Academic Writing: A Self-Assessment Strategy for Cadence, Fluency, and Vocabulary Choice

Abstract

Entering graduate students typically demonstrate a wide range of academic writing competencies. The purpose of the instructional practice described in this chapter is to close the writing literacy gaps and raise the standard of graduate writing overall. The practice is designed to specifically address three significant traits of writing—cadence, sentence fluency, and vocabulary choice— by introducing several activities that will generate self-assessment and self-improvement of student writing. Students perform these exercises on samples of their own writing. As a result of the critiquing and revising inherent in the process, student writing dramatically improves. Ideally instructors would introduce the strategy early in the program or course of study to establish high writing expectations and a shared language and process for writing improvement.