Journal of English Language Teaching

Academic Writing Needs of Research Scholars in an Indian University

Dr Nivedita Malini Barua

Ph.D., Department of ELT, Gauhati University

Keywords: academic writing, challenges, research scholars, perceptions, local skills, global skills

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Abstract

This paper reports the findings of a study conducted on a group of research scholars from Arts and Humanities in an Indian university. The main objectives were to determine i.) their awareness and perception towards their academic writing needs in English, ii) the strategies that they adopted to deal with the challenges in academic writing, and iii) whether they felt the need for the inclusion of academic writing courses in their course work. The study was a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods where the participants responded to both objective and descriptive questions. The findings revealed the perceived problem areas and the challenges that they face while writing, the strategies they adopt to deal with them and the lack of awareness of academic writing needs among the scholars. Finally, it highlights the ‘want’ for the inclusion of effective academic writing courses.

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