1887
  1. Home
  2. Online First Articles
  3. Online First Article
Cover image Placeholder
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

Abstract

Research on graduate student writing (GSW) has typically focused on theses and dissertations, with less attention paid to coursework assignments (e.g., recounts, exercises, etc.), which are prioritized by students and professors as assessments and are graduate students’ first ventures into disciplinary writing. This study details the situational exploration of a corpus of academic writing assignments from graduate students in two applied sciences disciplines (applied linguistics and engineering) at a major Midwestern American university. The Corpus of Graduate Student Papers (CorGrad) represents 12 sub-registers, over 1,000 texts, and 2 million words. The study highlights key contextual features of the course papers, noting the influence of both textual purpose and discipline. Findings highlight the significance to disciplinary writing research and representativeness of student writing corpora. Knowledge of the register-specific patterns of GSW can help to refine curricula, programmatic design, and graduate student support during the pre-thesis/dissertation phase of their matriculation.

© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/rs.24019.bec
2025-12-05
2026-01-12

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/10.1075/rs.24019.bec
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Aranha, S.
    (2009) The development of a genre-based writing course for graduate students in two fields. InC. Bazerman, A. Bonini, & D. Figueiredo (Eds.), Genre in a Changing World (pp.–). The WAC Clearinghouse; Parlor Press. 10.37514/PER‑B.2009.2324.2.23
     https://doi.org/10.37514/PER-B.2009.2324.2.23 [Google Scholar]
  2. Badenhorst, C. M.
    (2018) Graduate student writing: Complexity in literature reviews. Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education, (), –. 10.1108/SGPE‑D‑17‑00031
     https://doi.org/10.1108/SGPE-D-17-00031 [Google Scholar]
  3. Becker, K. P.
    (2022) Extending our understanding of unpublished academic writing: The creation and analysis of CorGrad (Doctor of Philosophy, Iowa State University). Iowa State University, Ames (Iowa). 10.31274/td‑20240329‑333
     https://doi.org/10.31274/td-20240329-333 [Google Scholar]
  4. Berkenkotter, C., Huckin, T. N., & Ackerman, J.
    (1989) Social context and socially constructed texts: The initiation of a graduate student into a writing research community. InBazerman, C. & Paradis, J. (Eds.), Textual dynamics and the professions (pp.–). Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Biber, D., & Conrad, S.
    (2019) Register, genre, and style (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/9781108686136
     https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108686136 [Google Scholar]
  6. Biber, D., & Egbert, J.
    (2016) Register variation on the searchable web: A multi-dimensional analysis. Journal of English Linguistics, (), –. 10.1177/0075424216628955
     https://doi.org/10.1177/0075424216628955 [Google Scholar]
  7. Cheng, A.
    (2018) Genre and graduate-level research writing. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. 10.3998/mpub.9558175
     https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.9558175 [Google Scholar]
  8. Cohen, J.
    (1960) A coefficient of agreement for nominal scales. Educational and Psychological Measurement, (), –. 10.1177/001316446002000104
     https://doi.org/10.1177/001316446002000104 [Google Scholar]
  9. Cooper, A., & Bikowski, D.
    (2007) Writing at the graduate level: What tasks do professors actually require?Journal of English for Academic Purposes, (), –. 10.1016/j.jeap.2007.09.008
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2007.09.008 [Google Scholar]
  10. Druschke, C. G., Reynolds, N., Morton-Aiken, J., Lofgren, I. E., Karraker, N. E., & McWilliams, S. R.
    (2018) Better science through rhetoric: A new model and pilot program for training graduate student science writers. Technical Communication Quarterly, (), –. 10.1080/10572252.2018.1425735
     https://doi.org/10.1080/10572252.2018.1425735 [Google Scholar]
  11. Dym, C. L., Agogino, A. M., Eris, O., Frey, D. D., & Leifer, L. J.
    (2005) Engineering design thinking, teaching, and learning. Journal of Engineering Education, (), –. 10.1002/j.2168‑9830.2005.tb00832.x
     https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2168-9830.2005.tb00832.x [Google Scholar]
  12. Egbert, J.
    (2024, September). The text-linguistics (r)evolution [Plenary presentation]. American Association of Corpus Linguistics Conference, Eugene, OR, United States.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Egbert, J., & Schnur, A. E.
    (2018) The role of the text in corpus and discourse analysis. InT. Charlotte & M. Anna (Eds.), Corpus Approaches to Discourse (pp.–). Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon; New York: Routledge. 10.4324/9781315179346‑8
     https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315179346-8 [Google Scholar]
  14. Feak, C. B., & Swales, J. M.
    (2009) Telling a research story: Writing a literature review. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. 10.3998/mpub.309338
     https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.309338 [Google Scholar]
  15. Ferriman, N.
