What is Good Academic Writing? - (New Perspectives for English for Academic Purposes) by Melinda Whong & Jeanne Godfrey (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The field of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) developed to address the needs of students whose mother tongue is not English. However, the linguistic competence required to achieve academic success at any university where English is the medium of instruction is a challenge for all students. While there are linguistic features common to academic literacy as a general genre, closer investigation reveals significant differences from one academic field to another. This volume asks what good writing is within specific disciplines, focussing on student work. Each chapter provides key insights by EAP professionals, based on their research in which they bring together analysis of student writing and interviews with subject specialists and markers who determine what 'good writing' is in their discipline.
The volume includes chapters on established disciplines which have had less attention in the EAP and academic writing literature to date, including music, formal linguistics, and dentistry, as well as new and growing fields of study such as new media.

Review Quotes

What is Good Academic Writing? provides insights into student writing in specific disciplines where teaching materials tend to be difficult to obtain (new/digital media studies, design, musicology, dentistry, fine art and linguistics). Following best ESAP practice, the chapters combine EAP and subject lecturer perspectives. They also discuss topics of wider concern to EAP, such as clarity, criticality and reflection. Informed by current research, and written by engaged practitioners, they will appeal particularly to ESAP teachers and trainees.
Sheena Gardner, Professor of Applied Linguistics, Coventry University, UK

What is Good Academic Writing?is a very welcome addition to the literature on disciplinary writing in academic settings. The chapters of the book provide insights into how good academic writing is perceived in different areas of study that will be of value to both academic writing teachers and subject area specialists. The book demonstrates the value of a focus on disciplinarity in the teaching of academic writing. It is also an outstanding example of collaborative research into the disciplinary nature of academic writing. I highly recommend it.
Brian Paltridge, Professor, The University of Sydney, Australia

This volume addresses one of the most important questions in English for Academic Purposes. The answers it provides are thoroughly grounded in practice, and presented in a way that will allow practitioners to apply them to their own writing classrooms. Taken individually, the chapters shed useful light on the textual features prized in a range of academic disciplines. Collectively, they provide an exemplary blueprint for practice-proximate work on the scholarship of teaching and learning.
Diane Pecorari, Professor of English, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

About the Author

Melinda Whong is Associate Professor of Language Education, and Director of the Center for Language Education at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong.
Jeanne Godfrey is Teaching Fellow at the University of Leeds, UK. She has held the positions of Head of Department, Principal Lecturer in Learning and Teaching, and Chair of BALEAP. She is the author of several EAP student books.