The impact of social media on undergraduate and postgraduate students’ academic writing in the writing centre at a university of technology in South Africa

Abstract

The impact of social media on undergraduate and postgraduate students’ academic writing in the Writing Centre at a University of Technology in South Africa is a research study that explores the impact of social media on students’ academic writing. The study was based at the Writing Centre of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). The majority of undergraduate and postgraduate students who register at CPUT are English additional language speakers and often enter university with limited academic writing proficiency. As a result, many face difficulties in meeting the expected standards of academic writing. Most often, academics blame students’ academic writing challenges on their excessive use of social media, which is assumed to promote informal writing habits and undermine academic conventions. This assumption encouraged me to focus on social media, as it is increasingly recognised as an influential factor in shaping students' writing practices. The research participants for this study were drawn from students registered in different faculties and at varying levels of academic study (i.e., First Year Extended Curriculum Programm (ECP),1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th year [Advanced Diploma], master’s and PhD). They came from diverse linguistic, cultural, social and economic backgrounds. A qualification criterion for student participants was that they must have been exposed to or have experienced the services offered by the Writing Centre at CPUT, either through a one-on-one academic consultation or through an academic literacy workshop. Communication lecturers from the six faculties at CPUT also formed part of the participants for the study. These lecturers collaborate with the Writing Centre by requesting academic writing workshops and referring their students for additional support. They also actively encourage students to make use of the Writing Centre services to enhance their academic development.