    (2013) Associations of the home literacy environment with Thai university students’ leisure reading habits. The International Journal of Literacies, (), –. 10.18848/2327‑0136/CGP/v19i04/48803
     https://doi.org/10.18848/2327-0136/CGP/v19i04/48803 [Google Scholar]
  16. Gardner, S., & Holmes, J.
    (2009) Can I use headings in my essay? Section headings, macrostructures and genre families in the BAWE corpus of student writing. InM. Charles, S. Hunston, & D. Pecorari (Eds.), Academic writing: At the interface of corpus and discourse (pp.–). London: Continuum.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Godfrey, E., & Parker, L.
    (2010) Mapping the cultural landscape in engineering education. Journal of Engineering Education, (), –. 10.1002/j.2168‑9830.2010.tb01038.x
     https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2168-9830.2010.tb01038.x [Google Scholar]
  18. Goulart, L.
    (2024) Variation in University Student Writing: A communicative text type approach. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. 10.1075/scl.117
     https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.117 [Google Scholar]
  19. Goulart, L., Biber, D., & Reppen, R.
    (2022) In this essay, I will …: Examining variation of communicative purpose in student written genres. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, , . 10.1016/j.jeap.2022.101159
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2022.101159 [Google Scholar]
  20. Gray, B.
    (2015) Linguistic variation in research articles: When discipline tells only part of the story. Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company. 10.1075/scl.71
     https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.71 [Google Scholar]
  21. Holmes, B., Waterbury, T., Baltrinic, E., & Davis, A.
    (2018) Angst about academic writing: Graduate students at the brink. Contemporary Issues in Education Research (CIER), (), –. 10.19030/cier.v11i2.10149
     https://doi.org/10.19030/cier.v11i2.10149 [Google Scholar]
  22. Hyland, K.
    (2008) Disciplinary voices: Interactions in research writing. English Text Construction, (), –. 10.1075/etc.1.1.03hyl
     https://doi.org/10.1075/etc.1.1.03hyl [Google Scholar]
  23. Kanoksilapatham, B.
    (2012) Research article structure of research article introductions in three engineering subdisciplines. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, (), –. 10.1109/TPC.2012.2223252
     https://doi.org/10.1109/TPC.2012.2223252 [Google Scholar]
  24. Kuteeva, M., & Negretti, R.
    (2016) Graduate students’ genre knowledge and perceived disciplinary practices: Creating a research space across disciplines. English for Specific Purposes, , –. 10.1016/j.esp.2015.08.004
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2015.08.004 [Google Scholar]
  25. Larsson, T.
    (2024, September). Testing (actual) linguistic hypotheses: Cumulative knowledge building in corpus linguistics [Plenary presentation]. American Association of Corpus Linguistics Conference, Eugene, OR, United States.
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Leydens, J. A.
    (2012) Sociotechnical communication in engineering: An exploration and unveiling of common myths. Engineering Studies, (), –. 10.1080/19378629.2012.662851
     https://doi.org/10.1080/19378629.2012.662851 [Google Scholar]
  27. Melzer, D.
    (2009) Writing assignments across the curriculum: A national study of college writing. College Composition & Communication, (), –. 10.58680/ccc20099487
     https://doi.org/10.58680/ccc20099487 [Google Scholar]
  28. Mu, C.
    (2021) A multidimensional contrastive analysis of linguistic features between international and local biology journal English research articles. Scientometrics, (), –. 10.1007/s11192‑021‑04102‑x
     https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-021-04102-x [Google Scholar]
  29. Murugesan, P., & Moravcsik, M. J.
    (1978) Variation of the nature of citation measures with journals and scientific specialties. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, (), –. 10.1002/asi.4630290307
     https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.4630290307 [Google Scholar]
  30. Ngai, S. B. C., Singh, R. G., & Koon, A. C.
    (2018) A discourse analysis of the macro-structure, metadiscoursal and microdiscoursal features in the abstracts of research articles across multiple science disciplines. PLOS ONE, (), e0205417. 10.1371/journal.pone.0205417
     https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0205417 [Google Scholar]
  31. Negretti, R., & McGrath, L.
    (2018) Scaffolding genre knowledge and metacognition: Insights from an L2 doctoral research writing course. Journal of Second Language Writing, , –. 10.1016/j.jslw.2017.12.002
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2017.12.002 [Google Scholar]
  32. Nesi, H., & Gardner, S.
    (2012) Genres across the disciplines: Student writing in higher education (1st ed.; C. A. Chapelle & S. Hunston, Eds.). Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/9781009030199
     https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009030199 [Google Scholar]
  33. Padula, M., Panza, C., & Muñoz, V. L.
    (2020) The pronoun this as a cohesive encapsulator in engineering semi-popularization articles written in English. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, , . 10.1016/j.jeap.2019.100828
