Transformation of Western Academic Conventions in Russia:

a Case Study of Higher School of Economics, Faculty of Law

Vera V. Meniailo, Natalia A. Tuliakova

Structure

Introduction: challenges Russian vs. Western academic writing

conventions Difficulties & mistakes in academic legal

writing Conclusion: solutions

Introduction

NO systematic development of academic literacy of 2 systems

students ‘dual academic personality’

i.e.confusing & mixing Russian & Western

academic conventions

Challenges

Academic Russian not studied enough Generation academic gap No unified standards Isolation from Western academic discourse

Genres familiar to students

Russian

essay

extended essay/project

bachelor's dissertation

thesis

article

case study

monograph

English

essay (250-1000w)

project (~5000w)

article

Russian vs. Western academic papers

Introduction — Conclusion Paragraphing Argumentation Author's identity

Difficulties & mistakes in academic legal writing (HSE)

Legalese HSE research project topics Project structure

Other

expected

revealed through questionnaire & practice

Legalese & ELP Among the ESP courses, ELP has been

called an argot, a dialect, a register, a style, and even a separate language by native English-speakers due to its striking features

Complex collection of linguistic habits that have developed over centuries and have been learned to be used by lawyers

_______________________Zhang Li Xin, Li Lin. ELP Teaching for the English Majors: the Feasibility,

Problems and Solutions

HSE research project topics

Fault in Russian Contract Law Limited Rights for Land in Russian Legislation Tax havens: Legal Regulation in the Russian

Federation and International Practices Legal Regulation of Transmission and Distribution

of Natural Gas in the European Union and the Russian Federation: Comparative Legal Analysis

Project structure

Introduction — Conclusion Literature review (Russian sources) Methodology (making meaningful)

Translating terms, Russian realias Style & paragraphing

Revealed problems Tutorials HSE electronic resources Proofreading

Successive order of writing Translating from Russian 2 tutors

Inadequate use

Proposed solutions

co-tutorials earlier start of

academic English writing + analogous course in Russian

conference

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Academic Purposes 1: 59–68.

Day, J. 2011. International Legal English. 2nd edition. Teacher’s Book.

Gotti, M. 2012. Cross-Cultural Aspects of Academic Discourse Brno Studies in English 2(38)

Hutchings, C. 2006. Reaching Students: Lessons from a Writing Centre Higher Education Research & Development 25(3): 247-261.

McCormack, J. and Slaght, J. 2009. Extended Writing and Research Skills.

McKay, J. & Devlin, M. 2014. ‘Uni has a different language … to the real world’: demystifying academic culture and discourse for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds Higher Education Research & Development 5(33): 949-961.

Oshima, A. and Hogue, A. 2006. Writing Academic English. Level Four. 4 th edition.

Scherbakova, I. O. 2014. Akademicheskaya kul’tura I yeyo mesto v akademicheskom razvitii lichnosti v sovremennom obrazovatel’nom prostranstve. In Homo Loquens: Aktual’nye voprosy lingvistiki I metodiki prepodavaniya inostrannykh yazykov, 461-471.

Sowton, Ch. 2012. 50 Steps to Improving your Academic Writing. Study Book.

Tiersma, P. 1999. The Legal English.

Williams, Ch. 2004. Legal English and Plain Language: an introduction ESP Across Cultures 1(2004): 111-124.