The Genre of Research Writing: The Value of Personalised Feedback and Instruction

Abstract

Non-native English speaker Higher Research Degree (HDR) students or L2 writers encounter numerous difficulties in developing native-like competencies in their research writing. Current research in the systemic functional linguistics argues that students’ repertoire of interactive and interactional features enhances their writing process. However, many L2 students are thrown in the deep end in their research writing process. In some universities, Academic Language Learning (ALL) advisors assist these students by reviewing their work and providing necessary feedback. The purpose of this study was to examine the difficulties experienced by such L2 writers as identified by ALL advisors who review their work in their thesis drafting process. The study analysed ten draft chapters from L2 students’ theses writing reviewed by ALL advisors. The study found that several discourse and metadiscoursal features have been recognised as impeding factors in effective communication. Personalised feedback and instruction from language experts can influence students’ writing and drafting process. Such findings provide insights and implications for developing discourse competencies for both L1 and L2 academic writers. The study also provides pedagogical implications for teachers of all students as academic writing is a genre that needs explicit focus in teaching programs at all levels.