A Critique on Bailey’s (2006) Handbook for International Students

          At present, bibliographic exemplars related to the practical development of literacy skills for students of English in academic settings do not abound. The purpose of this paper is to write a critique on Bailey’s (2006) handbook for international students. Bailey (2006) states that his handbook aims at ensuring that the students’ writing skills meet the required academic standards (p. i). In fact, his handbook provides a rather comprehensive approach to the gradual development of academic skills.

          Bailey’s (2006) work is divided into four parts, each containing instructions, explanations, diagrams and practice exercises, either to be used in the classroom or for self-study. Each part contains “sixty-one short units which teach practical writing skills and revise common difficulties” (Bailey, 2006, p. vii). A system of cross-referencing to help students link related units has been provided, and a Writing Tests section has also been included with the purpose of checking progress. In addition, the exercises in each unit are complemented by answer keys to help students self-assess their work.

         Although Bailey’s (2006) handbook is an innovative contribution to the development of literacy skills for international students delving into the arenas of academic writing, the author should have included in-text citations in his quotations from other sources. Not only has Bailey (2006) failed to acknowledge sources according to the American Psychological Association (APA) premises, he has also openly stated the reasons for not including them. All in all, Bailey’s (2006) overall interesting attempt to cover the gradual development of the skills needed by international students to be able to cope with academic requirements in the English language should not be discredited.

References

Bailey, S. (2006). Academic Writing: A Handbook for International Students (2^nd Ed.). Taylor and Francis e-library. Routeledge, Taylor and Francis Group, London and New York. Retrieved October 2012, from

http://npu.edu.ua/!e-book/book/djvu/A/iif_kgpm_t27.pdf