Bailey (2006) defines his book
Academic Writing: A handbook for International Students as a “practical and
easy-to-use-guide to writing in English” (p.III). This notable work is intended
for non-native students studying at colleges and universities, who need to
write essays and reports for exams and coursework. To ensure that students’
writing skills meet the necessary academic standards is the purpose of the book.
The innovative book is divided mainly
into four parts, namely The Writing Process, Elements of Writing, Accuracy in Writing
and Writing Models, planned to cater for the variety of needs of “students of
all subjects and levels” (Bailey, 2006, p. III). Information and practice on how
to write and organize texts, how to develop writing skills such as the use of
comparisons, articles; and models of types of writings needed, among other
topics, are provided.
Bailey (2006) states that the book
is “clearly organized into four parts…containing explanations, diagrams and
practice exercises, for use in the classroom or self-study” (p.I). However, mainly
the first part appears to be teacher-dependant, and then more explanations would
have been more helpful for students at English-medium colleges and universities
to be able to use the book by themselves. Had the author offered more
explanations, examples and models at initial stages, the book would have been
more appealing for the intended audience it was claimed to be for.
The original book is complemented by
a system of cross-references designed to make easier for students to relate
units together. Although it is argued that some topics are “organized
alphabetically for easy access” (p.III), perhaps it is not practical as
students need to jump from one part of the book to another constantly. Had
Bailey (2006) organized topics in order of appearance, the work would have been
more practical and easy-going as it was stated.
Academic writing also contains a
writing tests section, exercises answers and sources. Especially noteworthy is
the inclusion of exercises and tests with their respective answers for students
to self-check their learning progress. Regarding sources, Bailey (2006) points
out that no in-text citations are made throughout the book; yet, in the book
students are taught to use references appropriately, either in the texts or at
the end of them, to avoid plagiarism. Had the author
cited adequately, he would have given more authority to his research.
On the whole, Bailey’s (2006) book allows international
students to learn and to practice those academic writing skills which are most
important for their studies, specifically conventions of style, referencing and
layout. With teacher guidance and
organization of topics throughout different lessons, it seems to be a very
interesting resource. However, Bailey’s (2006) book would have been more
convincing for students studying by their own, if the author had included more
explanations and models for further guidance as well as a clearer organization
of cross-references. Had this been successfully accomplished, the book would
have been a much more practical and easy-to-use-guide for international
students.
References
Bailey, S. (2006). Academic Writing: A handbook for
international students. (2nd ed.). Taylor & Francis e-library.
Retrieved from http://npu.edu.ua/!e-book/book/djvu/A/ii_kgpm_27.pdf
