Academic Writing has been widely acclaimed in all its editions as a superb textbook—and an important contribution to the pedagogy of introducing students to the conventions of academic writing. The book seeks to introduce student readers to the lively community of research and writing beyond the classroom, with its complex interactions, values, and goals. It presents writing from a range of disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, cultivating students’ awareness of the subtle differences in genre.

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Janet Giltrow is Professor Emerita at the University of British Columbia. Richard Gooding is Assistant Professor of Teaching in the Department of English Language and Literatures at the University of British Columbia. Daniel Burgoyne is Professor in the Department of English at Vancouver Island University.

“Academic Writing: An Introduction draws on current research in writing studies to usher students (and teachers) into an accessible but sophisticated overview of how university readers and writers create knowledge. This textbook demystifies academic writing by showing students how and why experts make their rhetorical moves within specific situations. Grounded in genre theory, the text offers teachers specific disciplinary tools to use to help students learn to read as well as to write university genres. Packed with examples from genres produced inside and outside the academy, the text offers rich potential for class discussion, and for individual or collaborative writing projects that would prepare students to move into disciplinary research situations (and beyond). Academic Writing is unique because it goes beyond describing the ‘conventions’ of research writing to, instead, richly illustrate what motivates this writing: why scholars cite sources, conduct peer review, or prefer a nominal style. I highly recommend this text for teachers who seek to prepare students to conduct research in their fields and beyond their undergraduate educations.” — Mary Soliday, San Francisco State University

Praise for previous editions:

“Like any complex rhetorical art, good academic writing is less a matter of conforming to rules than of exercising judgment, informed by a sense of audience expectations and developed by disciplined practice. Academic Writing: An Introduction is one of those rare guides that knows this, and helps students help themselves. As students work through the book’s many imaginative exercises, they will find themselves developing a new level of rhetorical judgment. Not only will they be better equipped to deal with writing assignments in a variety of disciplines; they will likely go on improving as writers after their introductory course has been completed.” — Brian Turner, Centre for Academic Writing, University of Winnipeg