Language and Academic Writing

This chapter analyzes selected dimensions of the involvement of language in L2 academic writing from a dual lens: How language is implicated in learning-to-write in academic settings (LW), on the one hand, and how academic L2 writing activity may contribute to language learning (writing-to-learn-language: WLL), on the other. The discussion of the LW dimension provides a synthesis of global trends in the domain, together with an account of two key concerns in disciplinary debates: the interplay between writing expertise and language abilities, and the multilingual nature of L2 literacy practices. The analysis of the WLL dimension offers an overview of the main approaches to investigating the connection between L2 writing and L2 learning, and then synthesizes trends in the cognitively-oriented strand of relevance for academic writing discussions. The chapter ends by listing key questions in need of further research attention.