Task Requirements and Students’ Perceptions of Prompts in an Academic Writing Classroom

Abstract

The paper examines the research project task expectations of university student writers. It offers a detailed analysis of the rhetorical Moves that are likely to occur in university-level research paper prompts. The analysis highlights that while, some Moves such as Background information and Assessment expectations are optional, others like Cognitive demands on students are obligatory, and that an Overview of task and Procedural directions are desirable traits of prompts. A transitivity analysis of the prompts, student interviews and reflections revealed that despite the prescriptive tone and the heavy cognitive and rhetorical demands made on student writers, the prompts did not alienate the novices who were on the whole receptive to the requirements specified by the instructors.