Exploring the impacts of academic writing instruction on the use of academic writing norms and conventions: A qualitative study

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate postgraduate students’ perceptions regarding the impacts of academic writing instruction on the use of academic writing norms and conventions. Another purpose was to find out the students’ difficulties in the use of academic writing conventions when they write a research paper. The study was conducted adopting qualitative research design with a semi-structured interview format and textual analysis. The participants consisted of the postgraduate students in English Language teaching department at a state university. A 14-week course was delivered to teach the accurate use of academic writing conventions. The students were asked to write a summary of an article chosen by the instructor at the beginning and end of the semester. After the instruction, the data were obtained by interviewing the participants. The analysis of pre- and post-test summaries was used to support the interview findings. The results revealed that the participants benefitted from the academic writing instruction. They had generally positive attitudes toward receiving instruction in this respect. Based on the findings, it can be suggested that the postgraduate students have difficulties in academic writing; therefore, they need to receive comprehensive instruction, particularly to learn how to use academic writing conventions in their own disciplines.