TEACHING ACADEMIC WRITING TO NURSING STUDENTS: DEVELOPING CRITICALITY THROUGH A GENRE-BASED APPROACH

Abstract

This study addresses the widely recognised difficulties that Nursing students experience with academic writing. Based on genre analysis, teaching and learning materials for undergraduate Nursing students were developed and administered in writing workshops. The materials had a particular focus on the expression of criticality. There is still no agreement in the literature on how to define or teach criticality; however, there is the expectation that EAP experts should teach students how to display critical thinking in academic texts (Bruce, 2019: 107). The study’s methodology comprises the following stages: the compilation of a corpus consisting of graded texts written by undergraduate Nursing students including lecturers’ feedback comments, identification of linguistic features and patterns responsible for signaling criticality and students’ feedback on academic writing workshops. Students’ feedback suggests that a combination of genre-based approaches with an inclusive model of literacy instruction offers a sound rationale for the design of academic writing initiatives. Data from a student questionnaire shows that after participating in the workshop and engaging with the activities, students have a better understanding of academic writing and the concept of criticality. Insights gained from the data will contribute to shed light on new trends regarding the teaching of disciplinary writing particularly for students starting university.