Using Corpus Based Instruction to Explore Writing Variation across the Disciplines: A Case History in a Graduate Level Technical Editing Course.
Understanding the linguistic and rhetorical patterns of an academic discipline strengthens students' abilities to write in professional settings. Data driven learning and corpus linguistic methods can increase this understanding and should be considered valuable contributors to any writing curriculum. In this paper, I present a case history on integrating corpora in a graduate level technical editing course to teach students about writing variation. Students applied this knowledge to edit research based texts for nonnative English speakers within the STEM disciplines. Though this case history focuses on corpora in a technical editing course, the approaches I describe transfer to any course with a writing component as well as across grade levels and student proficiencies. I conclude by addressing the barriers associated with integrating corpus based learning into the classroom. Linguistic and rhetorical patterns reflect an academic discipline's subject area and its methods for building knowledge (Conrad, 1996, 2001; Hyland, 2004; Stoller, Jones, Costanza Robinson, Robinson, 2005) Understanding these patterns strengthens students' abilities to write across academic disciplines and in professional settings. In this paper, I present a case history of how graduate technical editing students identified language patterns with corpus linguistic methods. Corpus linguistics is an applied linguistics approach that uses computer assisted techniques to explore authentic language data and facilitates large scale analyses of writing patterns, expanding students' depth and breadth of genres and language when compared to traditional instruction. Quantitative findings reveal language patterns that writers use, showing the most typical language choice for certain functions in certain contexts. Subsequently, qualitative analysis provides interpretation of reasons for typical and unusual choices (Conrad, 1996) The purpose of integrating these instructional approaches was to raise developing editors' genre awareness as well as introduce them to writing conventions used across the disciplines. Students applied this knowledge to edit research based texts for clients in the STEM fields who spoke English as a second language. Though this case history is focused on using corpora in a technical editing course, the approaches I described transfer to any course with a writing component as well as across grade levels and student proficiencies. I conclude by addressing the barriers that educators associate with integrating corpora into their classrooms.