Hi, Everyone,
Unfortunately, there has been a bit of a misunderstanding regarding my
initial question, so, although I am now hesitant to "reply all," I
feel that I need to clarify to everyone the purpose of my inquiry. I
am an instructor at a university here in Germany (although I am an
American who has previously only taught at universities in the States)
and have been tasked with teaching Academic Writing (in English) to
German students studying to become English teachers. As I am not a
product of the German schools, I am unfamiliar with Academic Writing
as it exists in the German education system (both high school and
university - in German and English). Although we are teaching them
Academic Writing in English, it seems to be more of a hybrid of
American and German conventions (for example, using source material to
demonstrate knowledge instead of supporting claims), with some of the
textbooks for the same class teaching British English and others
teaching American English in regards to mechanics. Each university
also has its own style guide that dictates formatting and conventions
that not only vary from one institution to the next but also sometimes
contradict what is usually taught in American and British universities
(MLA, MHRA, etc.). And there seems to be a much heavier emphasis on
lower order concerns - with limited writing/researching resources
being available to the students.
I would like to learn more about how Academic Writing (in English) is
taught in German universities and high schools so that I can
understand why such deviations within the discipline exist. I have
been unsuccessful in finding books or even articles (in either
language) that would help me to better understand what the general
consensus is in German higher education regarding the expectations and
pedagogy of Academic Writing. I had assumed most - if not all -
recommendations would have been for English books; although, German
books work as well.
I apologize if my inquiry made misuse of this listserve. I just
thought that since there are members of the organization teaching in
Germany, and German scholars speaking at some of the conferences, that
this would be a topic that had previously been discussed.
Thank you for the texts that were recommended this afternoon.
Thank You,
Stacy
On 4/7/17, Kruse Otto (kreo) <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hi Stacy,
>
> I’m not as pessimistic as Natalie concerning the quality of German books on
> academic writing. I wrote two of them myself which I can recommend. The
> first one which sells since 1994 even has a chapter on intercultural issues.
> Both books connect the German traditions of writing with an international
> perspective.
>
> Otto Kruse: Keine Angst vor dem leeren Blatt. Ohne Schreibblockaden durchs
> Studium. Frankfurt: Campus 2007 (12th Ed.)
> Otto Kruse: Lesen und Schreiben. Der richtige Umgang mit Texten im Studium.
> Konstanz: UVK/ UTB (2nd Ed.)
>
> I can also recommend:
>
> Andrea Frank, Stefanie Haacke, Swantje Lahm: Schlüsselkompetenzen: Schreiben
> in Studium und Beruf. Stuttgart: Metzler 2007
>
> This book represents the experience of Gemany’s oldest writing centre. It is
> well written and compares to any English text book on this topic. I assume
> there are more books of that kind in German but unfortunately not in my book
> shelf.
>
> If you want a book that actually compares American writing with the German
> tradition, try
>
> David Foster (2006). Writing with authority: Student’s roles as writers in
> cross-national perspective. Carbondale: IL: Southern Illinois University
> Press.
>
> The difficulties of catching intercultural differences in writing may be
> found in
>
> David Foster & David Russell (2002). Writing and learning in cross-national
> perspective. Urbana: NCTE
> Madalina Chitez & Otto Kruse (2012). Writing cultures and genres in European
> higher education. In: Montserrat Castello & Christiane Donahue (Eds.),
> University writing. Selves and texts in academic societies (p. 151-178).
> Bingley: Emerald.
>
> Reports on writing cultures in 15 different European cultures (including
> Germany, Austria, Switzerland) may also be of help:
>
> Kruse, O., Chitez, M., Rodrigues, B., & Costelló, M. (Eds.). (2016).
> Exploring European writing cultures: Country reports on genres, writing
> practices and languages used in European higher
> education<https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/1056>. (Working
> Papers in Applied Linguistics 10). Zurich University of Applied Sciences.
> Available from https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/1056
> To say what the German way of academic writing today may be is not easy.
> Most research is published in English today so that you don’t find good
> models of research papers any more in German. What is still typical German
> is the tradition of seminar paper writing. This has started 200 years ago
> and is markedly different from traditions which are based on essay writing
> even if we don’t know how much both lines have changed lately.
>
> As the three books above mentioned first are recommended in almost any
> German seminar, you may figure that they represent what you hope to be
> “standard”.
>
> Otto
>
>
> Von: European Association for the Teaching of Academic Writing - discussions
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Im Auftrag von Natalie Struve
> Gesendet: Freitag, 7. April 2017 15:48
> An: [log in to unmask]
> Betreff: AW: Book Recommendations: Academic Writing in Germany
>
>
> Hi, Stacy,
>
> could you tell us the purpose of your inquiry? Otherwise it’s very hard to
> give you a satisfying answer.
>
> I would be more than hesitant to give any suggestions if somebody willing to
> write in an academic context would ask me for German "standards": because
> most of what people think to be standards are really just conventions; those
> change with time and differ enormously between academic fields – and as
> Helen Sword has shown so convincingly, despite deviating from the current
> conventions in one’s field, one can be published in leading journals.
> Writing for academic purposes is part of the process of gaining
> understanding and building knowledge, and as such it has to meet the
> requirements for any scientific or academic work. Yet those are the same
> whether one writes in German or in English.
>
> Despite that, of course what you see in German papers differs greatly from
> those in English. Still I am convinced we need to teach students how they
> could do better, instead of imitating blindly what is put before them. Most
> German academic papers are just horrible to read, if one can read them at
> all; yet that doesn’t mean it has to be that way. The main difference, in my
> opinion, is that it is easier to find academic texts that are a pleasure to
> read in English. The problems writers (and readers) struggle with are mostly
> the same though, and a well-structured, clear and concise paper with
> convincing arguments will work in either language (and even in academic
> fields where papers like that are a very rare exception indeed).
>
> When my students and clients ask me for book recommendations, with a few
> exceptions I mostly steer them towards works on academic writing that have
> been published in English – even if said students and academics aim to write
> in German: because they will find the advice given there just as helpful,
> and the books much better to read. Not all of them, of course; yet the ones
> that are a pleasure to read are rarely written in German. Not because German
> is a language that does not allow for good writing (of course it isn’t), or
> because Germans do not have a sense of humour (we do – well, at least some
> of us, but that’s true for every nation); but simply because we are used to
> expect anything on academic work to be boring, complicated and more or less
> impossible to understand. Apparently that hasn’t always been the case, it
> might even be one of the long-term effects of Nazi Germany – yet the main
> point is: as teachers of academic writing, we should not accept the status
> quo but aim for better writing. And the criteria for good writing are the
> same in either language.
>
> Have a great weekend then, with some fun stuff to read. ;-)
>
> Cheers,
>
> Natalie
>
>
> …………………………………………………..
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> [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
> Von: European Association for the Teaching of Academic Writing - discussions
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Im Auftrag von Stacy Weiss
> Gesendet: Donnerstag, 6. April 2017 16:47
> An: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> Betreff: Book Recommendations: Academic Writing in Germany
>
>
>
> Hi, Everyone,
>
>
>
> I'm looking for recommendations on books that discuss standards of academic
> writing specifically in Germany/German universities or those that compare
> German conventions against English conventions. I'm mostly looking for
> texts that deal with pedagogy, but any titles or directions to pursue would
> be appreciated.
>
>
>
> Thank You,
>
> Stacy Weiss
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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