Academic Literacies and Blog Writing in University Classrooms

Abstract

University students often struggle with academic writing because of the challenges involved in negotiating the hidden rules and implicit discursive practices in academic writing. An academic literacies approach has emphasized writing as social practice and recognized that the literacy practices of the university are often epistemological. Blogs provide an opportunity for students to immerse themselves in situated, socially interactive writing in academic contexts. This study sought to explore blog writing from an academic literacies perspective. Data were collected from of two cohorts of students (Winter 2010 and 2011 terms) participating in a small university fourth year seminar class. The data consisted of blog postings from the two cohorts, interviews with the instructor, and course evaluations. The blog posts and comments were analysed using an intertextual analytical framework. Findings indicate that students do develop academic literacies through blog writing because of particular features of blogs: the immediate audience, the flexibility of purpose of blogs and the informal style of language.

Citation

Badenhorst, C.M. (2012), "Academic Literacies and Blog Writing in University Classrooms", Wankel, C. and Blessinger, P. (Ed.) Increasing Student Engagement and Retention Using Online Learning Activities (Cutting-Edge Technologies in Higher Education, Vol. 6 Part A), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 227-254. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2044-9968(2012)000006A011