“Good” academic writing in Hebrew: The perceptions of pre-service teachers and their instructors

This study explores the perceptions of different groups of L1 and L2 Israeli pre-service teachers and their instructors regarding good academic writing. The study further investigates whether those perceptions accurately reflect their knowledge of academic writing. Eighty-one participants graded three different essays written by immigrant students and provided written explanations of their assessments. An unstructured oral interview followed. Results indicated that guidelines and instruction in academic writing enabled students to accommodate their instructor's demands and to assess academic text. Although no significant difference was found between the students' assessments and the instructors' actual assessments, students perceived the instructors' assessments to be stricter than their own. Nevertheless, the perception of academic literacy was not consistent among the various groups. Israeli-Arab students viewed the language as an instrument for integration into the mainstream of Israeli society and thus produced stricter assessments. They believed that instructors were not strict enough. Immigrant students, relying on their cognitive abilities and previous knowledge of academic standards were familiar with the literacy discourse and the instructors' expectations. They believed that even if an essay were good, the instructors would apply stricter standards.