Academic Writing for Graduate-Level English as a Second Language Students: Experiences in Education

Graduate-level ESL students in Education are future multicultural educators and promising role models for our diverse K-12 students. However, many of these students struggle with academic English and, in particular, writing. Yet, little research or program development addresses the specific writing support needs of this group. This article shares curriculum development for an Academic Writing Seminar serving linguistically diverse graduate students in Education. It reports on a study of the student backgrounds, writing experiences, writing self-efficacy, and instructional feedback preferences. Most participants had low writing self-efficacy and an eagerness to receive detailed feedback on grammar and mechanics in their writing. Problems in their writing were similar to common issues in college writing, but the participants expressed a distinct willingness to share their work for peer editing and conferences. Further research is needed on ways to mobilize such strengths and provide targeted writing support for ESL graduate students in Education.