ROGER

The conference Vielfalt und Diversität im Schreiben. Schreibprozesse individuell begleiten / „Variety and Diversity in Writing” was organised on the 7th of November 2019 by the Writung Centre of the Fachhochschule Wien der WKW (University of Applied Sciences for Management & Communication), Vienna, Austria.

More information here.

Dr Claudia Doroholschi, Dr Madalina Chitez and Dr Loredana Bercuci represented the West University of Timisoara, with the paper So Similar yet so Different: An Analysis of Academic Genre Perceptions Across Disciplines.

Abstract:
Main academic genres are recurrently used across disciplines and languages, with particular preferences manifesting themselves in certain writing cultures (Kruse et al., 2016).  On the other hand, research also indicates that what seems similar at a first sight is quite diverse in the actual context of use. In this study, we investigate this diversity by reporting on a questionnaire on academic genres implemented in Romania (nine universities). The study is undertaken within the frame of the project ROGER, which aims, among others, at mapping academic genres specific to the Romanian HE context in two language settings: L1 Romanian and L2 English. We use data from the questionnaire in order to present and interpret statistical data on the most used academic genres in four disciplines. The open-question student input gives additional insight into the peculiarities of use of the same genre, such as the „referat”, typical in the Eastern European writing cultures, in quite different disciplines. We also correlate data from the students questionnaire with data extracted from interviews with faculty for details on the diversity of use for the same genre.  The results of our analysis are then used to make pedagogic and institutional suggestions that could help both students and teachers solve dilemmas related to genre use expectations.