The Tutoring Book - California State University, Sacramento

Recently, Rienecker and Jörgensen (2003), who based their research on the writing center in
Copenhagen University, described two traditions of writing: the Anglo-American (problem-oriented) and
the Continental (topic-oriented). In their view, the continental tradition emphasizes science as thinking; in
contrast, Anglo-American writing tradition emphasizes science as investigation and problem solving.
They explain that American university writing, and the teaching of it is “heavily influenced by rhetorical
text-concerns such as purpose, aim, reader, focus, structure and argumentation.” In fact, they claim, there
is a whole continuum between the straightforward and economical Anglo-American style and that of the
narrative redundant European style (see Table 1).
Table 1. The Continental and the American Academic Writing. Adapted from Rienecker & Jörgensen
(2003)
� A Continuum �
Continental (German-Romanic) tradition Anglo-American tradition
“Think”-texts Problem solving texts
Sources in the foreground Problems in the foreground
Philosophy, the history of ideas, epistemology, Facts, realities, observable matters, empiricism
culture, split and mind, arts, and aesthetics
Emphasis on concepts and theories Emphasis on methods
Interpretation (preservation) of traditional culture New understandings, evaluations, and actions
Contingent epistemology Controlled, purposeful epistemology
Numerous points, claims, conclusions, around the One point, one claim, one conclusion
subject
Often non-linear, discursive structure Linear structure
Digressions allowed Digressions discouraged
Academic writing as art and inborn ability Academic writing as leaned craftsmanship
Text-features, which distinguish continental university writing from that of American university writing,
are: structures which do not necessarily follow fixed patterns; digressions and associations; long
paragraphs; high number of abstract concepts; linguistic complexity and abstraction; varied language,
reformulations, varied use of concepts; source influenced language; and reflections of the writers
personality in reasoning, conclusions, and style. While writing in the American university setting, the
continental students face the following writing problems:
• Believing that writing is not an inborn ability
• Quoting too much and writing conceptually and linguistically too close to the sources
• Finding and maintaining a focus
• Getting beyond mere restatement and reformulation of the others
• Adopting an assertive academic tone
Based on my own experience as both a continental and an American student writer, I suggest a few
approaches, tailored to address the above problematic areas that writing center tutors may apply.
Attitudes toward Writing
The continental ways of writing a good paper are bound to certain teachers or thinkers, not to commonly
accepted rules. One continental philosophy teacher put it in the following way: “We do not instruct before
writing, our students are supposed to sit at the feet of their masters and absorb their writing themes and
styles.” Continentalist teachers, as a general rule, do not believe in instructional materials which reenforces
the perception of writing as an art. To address these continental attitudes, writing center tutors
can ask the European tutees to reflect on their writing in Europe.
a) If they believe they are bad writers, explain that American academic writing is not an art but a
craftsmanship that everybody can learn.
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