A Critique on Bailey’s (2006) Academic Writing Book

In his book, Academic Writing: A Handbook for International Students, Bailey (2006) elucidates “the writing process and covers all the key writing skills” (p.i) with the intention of teaching academic English writing skills and to give practice on the formal writing aspects, i.e. conventions, acknowledging sources, layout, style. This significant book is proposed for “overseas” (p.iii) students studying at English colleges and universities who want to capitalize on academic potential.

Bluntly organized into four parts, namely, The Writing Process, Elements of Writing, Accuracy in Writing and Writing Models, the book offers varied writing tasks, short explanations, extra exercises, and material to assist students in writing academic texts. Whereas the first two parts guides learners on the process of understanding the title to its subsequent proofreading, the last two parts offer revision and reference; Useful models are presented to students, intended to offer opportunities to practice those areas which are difficult for them or to have reference of the types of writing they may need.

According to Bailey (2006) “the structure of the book has been made as simple as possible” (p. ii) as students might exploit the book “in the classroom or self-study” (p. i). For students to use it autonomously, more explanations are needed. It seems that the first part of the manual might need the teacher's guidance. Bailey’s (2006) book would have been more suitable for English-medium learners, if the author had presented clearer explanations and handy examples for guiding students in task completion.

Academic writing is complemented with a Cross-reference and a Writing Test section that helps students to further exploit the units. Since the two last parts of the book are organized alphabetically, Bailey (2006) underlines that this “allow them [students] to find what they want quickly” (p. iii). This design leads students to jump from one unit to the other. The book would have been a “practical and easy-to-use guide” (p.i), if the author had organized the explanations relating the topics.

The writing test section contains four small tests for students (to) check their progress and identify weak areas. Had Bailey (2006) designed tests that integrate writing skills, accuracy and grammar practices, students would have got profit of this section. Answers for close-ended activities are also provided. Particularly important in the inclusion of model answers for open-ended tasks, which might serve as models for students’ responses.

Of equal concern is the selection of topics for students to write pieces of academic texts. Since Bailey (2006) recognizes that “the type of writing they are asked to do depends on the subject they are studying” (p.iii), the book offers a variety of topics to work on. Nevertheless, the book does not offer useful links to search for valuable information for the essays. Had the author added a reference section for students to look for specific information, students would have control over the topics proposed.

On the whole, Bailey (2006) succeeded in recognizing non-native students’ needs and in designing diverse kinds of activities to ensure that their writing skills meet the necessary academic standards of a discourse community. Whilst advanced learners might profit from the exercises while acquiring specific knowledge, Bailey’s (2006) book would have been more useful, if the author had graded the activities from teacher’s guided to freer ones accompanying the latter with suitable explanations, concise examples, a different cross-referencing layout and a list of sources to find suitable information. Had this been fruitfully achieved, the result would have been not only remarkably convenient but also unquestionable for its users.

Reference

Bailey, S. (2006). Academic Writing: A handbook for international students. (2nd ed.). Taylor & Francis e-library. 
Retrieved from http://npu.edu.ua/!e-book/book/djvu/A/ii_kgpm_27.pdf