Author ORCID Identifier
0000-0003-4158-7701
Abstract
This article explores the experiences and beliefs of students whose struggles with academic writing had led to contemplation of withdrawal from the university. It proposes that the absence of writing as a separate factor in existing retention models obscures the importance of writing issues to students’ persistence with their chosen course of study. Through a qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with undergraduate students, the article suggests that students’ struggles with writing may be distinct from their overall difficulties with the workload. Four beliefs about academic writing are identified as potentially contributing to the students’ malintegrative experience within the institution. Seeing academic writing as a site of belonging and exclusion can help better understand students’ experiences and facilitate future retention efforts through future comprehensive interventions to help develop students develop as academic writers.
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Recommended Citation
Ruppo, Irina
(2026)
"From Unfinished Sentences to Unfinished Degrees: A Reflection on Students’ Struggles with Academic Writing in the context of Retention in Higher Institutes of Education,"
Irish Journal of Academic Practice:
Vol. 14:
Iss.
1, Article 5.
Available at:
https://arrow.tudublin.ie/ijap/vol14/iss1/5