#2742

College and University Educators College and University Education Research-Oriented Presentation

Understanding the Process of Generating Text in Academic Writing - A Student Case Study

Sat, Jul 9, 11:10-11:35 Asia/Tokyo

Location: E22

Mastering academic writing is one of the biggest challenges for tertiary level students. Whilst classroom instruction may provide guidance in how to properly construct an essay or research paper, the actual process of writing is one that many students find disorientating. Likewise, once submitted, educators are often left bewildered as to how their teachings so comprehensively failed to be translated into a competent piece of writing. The problem for both parties is that in many cases the most significant moment of the writing process is one the students have received no direction on -- how to actually move between ideas and text generation. Collins and Gentner (1980) claimed it was important to separate idea production from text production with the key component focussed on identifying movement between the ‘content space’ and the ‘rhetorical space’. This applies at both a sentence-construction and paragraph-assembly level. Through the use of Think Aloud Protocols, this presentation will look at how a freshman student navigates moving between her ideas and converting that into text and what writing instructors can learn from this crucial moment of the writing process.

  • Michael Walker

    Michael Walker has over 20 years of experience as an ESL educator in both Australia and Japan. He has taught general English at language schools, oral communication as an ALT on the JET program, and academic skills at tertiary level. He is currently based in Tokyo and teaches academic reading and writing skills to university students. His other interests include theatre and filmmaking which he incorporates into the classroom when applicable. His research areas include adopting creativity into curriculums and the impact of culture on learning attitudes.