Genre and disciplinarity: The challenge of grant writing for new non-anglophone scientists

Abstract

This chapter examines the challenges of grant writing faced by new non-Anglophone academics who have taken positions in English North American universities. Drawing on a case study, which includes a discourse analysis of proposal drafts and interviews with a new non-Anglophone scientist, the chapter illustrates how the academic practice of grant writing in the fiercely competitive Anglophone academia (Hyland 2007) may be challenging for non-Anglophone scholars to master. The chapter explains how discursive practices of different national academic systems shape and require different scholarly identities. The chapter concludes by providing possible ways in which new non-Anglophone academics can be assisted in understanding the genre system of the grant proposal. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.