Beyond Accuracy: L2 Graduate Students’ Evaluation of Word and Phrase Suitability in Academic Writing

Abstract

Academic writing is an integral communication mode for graduate students in higher education. Meaningful writing extends beyond accuracy as it also encompasses the suitability of discourse convention of the discipline. In this study, graduate students’ ability to evaluate suitability at the word and phrasal level is examined. A survey of ten items were distributed to students who were enrolled in the researcher’s academic writing module. In each item, there was an underlined word or phrase set within a context. Students had to evaluate the word or phrase as not suitable, somewhat suitable, or suitable. Students were also invited to provide comments for their evaluation. Students’ evaluation of suitability was analyzed descriptively, while their comments were coded into three categories. There were 122 students who completed the survey, but not all provided comments; nevertheless, the number of comments came to 647. The study found that the students were able to evaluate the suitability of the word or phrase under examination. However, students were not necessarily able to explain their choice of suitability. Students were also found to overgeneralize words which might be comparable in meaning, but not interchangeable. In terms of students’ comments, most were general and were focused on grammatical accuracy. The findings of this study affirm that academic writing pedagogy grounded in raising students’ genre knowledge remains important.