ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we present the principles that underpin a holistic academic writing support system for graduate students. We focus here on a semester-long writing for publication course based on “creation of holistic argumentation”. We introduce students to four linguistic principles, a significant one being Grice’s cooperative principle and maxims of conversation (Grice, 1989) and apply them to student analysis and writing of journal papers. We illustrate our approach with a model analysis of a Nature journal paper. Students firstly participate in the four-stage analysis of this expert-drafted paper; then they do a parallel analysis of a competent journal paper from their own specialization. Finally, students create their own texts using a persuasive, academic voice. Our aim is to make explicit the linguistic and pragmatic choices for these emerging authors as they develop their argumentation stage by stage. These strategic and adaptable choices are not predetermined or prescribed. Instead, they evolve with the argumentation. An awareness of writing these linguistic principles in relation to more established moves and move sequences helps students to achieve a balance between developing an awareness of conventions and developing their own voice.
