This paper investigates the approaches taken to essay writing by five Asian international students at an Australian university. Analysis of their in‐depth interviews reveals links between their perceptions of learning, their perceptions of essay writing, their motivation for completing the task, and their awareness of the structural conventions of the essay as a genre. These links are apparent, irrespective of whether the students were taking a deep or a surface approach to the task. In addition, analysis of the interviews shows that the students who were taking a deep approach to writing had developed high levels of cross‐cultural awareness, specifically in relation to the learning cultures, and the discursive structures of academic writing in Australia and their home country. Implications for the practice of teaching academic writing within the context of increasing cultural diversity in higher education are discussed.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	Confucian heritage culture, essay writing, higher education
Research Division:	Education
Research Group:	Other education
Research Field:	Other education not elsewhere classified
Objective Division:	Education and Training
Objective Group:	Other education and training
Objective Field:	Other education and training not elsewhere classified
UTAS Author:	Green, WJ (Dr Wendy Green)
ID Code:	122052
Year Published:	2007
Deposited By:	Curriculum and Academic Development
Deposited On:	2017-10-27
Last Modified:	2018-04-23
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