Now in its 4th edition, the Commentary for Academic Writing for Graduate Students remains an important companion text. Useful for instructors as well as students and scholars using Academic Writing for Graduate Students for self-study, the Commentary includes a synopsis of what each unit attempts to achieve, further discussion of certain points, and sample responses to the more controlled tasks. Many of the responses or model texts come directly from class discussion or from submitted homework, which students generously offered for inclusion. In response to numerous requests, the authors have expanded the number of teaching suggestions included at the end of each unit for this edition.

Christine B. Feak is a Lecturer in the English Language Institute at the University of Michigan. She is also author or co-author of numerous books, articles, and book chapters focused on writing and speaking for academic purposes.

John M. Swales (1938–2025) was Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Michigan. He authored or co-authored 20 books and around 130 research articles and book chapters.

Table of Contents

Unit One: An Approach to Academic Writing
Unit Two: General-Specific and Specific-General Texts
Unit Three: Problem, Process, and Solution
Unit Four: Data Commentary 
Unit Five: Writing Summaries 
Unit Six: Writing Critiques
Unit Seven: Constructing a Research Paper I
Unit Eight: Constructing a Research Paper II
References