Book Critique on Academic Writing: A 

Handbook for International Students

Academic Writing: A Handbook for International Students (Bailey, 2006) is a book that acknowledges written demands faced by students and is geared towards aiding students to meet the standards of the academic world. Bailey (2006) recognizes the fact that international students not only have to fulfill academic language requirements but also “they need to adopt new conventions of style, referencing and layout” (Bailey, 2006, p. 8).  This volume can serve as a practice tool, to be worked either with the guidance of a teacher or by students themselves.

When making smart book choices, parameters such as practicality, clarity and organization are key concepts to be taken into account. Particularly remarkable it is the adherence to the aforementioned criteria in Academic Writing (Bailey, 2006). It provides students with a wide variety of writing models, including CVs, letters and essays. Besides, “[it] explains the writing process and covers key writing skills such as referencing and paraphrasing” (Bailey, 2006, p. 1). Regarding organization, it has been wisely organized in alphabetical order so as to display an easy access.

The book includes four major parts: 1) the writing process, 2) the elements of writing, 3) accuracy in writing, and writing models. Although Bailey (2006) allows for the development of thinking skills through the exercises in the first section, it would have been better if he had included more varied ones in order not to appear monotonous. Of greater concern is the absence of APA convention details. Bailey’s (2006) book might be more complete if he had included an explicit account about documenting styles in the handbook.

As a conclusion, Academic Writing: A handbook for international students is great aid for those students striving for academic writing success. In spite of its trivial flaws, this book might be a suitable guide for academic writing since it covers different types of texts and, of greater importance, it contributes to students’ educational development in general.

Reference

Bailey, S. (2006). Academic Writing: A handbook for international students (2 ed.).  Taylor & Francis e-library.