More than a matter of cognition: an exploration of affective writing problems of post-graduate students and their possible solutions

Abstract

This paper starts from the premise that there is more to writing than simply skill, knowledge and ability, i.e. cognition. This is an important part of writing but is only one aspect of it. The paper discusses the idea of the affective domain and goes on to focus largely on the positive and negative attitudes and feelings of graduate students towards writing. These views were collected during a number of teaching sessions with post-graduates. The teaching sessions, which are outlined in the paper, involved a wide range of post-graduate students (overseas and UK) who were at different stages in their doctorate. During those sessions, the views and attitudes of experienced academic writers were also presented briefly as a contrast and a comparison to those of students. The article ends with a discussion of the range of students' attitudes and feelings and considers how staff might best ‘deal’ with them in helping to develop students' writing as successfully as possible.

Keywords:

• writing
• cognition
• affective domain