Academic Writing for International Students of Business
Academic Writing for International Students of Business Bailey, Stephen. (2015) Academic Writing for International Students of Business. New York, NY: Routledge.The recently released 2nd edition of Stephen Bailey's Academic Writing for International Students of Business (2015) overviews general concepts about academic writing in English for non native speakers studying business. Bailey's text can be utilized both as a classroom text and as a self study guide, supported by a corresponding answer key at the end of the text. The 2nd edition differs from the first in that it offers a new section on writing a literature review (replacing the and a more in depth explanation on the correct use of definite articles in English. Like the first edition, the 2nd edition is available as a softbound book as well as an electronic text in an easy to utilize, downloadable format.The primary strength of Academic Writing for International Students of Business for both students and faculty is the manageable amount of content. The text is not overwhelming; it covers fundamental concepts with brevity readers may welcome. However, this brevity does, in places, become the text's greatest weakness. Some aspects of academic writing deserve more attention and need additional explanation. In addition, most examples in the text are from the UK; it lacks examples from Australia, the United States, and other English speaking countries. For instance, the authors present an opening quiz designed to help students test their knowledge and focus their interests. However, this quiz may not be applicable across all cultures or institutions.The text is organized in four parts: The Writing Process, Elements of Writing, Vocabulary for Writing and Writing Models. While generally straightforward and clear, occasionally the text can be confusing, especially when key ideas are alluded to, but not directly referenced. For example, in the section on critical reading, one activity addresses skimming versus scanning a text (p. 16) but the text itself makes no mention of scanning, outside of the glossary. The text also switches voice sometimes Bailey addresses students directly as if they are his primary audience. At other times, as in the section on reading methods (p. 15) the voice shifts and the author seems to be writing to faculty, talking about students. For student readers, this shift potentially detracts from the effectiveness as they may not find material to be directly relevant to their own needs.The first section of Academic Writing for International Students of Business focusing on the Writing Process contains good information about effective critical reading, working in groups, and how to avoid plagiarism, along with a standard overview of stages of the writing process. The section on plagiarism effectively connects the importance of good study and notetaking habits to the goal of avoiding plagiarism. This section also reinforces understanding through activities on avoiding plagiarism by fully understanding and practicing summarizing and paraphrasing. However, some of the other sections are not as well developed.