Innovations, activities and principles for supporting students' writing

Despite some of the critiques of the conventions of academic writing that have been outlined above, it is also clear that nurturing good writing skills among students enhances their ability to think in complex and coherent ways (Bean, 2001). Writing is not only valued in academia; good writing skil ls are important for the enhancement of our students' professional lives. Despite its centrality in academia and professional life, it is often left up to the students themselves to become good at writing. While there have been notable changes in the UK and Ireland in providing dedicated support for student writing, many higher education contexts rely on students being acculturated or somehow induced into academic writing simply by being immersed into university life (Lea and Street, 1998).