Developing Researchers’ Writing Skills

A critical reflection of developing a series of academic writing workshops for postgraduates

Abstract

Although belief in the ‘sage on the stage’ (the teacher as an expert standing at the front, delivering information) and tabula rasa (the student as a blank slate, ready to be written on) belongs to the distant past of outdated pedagogical theory, writing skills, especially grammar, are often treated as exceptions. This is especially the case when learners are also researchers; with pressure to produce high-quality work within tight deadlines, researchers are often expected to receive grammatical knowledge passively and replicate it promptly. This is what we sought to change. At the end of 2021, I created a series of academic writing workshops, which I have subsequently delivered to postgraduate students at Warwick University. This article provides a critical reflection of what I did, what challenges I faced, and what lessons I learned. It is hoped that this reflection will empower other academics and instructors to approach academic writing for postgraduates with confidence and integrity.