The analytical lens: developing undergraduate students’ critical dispositions in undergraduate EAP writing courses

Experts, knowledge and criticality in the age of ‘alternative facts’: re-examining the contribution of higher education

“…In addition to academics, Brooke, Monbec, and Tilakaratna (2019) assert that graduates also need to be inducted into this mindset of public engagement in a globally-connected world where their expertise will be contested in the workplace and further afield. They highlight the different forms of persuasive writing required for academic and public audiences; and in their pedagogy, demonstrate to students how different audiences require contrasting knowledge structures and different writing techniques.…”

“…Cooper (2019) draws on a recent curriculum review to conclude that before undertaking independent information searches, undergraduate students should first develop critical literacy skills that enable them to identify and 'interrogate different sets of assumptions and different worldviews' (450) in the texts they are readingincluding the ability to distinguish between commonly-held beliefs and research-informed knowledge. Brooke, Monbec, and Tilakaratna (2019) take a complementary approach by focusing on the use of metalinguistics to 'train students to be discerning analysts' by understanding how writers argue their case based on the available evidence and to assess their success at doing so: 'Our goal is to develop our students' critical dispositions and to enable them to make informed judgements' ( 428) and unpack the anti-expert rhetoric.…”

Facilitating and Assessing Academic Writing to Graduate Students in a Pilot English for Academic Purposes Course: An Activity Theoretical Perspective

“…Genre-based academic writing instruction programs are increasingly visible across the globe (Brooke et al, 2019; Crosthwaite, 2018; Jou, 2017; Lax, 2002; Li et al, 2020; Oakey, 2020; Romano, 2019; Wang, 2017; Wingate, 2012; Yan, 2015). They are also growing rapidly in the Chinese context (see Cai, 2013; Wang, 2017; Yan, 2015) responding to the continuous and steady increase of graduate student intake.…”