The Engineering of a Writing Assignment: Optimizing the Research Paper in an Introductory Chemical Engineering Course in the United Arab Emirates

This case study investigates professor and student perceptions surrounding an existing writing assignment—a research paper—in an introductory chemical engineering course at an American liberal arts university in the United Arab Emirates. Drawing on observation, survey, and interview data, this naturalistic study provides insight into the sociocultural and pedagogical variables that affect professor and student construal of this research paper and offers insight into adapting American university curriculum to local needs in a context where many students and faculty negotiate disparate cultural assumptions, are used to different pedagogical modes, and lack confidence in their English writing skills. While limited to one course, and indeed, only one assignment, this study highlights how the stakeholders of this assignment—the professor, the students, and the writing fellow—respond to this research paper to mediate the tensions between social–cultural and institutional context, meet the challenges of American-style university writing, and develop student agency and instill an engineering identity. Specific implications for optimizing the assignment to support student investment, foster learner independence, cultivate an engineering identity, and align expectations with first year composition (FYC) are highlighted.