Dynamic Assessment of Students’ Academic Writing

This book explores the application of an innovative assessment approach known as Dynamic Assessment (DA) to academic writing assessment, as developed within the Vygotskian sociocultural theory of learning. DA blends instruction with assessment by targeting and further developing students’ Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD).

The book presents the application of DA to assessing academic writing by developing a set of DA procedures for academic writing teachers. It further demonstrates the application of Hallidayan Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), combined with DA, to track undergraduate business management students’ academic writing and conceptual development in distance education.

This work extends previous DA studies in three key ways: i) it explicitly focuses on the construction of a macrogenre (whole text) as opposed to investigations of decontextualized language fragments, ii) it offers the first in-depth application of the powerful SFL tool to analyse students’ academic writing to track their academic writing trajectory in DA research, and iii) it identifies a range of mediational strategies and consequently expands Poehner’s (2005) framework of mediation typologies.

Dynamic Assessment of Students’ Academic Writing will be of great value to academic writing researchers and teachers, language assessment researchers and postgraduate students interested in academic writing, alternative assessment and formative feedback in higher education.

“This most recent book … is a welcome addition to the literature. … the book’s writing style is compelling and straightforward. The wise word choices and detailed explanations engage readers to follow the text. …The book will nonetheless likely be an invaluable resource for early-career teachers and researchers whose concern and research interest are in teaching and assessing academic writing from a dynamic perspective. … we recommend this book be included in undergraduate, graduate, and English for specific and vocational purposes programs.” (Hassan Mohebbi and Martin East, Journal of Second Language Writing, June 4, 2022)

​“This book offers a solution to one of the most intractable problems of higher education: how to feedback meaningfully on students’ academic development. Shrestha applies an original blend of theory and practice in a demonstration of how feedback dialogue around academic writing can inform disciplinary meaning-making. That the dialogue was carried out in an entirely digital environment makes the book particularly timely at this moment when higher education looks set for a digital transformation.” (Jim Donohue, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK) 

“The significant and original contribution of this volume arises particularly from the combination of dynamic assessment (DA) and systemic functional linguistics (SFL) in an academic writing context in UK higher education. This will resonate with researchers and practitioners interested in the development of university student writing skills in EAP programmes, in writing centres, in learning centres or in English in the disciplines programmes. The approach is clearly explained and includes three analysis chapters (focusing on business case study analysis genres; tutor-student DA mediation, and transfer potential) that could separately or together usefully inform practice or research.” (Sheena Gardner, Coventry University, UK) 

“In this important book, Shrestha succeeds in advancing innovations in the teaching and assessing of English academic writing while simultaneously contributing to the growing body of Dynamic Assessment research concerned with second language development. Adopting an approach to writing instruction informed by Halliday's Systemic Functional Linguistics, Shrestha is able to approach learner development relative to their understanding and production of whole texts, or 'macrogenres', opening a new direction of research for Dynamic Assessment. That the work is situated in a context of distance education makes it all the more interesting and timely.” (Matthew E. Poehner, The Pennsylvania State University, USA)

Dr Prithvi N. Shrestha, an award-winning author (British Council ELTons), is Senior Lecturer in English Language at The Open University, UK. He has co-authored English for Academic and Specific Purposes books and published research articles on academic writing assessment in distance education and English language education. His research interests include academic writing, Systemic Functional Linguistics, sociocultural theory, writing assessment, mobile learning and teacher development in developing countries.