995) say about academic writing in English particularly after its long history of development.
The strength reputation of the British education system has brought a lot of international students to study in the UK. Writing in an effective way is one of the important skills that students need to learn. Languages are affected by the country culture which includes almost everything, religion, education, quality of life and food. The aim of this project is to critically assess Dr.Linn study in 2009, trying to find the differences in academic writing between native English speakers and non native speakers, which is likely true. Native speaker will be a way better in writing, speaking, reading and listening.
According to Linn (2009) English structure of an essay is linear, whereas Arabic writers use parallel argument. A lot of Arabic writers probably will describe an essay with parallel argument as stronger than an essay with one linear argument.
Linn (2009) suggested that there are some differences in academic writing style between native speaker and nun-native speaker. However, it can be argued that these differences are parts of the cultural differences. For example they eat, live and talk differently.
According to Kaplan’s data which used(see Connor,2002;Hirsose,2003) shows how writer’s cultural backgrounds influ...
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CONCLUSION
It is not easy to decide whether academic writers have to learn the English writing style or it might be better to choose another writing style. If academic writers could find a global structure for the whole world, so academic writers will learn it and use it for writing an essay or a scientific paper. According to Linn(2009), non-native speakers how grown in a different language and culture have a different writing standards which leads to a certain way of thinking, understanding and writing as a result of that. Linn(2009) claimed that teachers have show non-native speakers that the way of a successful academic writing is not only by learning grammar and vocabulary, but also by learning a new writing methods and a new way of thinking. At the end Linn is suggesting to have a suitable group of subjects because Sondek’s study(2008) is small.
In this article written by David Bartholomae, the author discusses problems basic writers make and about how they must use the discourse (communication style) of the academic community they are writing to, to be an effective writer. Bartholomae believes that “Inventing the University," is being able to assemble and mimic the universities language(5). Which means, if a student wants to be an efficient writer, he or she must be able to speak the language of his or her audience. Bartholomae writes that a common mistake of basic writers is that they don’t use an authoritative voice, and tend to switch into a more passive voice. This could be due to the fact that students have difficulty establishing their mindset or attitude for an audience
The opening of the article is a blunt declaration that the course of FYW is not properly taught in a correct way to provide academic success in writing for students. Stating the studies done by Ackerman, Berkenkotter and Huckin, Carter, Diller and Oates, Kaufer and Young, MacDonald, Petraglia, and Russel “Activity theory” which all intern demonstrated the main goal of FYW; that writing can we universally transferred in any field, is false. Downs & Wardle further state that
“Although both articles are exploring writing and the change that needs to or that does happen, Peter Elbow’s idea of growth in writing is a more naïve and simplistic approach to writing, where as Somers and Saltz’s article, while still very general, takes a more realistic point of view at the writing experience for students and new writers”.
As I look back into my high school years, I thought I wrote papers well. But then coming into a college environment, my papers were mediocre. By overlooking at my past papers, I found that they were unorganized, sloppy and had bad use of diction. From now on, I will use the tools I learned in English 1100-40 as a foundation for the future papers I intend on writing in college. Following the criteria of organizing ideas so that they flow, impacting the reader with diction and also by being creative, will help become an ideal writer. Following the criteria of staying motivated in short and long term goals, taking responsibility for actions and finally the ability to study well will help me develop into a supreme student.
Michaela Cullington, a student, wrote a paper “Does Texting Affect Writing?” in 2010 for an English class. The paper is an examination of texting and the belief that it negative effective student’s writing. Cullington goes into detail about textspeak- “language created by these abbreviations”- and their use in formal writings. She organizes the paper in a way that is confusing to understand at first (pg. 1). At the end of the paper, she discusses her finding in her own research which comes to show that texting does not affect writing. But this is contradicting to the information she received from the teachers. The students and the teachers were seeing differences in the use of textspeak in formal writing. Cullington has good support for her
Several people have trouble writing college level essays and believe that they are unable to improve their writing skills. In “the Inspired Writer vs. The Real Writer,” Sarah Allen argues how no one is born naturally good at writing. Sarah Allen also states how even professional writers have trouble with the task of writing. Others, such as Lennie Irvin, agree. In Irvin’s article “What is ‘Academic’ Writing?” states how there are misconceptions about writing. Furthermore, Mike Bunn’s article “How to Read Like a Writer” shows ways on how one can improve their writing skills. Allen, Bunn, and Irvin are correct to say how no one is born naturally good writers. Now that we know this, we should find ways to help improve our writing skills, and
In our modern society, we have forgotten the art of writing. When we write, we think to ourselves, the longer the sentence, the more intelligent I will sound. Many may say it is by writing long sentences. But is it all that true? In this piece of writing I would like to focus on an essay written by Verlyn Klinkenborg, Several Short Sentences About Writing. In this essay he explains how and why when we write, we should keep our sentences short. he also explains why students should be assigned essays that are not determinate on other sources as evidence. I will also be comparing this to a piece written by Sarah Manguso, Ongoingness. I will be comparing these two pieces on their writing style, and their essayistic ideas. My belief is that we need
Grabe, W. & Kaplan, R.B. (1996) Theory and practice of writing Addison Wesley Longman Limited, Harlow, Essex, England. Martlew, M. (1983) The Psychology of Written Language, Developmental and Educational Perspectives, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester, U.K. Protherough, R. (1983)
In the last few years, studying abroad has become an increasingly popular choice for higher education among international students (Accessibility Navigation, 2014). An average of 10% of students in universities all across the UK are international students from countries all over the world. (Accessibility Navigation, 2014). Although the experience is different for each individual student, there are many common problems that international students face. Those problems include: culture shock to varying degrees coupled with emotional issues(Bailey, 2005), Language barriers along with other communication problems (Sherry et al, 2009), and academic problems due to a change in school curriculum (Ramachandran, 2011). This essay will expand on the common problems faced by international students in the UK, offer solutions for handling the problems, and making the process of acclimating to a new environment easier for students.
Academic Writing. By Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2010. N. pag. Print
Qualitative and quantitative instruments were used in obtaining data for this instructional problem. The first instrument used was quantitative, the instructor gave students a writing assignment, and when it was graded, it was clear that there was a problem with effective topic and thesis statements, as well as general organization of the paper. To be sure that this wasn’t an isolated problem, the second instrument was developed; a quantitative instrument that surveyed the teachers, asking for information on their students comprehensive writing skills.
Sharma, B., 2008. “World Englishes, English as a Lingua Franca, and English Pedagogy”, Journal of NELTA 13 (2), pp. 121-130. Available from
This English class has prepared me not only for academic writing, but also for writing in my future career. I will continue to practice my writing skills by reading and writing more papers. Based on my collection of essays in this portfolio, I am confident that I can pass the class and receive Clear
Ypsilandis, G.S. & Kantaridou, Z., (2007). English for Academic Purposes: Case Studies in Europe, Revista de Linguistica y Lenguas Aplicadas (2): 69-83.
Academic writing skill is very essential for the college students. Through academic writing, the students can express their thoughts, feelings and point of view on a certain issue or topic. In presenting ideas about variety of issues, students need to follow certain rules in writing academic essays. Academic writing is a specific type of writing that is needed in writing formal essays in a certain course. To create a well-constructed essay, it is very important for the students to use academic writing style. It has specific features which include academic tone in the essays. To achieve formality of tone, students must maintain the objectivity of their written texts. Unfortunately, some of the students tend to use personal pronouns