Challenges and Strategies in Academic Writing: A Needs Analysis at the University of Évora (Portugal)
Challenges and Strategies in Academic Writing: A Needs Analysis at the University of Évora (Portugal)

Author(s): Ana Alexandra Silva, Maria João Marçalo
Subject(s): Higher Education , Stylistics
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: academic writing; university students; research methodologies; curriculum development
Summary/Abstract: University students frequently struggle with academic writing, a problem stemming from various factors but often marked by a pervasive uncertainty about how to approach such tasks. This issue is prevalent regardless of the institution’s size or location, from large urban universities to smaller peripheral ones. Many students enter university ill-prepared for academic writing’s complexities. This chapter seeks to break down academic writing into its components, from text genres to how they are structured. We also consider recent studies on academic writing, including those examining the role of tools like ChatGPT. Our research is exploratory, focusing on students enrolled in the academic writing course Práticas de Escrita Académica [Practical Academic Writing] which is part of the Education Sciences programme at the University of Évora (Portugal). We aim to understand these students’ needs through a multi-part questionnaire that gathers sociodemographic data as well as information on academic background, self-assessed writing skills, and challenges and prior experiences with academic writing. The findings inform the development of a tailored curriculum for an academic writing course designed to be flexible and responsive to evolving educational demands.

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