Situating Academic Writing In The UndergraduateCurriculum: Some Reflections

Despite considerable efforts across the Higher Education (HE) sector to promote academicwriting, concerns continue to be raised about standards. While a considerable body of researchexists on academic writing, the relationship between the curriculum andacademic writing has not been explored in depth. In light of the current level of concern aboutacademic literacy standards (Department of Education and Skills, 2011), coupled with thepublication of the National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030 (Hunt, 2011), it is appropriatethat we analyse how we are addressing academic writing within our curricula. In this paper weexamine our own undergraduate curricula in Nursing and Health Disciplines and criticallyreflect on aspects that may facilitate or hinder the development of academic writing.Suggestions are made for ways in which ‘space’ can be created within the curriculum foracademic writing to be fostered.