A teaching activity for developing research-writing skills

The aim of this activity is for international postgraduate and honours students to develop their understandings of research design, research processes and research writing by investigating their own assumptions and expectations about research supervision, as well as supervisors ’ expectations of students. This activity is designed to be suitable for international postgraduate students undertaking introductory academic programs, English for Academic Purposes, or bridging programs to develop their research and advanced academic writing skills, but the general procedure can be adapted for use in a range of contexts. Rationale Misunderstandings about the degree of assistance expected from supervisors and the degree of academic independence expected from students can nega-tively impact on the supervisory relationship; therefore, it is important for students to identify potential mismatches in expectations and assumptions so that these can be addressed. A mini student-directed research project focusing on these areas provides an economic way of inducting students into research processes while simultaneously raising their awareness of supervisors ’ expectations. Overview of activity In the first phase of the activity, students complete an ‘academic culture quiz’, and the students ’ supervisors or other participating academics/colleagues complete the same questionnaire. The second phase of the activity is the research component, which involves students working in groups to analyse and interpret the findings of the questionnaire, and to write up the mini research project. The different groups should present their sections (for example, introduction, methods, results, discussion) to the whole class in the form of PowerPoint slides or overhead transparencies. The activity requires two or three two-hour sessions