Critical Discourse Analysis and Academic Writing Skills for Effective Communication in Higher Education

Abstract

Good communication and academic writing is essential to success in higher education. This study focuses on the use of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to develop Academic Writing abilities, and to facilitate effective communication among students in the university. This study was descriptive using quantitative method involving sample size of 200 of under- and post- graduate students from higher education institutions. Descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were used to analyse the data obtained by using a structured questionnaire. The results showed that 82% of students showed the understanding of the CDA concepts and 79% of respondents were very good at their academic writing skills in aspects like organising, coherence and referencing. About 83% of these respondents reported their good performance in communicating in academic contexts, and this shows that discourse awareness is playing an important role in making it possible to be effectively communicated by expressing it clearly and convincingly. Additionally, the findings revealed that 88% of students agreed that CDA helped them improve their critical thinking skills, 84% of students stated that CDA helped them with the construction of arguments, and 82% of students indicated that CDA helped them become more effective communicators. Strong positive correlation was found, respectively, between academic writing and CDA awareness (r = 0.81) and between communication effectiveness and CDA awareness (r = 0.84) through the correlation analysis. The study also revealed 83% of the respondents used AI and digital writing tools to assist in academic writing practices. A difficulty with critical analysis, vocabulary building and/or constructing a statement with an argument, however, persisted with many students. The results indicated that teaching students academic writing skills using the Critical Discourse Analysis approach is very conducive to enhancing students' analytical skills, academic writing skills, and communication skills. Through the study, it is concluded that the discourse-based pedagogical method applied together with digital technologies that are used judiciously can support academic literacy and be effective in communication in higher education environments.