Writing for Life: Transferability of Writing Knowledge and Practice

Authors

  • Cecile Badenhorst Faculty of Education, Memorial University

Keywords:

Academic writing, Academic literacies, University students, Writing as social practice, Higher education, Writing pedagogy

Abstract

Many students struggle with writing in academic contexts. Even if they eventually do succeed in this context, they find that the writing requirements outside the university as difficult. ED 2700 Academic Literacies in Adult and Post-secondary Learning was developed to provide opportunities for students to understand the link between writing, context and knowledge. In this course, they begin to understand why writing practices are often hidden and implicit. The course is framed by an academic literacies approach, which argues that students need to explicitly acquire the literacies needed to be successful in post-secondary contexts, or in any context. Literacy in its broadest sense is about acquiring the epistemologies necessary for socialization in a particular discourse. Academic literacy encompasses a number of literacies: critical literacy, reading, writing, information literacy, visual literacy, graphic literacy, disciplinary knowledge and so on. These literacies are the social practices of a context that need to be made explicit if learners are to be successful. An academic literacies approach advocates that if students understand writing in context, as a social practice, they will be able to transfer this knowledge to any context.

Author Biography

Cecile Badenhorst, Faculty of Education, Memorial University

Cecile Badenhorst is an Associate Professor in the Adult Education/Post-Secondary program at Memorial University. She has written: Research Writing (2007), Dissertation Writing (2008) and Productive Writing (2010) and co-edited: Research literacies and writing pedagogies for Masters and Doctoral writers (Brill, 2016) with Dr. Cally Guerin from the University of Adelaide.

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Vol. 19 (2015)

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