In other words we seek to identify why a student's text might be as it is and not otherwise instead of simply focusing on its strengths and weaknesses. This has led to discussions with students which have helped us to perceive as highly problematic many of the statements about academic writing and cultural differences which are contained in the study skills or language studies literature. In particular the discussions have made us aware of the prevalence of stereotyping in the descriptions of the writing of students from other educational systems - aware, that is, that what we may read as 'description', for example, may have a different function in another language and educational context. This brief account has only scratched the surface of what we have learned from our enquiries. We are sure that many of you are interested in 'academic literacies', too.
Lets get together please - to learn from each other.