Review:
Writing Academically: A New Handbook to Guide the Road
Academic
writing: A handbook for international students was comprehensively
written by Stephen Bailey (2006), a freelance teacher and writer
of materials for English for Academic Purposes.
Most
international students need to write essays and reports for University entries,
exams and coursework. However, writing good academic English is a demanding and
complex task. Bailey (2006) has carefully designed this second edition to help
students reach this goal. The handbook has an
appealing and bright design, with a clear-cut organization of content, without
becoming unwieldy. This new edition also has a companion website[1] that includes
further exercises relating to the book’s current content, extra topics not
covered in the print edition, a plagiarism quiz and a glossary of academic
writing terms.
Clearly
organized and easy to follow, this handbook attempts
to address a variety of writing needs. It is divided into four sections: Part
1, The Writing Process; Part 2, Elements of Writing; Part 3, Accuracy
in Writing; and Part 4, Writing Models. The course explains
the writing process from start to finish. Each part is explained, demonstrated
and practiced. It covers from selecting suitable sources, note-making and
planning to re-writing and proofreading.
There is
increased coverage of plagiarism, argument, cause and effect, comparison,
definitions and academic vocabulary and style. Different forms of writing,
including reports and literature reviews, are also tackled. Cross-references
allow easy access to those relevant sections students might need to consult,
avoiding exhausting and time-consuming scanning the whole book. By providing
the key, it fosters autonomy on university students.
It
seems to have been developed in response to suggestions from both students and
teachers. Featuring a new website and blog, the writer is in continual contact
with doubts and suggestions, making that this book is not a one-way resource
but rather a real discourse community. Actually, a third edition is soon being
launched including those questions and doubts consulted on the blog which
manifests Bailey’s (2006) critical approach to dealing with internet texts.
Genuine
material taken from various areas of study is used throughout the volume making
it attractive to readers. Some sources are: A typical maternal behavior toward
feeding-disordered infants before and after intervention taken from Infant
Mental Health Journal and Rural electrification programme with solar energy
in remote region – a case study in an island taken from Energy Policy. So,
Bailey's (2006) text also appeals to learners from various disciplines.
If something has to
be criticized, Butler (2012) puts it forward clearly:
Unfortunately, the book has
limited use in the classroom. Correct responses to exercises are readily available
to learners on the book's website making it easy for them to avoid actually
doing the activities thus compromising the teaching process – it is difficult
for teachers to assess their students. Furthermore, no teacher's manual or
teaching aids are provided. Therefore, the book is more suitable for
independent study than for use with an instructor. (para. 3)
Overall, all international
students wanting to maximize and develop their academic potential can find in
this easy-to-use book a valuable guide to deal with proper academic writings. This is a handbook that bridges the gap between simpler
academic writing textbooks designed for English as a Second Language students
and more hostile textbooks for novice native-speaker academic writers.
Considering that Bailey (2006) welcomes feedback from both students and
teachers, this handbook can be regarded as a work in progress and we can, thus,
look forward to new editions with further improvements to satisfy the most
critical eye.
References
Bailey, S. (2006). Academic Writing: A Handbook for International
Students. Second Edition. London: Routledge.
Butler, N. (2012) Bailey, S. 2006. Academic Writing: A Handbook for
International Students. Second Edition. London: Routledge.
