Christine Feak is a faculty member at the English Language Institute, University of Michigan, where she is the lead lecturer for dissertation writing and writing for publication courses. She is co-author (with John Swales) of Academic Writing for Graduate Students and the English in Today’s Research World book series focused on the writing of research genres and subgenres. In addition to teaching and textbook writing, she also serves as co-editor of ESP, an international peer-reviewed journal focusing on topics relevant to the teaching and learning of discourse for specific communities. Her current research interests include academic writing in education, medicine, and business; writing for publication needs of scholars in developing countries; and the development of effective academic writing curricula.
Responding to the changing landscape of graduate student writing
The academic writing challenges faced by the new generation of graduate students are becoming more complex. It is no longer enough to master traditional research genres such as conference proposals, literature reviews, and journal articles; graduate students today must also write to share their research and expertise with non-expert audiences within and outside the academy and to navigate new rules of research engagement. To be successful graduate students need a more enhanced set of knowledge brokering skills and a broader genre repertoire that will allow them to transport their research and expertise across many boundaries. This talk will explore the changing landscape of graduate student writing and ways that EAP writing programs can respond through new course offerings that allow students to develop writing agility.