Podcast E4: Why is academic writing so hard?
In this episode of Coffee, Tea or Something Stronger?, Clare Lynch talks to Dr Karen Ottewell of the University of Cambridge about writing for an academic audience.
Tune into this episode to learn more about:
• The particular challenges of writing at post-graduate level
• Cultural factors that can undermine the effectiveness of your academic writing
• How to bring focus and clarity to an academic argument
• The advantage that comes from writing in English as a second language
• Plagiarism – and how to avoid it
• Writing tips from a Cambridge academic
About Dr Karen Ottewell
Dr Karen Ottewell is a Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge and Director of Academic Development and Training for International Students in the Language Centre at the University of Cambridge.
In 2016, she won the prestigious Pilkington Teaching Prize for her work at the Cambridge Language Centre. She’s currently pursuing a second doctorate on ways to help students develop their academic writing skills.
Her professional interests include assessment design, transferable skills training, contrastive rhetoric and defining the ‘cultural’ influence on writing, the international student experience, and transition to UK HE.
Language Centre, University of Cambridge
