Bridging the gap between staff expectations and student interpretations of academic writing : the case of Scribende

Van de Poel, Kris and Brunfaut, Tineke (2004) Bridging the gap between staff expectations and student interpretations of academic writing : the case of Scribende. Belgian Journal of English Language and Literatures, 2. pp. 329-335.

Abstract

Scribende is an online and autonomous remedial training programme for academic writing consisting of a diagnostic entry test, an awareness raising module and language-specific skills training for literature and linguistics students in Dutch, English and German at the University of Antwerp. It starts from the assumption that writing is not a technical nor a holistic endeavour per se. The learning process is mainly individualised and learner-centred, and can gain from community writing activities. The theoretical approach is reflective and the skills training task-based problem-solving. In order to bridge the communication gap between academic staff and students the Scribende-approach as a whole is a symbiosis between the technicist approach, the academic socialisation approach and the academic literacies approach (Lea & Street 1998). In this article, the Scribende approach is analysed within the framework of Lea and Street’s three perspectives on academic writing.