Students’ writing and the transitions from school to university: hybrid ‘discourse of writing’ positions of students and teachers *

This paper explores one case study from PhD research into students’ writing in the context of the transition from school to university, particularly focusing on ‘discourses of writing and learning to write’ (Ivanič, 2004) evident across the two educational levels. The data are taken from a two-year engagement in the field, following students from their last year of A-levels to their first year of undergraduate study. The case study of Kate presented here is built around two principal data sources: interview data and examples of feedback on Kate’s writing collected over the two years. Ivanič’s ‘discourses of writing’ were used as the primary lens to unpick the underlying assumptions and beliefs about writing that the participants hold, engage with and contribute to. In addition, a new assessment discourse of writing is offered as a contribution to Ivanič’s framework