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2019.100828 [Google Scholar]
  34. Pantelides, K.
    (2015) Dissertation genre change as a result of electronic theses and dissertation programs. Across the Disciplines, (), –. 10.37514/ATD‑J.2015.12.3.05
     https://doi.org/10.37514/ATD-J.2015.12.3.05 [Google Scholar]
  35. Paré, A.
    (2011) Speaking of writing: Supervisory feedback and the dissertation. InL. McAlpine & C. Amundsen (Eds.), Doctoral Education: Research-Based Strategies for Doctoral Students, Supervisors and Administrators (pp.–). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. 10.1007/978‑94‑007‑0507‑4_4
     https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0507-4_4 [Google Scholar]
  36. Paré, A., Starke-Meyerring, D., & McAlpine, L.
    (2009) The dissertation as multi-genre: Many readers, many readings. InC. Bazerman, A. Bonini, & D. Figueiredo (Eds.), Genre in a Changing World (pp.–). The WAC Clearinghouse; Parlor Press. 10.37514/PER‑B.2009.2324.2.09
     https://doi.org/10.37514/PER-B.2009.2324.2.09 [Google Scholar]
  37. QSR International Pty Ltd
    QSR International Pty Ltd (2018) NVivo (Version 12) [Computer software]. https://www.qsrinternational.com/nvivo-qualitative-data-analysis-software/home
     [Google Scholar]
  38. Radcliffe, D. F.
    (2006) Shaping the discipline of engineering education. Journal of Engineering Education, (), –. 10.1002/j.2168‑9830.2006.tb00901.x
     https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2168-9830.2006.tb00901.x [Google Scholar]
  39. Rogers, P. M., Zawacki, T. M., & Baker, S. E.
    (2016) Uncovering challenges and pedagogical complications in dissertation writing and supervisory practices: A multimethod study of doctoral students and advisors. InS. Simpson, N. Caplan, M. Cox, & T. Phillips (Eds.), Supporting graduate student writers: Research, curriculum, and program design (pp.–). Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press/ELT. 10.3998/mpub.8772400
     https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.8772400 [Google Scholar]
  40. Römer, U., & O’Donnell, M. B.
    (2011) From student hard drive to web corpus (Part 1): The design, compilation and genre classification of the Michigan Corpus of Upper-level Student Papers (MICUSP). Corpora, (), –. 10.3366/cor.2011.0011
     https://doi.org/10.3366/cor.2011.0011 [Google Scholar]
  41. Samson, S.
    (2010) Information literacy learning outcomes and student success. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, (), –. 10.1016/j.acalib.2010.03.002
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2010.03.002 [Google Scholar]
  42. Starke-Meyerring, Doreen
    (2011) The paradox of writing in doctoral education: Student experiences. InMcAlpine, L. & Amundsen, C. (Eds.), Doctoral education: Research-based strategies for doctoral students, supervisors, and administrators (pp.–). Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer.
     [Google Scholar]
  43. Swales, J.
    (1986) Citation analysis and discourse analysis. Applied Linguistics, (), –. 10.1093/applin/7.1.39
     https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/7.1.39 [Google Scholar]
  44. Swales, J. M.
    (2014) Variation in citational practice in a corpus of student biology papers: From parenthetical plonking to intertextual storytelling. Written Communication, (), –. 10.1177/0741088313515166
     https://doi.org/10.1177/0741088313515166 [Google Scholar]
  45. Tardy, C.
    (2009) Building genre knowledge. West Lafayette: Parlor Press, LLC.
     [Google Scholar]
  46. Tasker, D. G.
    (2022) A case study of the variety of writing assignments in an undergraduate English department. English for Specific Purposes, , –. 10.1016/j.esp.2021.12.001
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2021.12.001 [Google Scholar]
  47. Tribble, C.
    (2009) Writing academic English — A survey review of current published resources. ELT Journal, (), –. 10.1093/elt/ccp073
     https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccp073 [Google Scholar]
  48. Wolfe, C. R.
    (2011) Argumentation across the curriculum. Written Communication, (), –. 10.1177/0741088311399236
     https://doi.org/10.1177/0741088311399236 [Google Scholar]
  49. Wright, H. R.
    (2020) Stand-alone literature reviews: A new multi-dimensional analysis. InU. Römer, V. Cortes, & E. Friginal (Eds.), Studies in Corpus Linguistics (Vol., pp.–). Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. 10.1075/scl.95.13wri
     https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.95.13wri [Google Scholar]
  50. Wu, X., Mauranen, A., & Lei, L.
    (2020) Syntactic complexity in English as a lingua franca academic writing. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, , . 10.1016/j.jeap.2019.100798
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2019.100798 [Google Scholar]
  51. Yin, B.
    (2016) An exploratory genre analysis of three graduate degree research proposals in applied linguistics. Functional Linguistics, (), . 10.1186/s40554‑016‑0032‑2
     https://doi.org/10.1186/s40554-016-0032-2 [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/rs.24019.bec
Loading
  • Article Type: Research Article
Keywords: situational analysis ; corpus linguistics ; register ; graduate students ; academic writing

Most Cited

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error