Academic Writing Step by Step offers a new methodology for teaching
academic writing informed by discourse analysis and genre theory and by
recent research in text analysis. The book draws on accessible articles
presenting popular science topics of current interest to illustrate and
practice the processes involved in developing and writing an academic
essay or research paper step by step. Each unit in Academic Writing
Step by Step involves the user in guided "hands-on" practical analysis
of an exemplar text. This analysis forms the basis for a sequence of
learning activities directing students to engage with the text, moving
from analysis (reading for intent) to composition (writing with intent).
In this structured process, students acquire a critical understanding of
the components of research and essay writing to underpin their own
writing. Support for students' analysis and writing of texts includes
pre-reading, while-reading, and post-reading activities. These
activities are linked to practice in the recognition and use of words in
context, grammar in context, and distinctive features of text types.
Each unit contains many interactive tasks and closes with a substantive
writing assignment reinforcing at least one component of academic
writing highlighted in the unit. The book is designed as a textbook for
academic or research writing courses, and its step-by-step approach
makes it usable by university undergraduates or senior secondary
students, including those for whom English is a second or foreign
language. In addition, its authentic readings and focus on academic and
research writing makes it also suitable for graduate level writing
courses in English-speaking and English as a second or foreign language
contexts.
