Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings / John M. Swales
01 Jan 1991-Vol. 1991, Iss: 1991, pp 1-99
About: The article was published on 1991-01-01 and is currently open access. It has received 5640 citations till now.
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01 Jan 2002
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a systematic analysis of academic Web pages with regard to a special class of digital genres: Web genres. And they introduce the notions of Web genre type which constitutes the basic framework for a certain Web genre, and compulsory and optional Web genre modules.
Abstract: We argue for a systematic analysis of one particular, well structured domain—academic Web pages—with regard to a special class of digital genres: Web genres. For this purpose, we have developed a database-driven system that will ultimately consist of more than 3 000 000 HTML documents, written in German, which are the empirical basis for our research. We introduce the notions of Web genre type which constitutes the basic framework for a certain Web genre, and compulsory and optional Web genre modules. These act as building blocks which go together to make up the structure characterised by the Web genre type and furthermore, operate as modifiers for the default assignment involved. The analysis of a 200 document sample illustrates our notion of Web genre hierarchy, into which Web genre types and modules are embedded. The analysis of four different documents of the Web genre Academic’s Personal Homepage, not only illustrates our approach, but also our long-term goal of automatically extracting the contents of Web genre modules in order to build up structured XML documents of groups of unstructured HTML documents.
50 citations
TL;DR: A simple and not excessively timeconsuming strategy is proposed for academics to ensure that students have the opportunity to learn not only the mechanics of what they are required to do, but also the reasons for the requirements and assistance in learning the language for fulfilling these requirements.
Abstract: University plagiarism policies aimed at assuring academic integrity provide for increased vigilance and disciplinary procedures to deal with transgressions. Many policies also include guidelines to teaching staff to ensure that students are adequately informed about the meaning of plagiarism and its consequences, and about methods of citing within the particular referencing system in use. However, the experience of academic advising has indicated that receiving such information is insufficient for students who, for a variety of reasons, inadvertently lapse into plagiarism. This is particularly the case for international students for whom English is a second or additional language. A simple and not excessively timeconsuming strategy is proposed for academics to ensure that students have the opportunity to learn not only the mechanics of what they are required to do, but also the reasons for the requirements and assistance in learning the language for fulfilling these requirements. The strategy involves, firstly, the induction of students into the concept of evidence-based learning as the essential characteristic of university learning, teaching and research, and secondly, the application of a tool such as genre analysis for mastering the language of their discipline. This is an awareness and development issue that is particularly important for international students whose time within the Englishspeaking Australian university environment may be limited to three or four years. The proposed strategy has the potential of becoming a powerful mechanism for reducing the incidence of inadvertent plagiarism, as well as raising the overall standard of written work for an increasing range of students. This journal article is available in Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice: http://ro.uow.edu.au/jutlp/vol2/iss3/6 Jour na l o f Un ive rs i t y Teach ing and Lear n ing Pr ac t i ce Academic Integrity: An Awareness and Development Issue for Students and Staff
49 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present three case studies from communication intensive classes at MIT that intend to help students develop the advanced communication skills required of professional engineers today, highlighting classes in biological engineering, aeronautics/astronautics engineering, and biomedical engineering.
Abstract: As is true for engineering communication programs nationwide, at MIT curricular and pedagogical reforms have been driven by changes in the kinds of problems that engineers solve and the associated skill sets that engineers must now have in communication and teamwork. This article presents three case studies from communication-intensive classes at MIT that intend to help students develop the advanced communication skills required of professional engineers today. Highlighting classes in biological engineering, aeronautics/astronautics engineering, and biomedical engineering, we explore the following questions: What does it mean for educational practice if professional communication competencies and tasks are the goals? How can students and technical faculty best create the conditions for students to learn to be skilled team members? How can engineering students move from mere display of data to making skilled visual arguments based on those data? The importance of helping students meet the target competencies of professional practice, of teaching effective teamwork and collaboration, and of teaching students to understand and argue with visual data are recognized as widespread needs, and these case studies attest to the possibilities and challenges in meeting those needs.
49 citations
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22 Oct 2015TL;DR: The Standards of English in Higher Education (SHE) as discussed by the authors survey provides a framework for ongoing discussion and debate on a critical area in higher education and highlights the potential tension between the maintenance of educational standards and the need to reflect an international orientation, widen participation and maintain financial buoyancy.
Abstract: The student demographic of universities today has changed quite dramatically from even a decade ago. As universities seek to internationalise, widen participation and derive attendant reputational and financial benefits, along with greater opportunities for research collaborations and industry links, they also face a growing challenge associated with what Neil Murray terms 'the English language question'. In particular, as the proportion of students of non-English speaking backgrounds entering universities increases, there is growing concern over levels of language proficiency and what this can mean for educational standards, the student experience and, ultimately, institutional standing. Standards of English in Higher Education unpacks a number of key and interrelated issues - for example, the assessment of proficiency and the structure and nature of provision - that bear on the question of English language standards and in doing so offers a frank critical appraisal of English language in higher education today.
- Draws together in a single volume a number of key and interrelated issues around English language proficiency in today’s higher education context.
- Provides a framework for ongoing discussion and debate on a critical area in higher education.
- Highlights the potential tension between the maintenance of educational standards in higher education and the need to reflect an international orientation, widen participation and maintain financial buoyancy.
49 citations
TL;DR: This paper argued that affectivity emerges as a powerful non-representational force behind amateur mediation, rather than simply delivering accurate representations of the source text meaning, amateur subtitles seek to performatively intervene in the articulation and reception of the audio-visual semiotic ensemble.
Abstract: Developments in communication technologies have brought about the proliferation of self-mediated textualities and empowered networks of non-professional translators to engage in participatory subtitling practices. These subtitling agencies are often part of a movement of cultural resistance against global capitalist structures and institutions, whether for aesthetic or political reasons. This article gauges the extent to which participatory subtitling challenges assumptions underpinning traditional scholarship on intercultural communication, as instantiated in the pragmatics of audio-visual translation. It is argued that affectivity emerges as a powerful non-representational force behind amateur mediation. Rather than simply aiming to deliver ‘accurate’ representations of the source text meaning, amateur subtitles seek to performatively intervene in the articulation and reception of the audio-visual semiotic ensemble. Drawing on selected examples of aesthetic and political subtitling activism, th...
49 citations