Supervisory feedback and doctoral students’ academic literacy development: the case of writing for publication

This study examines how supervisory feedback facilitates doctoral students’ academic literacy development in their situated practice of writing for publication (WFP). Multiple-sourced data collected from one supervisor and his four doctoral students were analyzed, including drafts with written comments added, feedback dialogues around text development through instant messaging, and student interviews. Findings show that supervisory feedback unpacks the hidden knowledge about WFP and contributes to students’ academic literacy development in three ways, namely, familiarizing them with the conventions of the academic genre, inducting them to the social relations embedded in scholarly communication, and encouraging them to make and claim original contributions. Overall, the supervisory feedback characterized by dialogic interactions creates a productive site for students to internalize the tacit and discipline-specific knowledge in the social practice of WFP and develop as reflexive and independent scholarly writers. The findings have implications for academic writing pedagogy and feedback giving at doctoral level.