Title: Academic writing by 'international' students in the internet age: studying diversity in practice

Authors: Edgar A. Whitley, Alexander Grous

Addresses: Department of Management, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK. ' Department of Management, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK

Abstract: This is an exploratory study that identifies some of the characteristics of student academic writing in the internet age. The study followed fourteen postgraduate international students in the UK as they undertook a critical literature review assignment and examined how they adapted to the requirements of their British assignments. The students came from China, Greece and India. Three rounds of interviews were undertaken. The study was intentionally exploratory as little is known about how students actually write, what online search tools they use and how they take advantage of pedagogic interventions provided by their teachers in adapting to their new educational environment. The study presents strategies that the students adopt to make the transition from the ways of studying and writing that they are familiar with to those required to do well in the British system. The paper ends by presenting implications for practice alongside reflections for theory.

Keywords: diversity; academic writing; technology adoption; technology use; pedagogy; China; Greece; India; international students; higher education; innovation; postgraduate students; UK; United Kingdom; critical literature review.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIIE.2009.030101

International Journal of Innovation in Education, 2009 Vol.1 No.1, pp.12 - 34

Published online: 10 Dec 2009 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article