Reflecting on writing support through the academic literacies model

The great institutional variety of writing support in the UK is reflected in the many, sometimes tacit, sometimes explicit, conceptual approaches to it. In such a context, critical reflection is more important than ever for practitioners, and the current article explores how writing lecturers can use a theoretical model, in this case Lea and Street’s academic literacies approach. After introducing academic literacies and the objectives for writing support this model entails, the article analyses the results of a survey among university students who received one-to-one writing support in in order to identify whether the support they received achieved the aims of the academic literacies approach. In addition to a reflection on the efficiency of writing support practice, the article also offers a contribution to the discussion of the academic literacies model by focussing on the impact this approach can have on student writers.