The document presents the Onion model as a tool for discussing academic writing. It describes the Onion model as having four layers - descriptive, analytical, persuasive, and critical - that represent different types of academic purposes. The Onion model was developed over 10 years based on linguistic theory and is used at CSU to scaffold research literacy. Examples of how CSU uses the Onion include individual discussions with students and supervisors and workshops demonstrating critical engagement with literature. Feedback indicates the Onion model provides a simple way to illuminate academic writing.

1. Presenting The Onion:
a tool for discussing academic writing
Cassily Charles – Academic Writing Coordinator (HDR students) | Academic Support

2. The Onion
Outline
1. Introductions
2. What is the Onion?
• Features of the Onion model
• Provenance – application & theory
• Applications in Higher Ed
3. The Onion in use at CSU: research literacies
Cassily Charles – Academic Writing Coordinator (HDR students) | Academic Support

3. The Onion 1. Introductions
• Cassily Charles
• Academic Writing Coordinator (HDR students)
• New unit in Academic Support in 2012
• Role: develop & implement HDR literacy strategy
• Background: linguistics, higher ed, academic literacy
Cassily Charles – Academic Writing Coordinator (HDR students) | Academic Support

4. The Onion 2. What is the Onion?
Cassily Charles – Academic Writing Coordinator (HDR students) | Academic Support

5. The Onion 2. What is the Onion?
Evaluating others’ work, entering a
Critical debate, considering alternatives –
at least 2 positions, including yours
Persuasive Taking a position, making a claim
or recommendation, interpreting,
developing an argument
Analytical Re-organising information:
applying models to data,
comparing, finding patterns &
categories
Descriptive
Providing information & facts
(Humphrey, S., Charles, C., Economou, D. & Drury, H., forthcoming)
Cassily Charles – Academic Writing Coordinator (HDR students) | Academic Support

6. The Onion 2. What is the Onion?
e.g. identifying a research ‘gap’,
Critical critiquing the literature, evaluating a
methology, entering a debate
Persuasive e.g. discussion and conclusion,
interpreting findings, arguing a
case, recommending an action
Analytical
e.g. results, identifying themes in
the literature, applying a model to a
case study
Descriptive
e.g. materials & methods, paraphrases
(Humphrey, S., Charles, C., Economou, D. & Drury, H., forthcoming)
Cassily Charles – Academic Writing Coordinator (HDR students) | Academic Support

7. The Onion 2. What is the Onion?
1. Model of academic writing
Critical
types, based on recognisable
types of academic purpose
Persuasive 2. Applied linguistic model,
based on grammar &
discourse features
Analytical
Descriptive
(Humphrey, S., Charles, C., Economou, D. & Drury, H., forthcoming)
Cassily Charles – Academic Writing Coordinator (HDR students) | Academic Support

8. The Onion 2. What is the Onion?
Endorsement (+/-), specific or
generalised reference to other voices
Critical + value-laden language
e.g. Lack of explicit focus on this issue
Persuasive Value-laden language, modality
e.g. shows the importance of AMF
diversity in revegetation of saline land
Analytical Abstract categories, logical relations,
taxonomies
e.g. primary vs. secondary salinity
Descriptive Concrete entities & processes – objects of
study in the discipline
e.g. saline soils occupy 830 million ha.
(Humphrey, S., Charles, C., Economou, D. & Drury, H., forthcoming)
Cassily Charles – Academic Writing Coordinator (HDR students) | Academic Support

9. The Onion 2. What is the Onion?
Provenance of the Onion model
• Approx 10 years in academic literacy teaching
Learning Centre, University of Sydney
• Roots in Systemic Functional Linguistics
(Halliday, 1994; Martin, 1992; Martin & White, 2005)
• Early work on essay types (Martin & Peters, 1985)
• Critical literacy in school (Macken-Horarik, 1998)
• Evaluative stance in academia (Hood, 2010)
• Gap: ‘critical analysis’ is universally desired but ill-defined.
• Humphrey, S., Charles, C., Economou, D, & Drury, H.
(forthcoming) The Onion – Building a textual model of critical
analysis
Cassily Charles – Academic Writing Coordinator (HDR students) | Academic Support

10. The Onion 2. What is the Onion?
Applications in Higher Ed
• Feedback, instructions and rubrics:
o Shared metalanguage between students and staff
o Accessible for students and staff across disciplines
o Highly adaptable for specific disciplines & tasks
• Tool for literacy mapping across curriculum
• Potential aid to constructive alignment: bridging between
learning outcomes and assessment tasks
Cassily Charles – Academic Writing Coordinator (HDR students) | Academic Support

11. The Onion 2. What is the Onion?
Critical
Persuasive
Analytical
Descriptive
Process of developing sophistication
Cassily Charles – Academic Writing Coordinator (HDR students) | Academic Support

12. The Onion 3. The Onion at CSU
Examples: Scaffolding research literacies
1. Visualising, reflecting on, and discussing candidates’ processes
e.g. - Individual discussions with students +/- supervisors
- Workshop for supervisors on feedback strategies
→ product versus process – planners versus drafters
→ developing a shared understanding with supervisors
→ negotiating timeline, format of drafts & focus of feedback
Cassily Charles – Academic Writing Coordinator (HDR students) | Academic Support

13. The Onion 3. The Onion at CSU
Critical
Persuasive
Analytical
Descriptive
Process of developing sophistication
Cassily Charles – Academic Writing Coordinator (HDR students) | Academic Support

14. The Onion 3. The Onion at CSU
Examples: Scaffolding research literacies
2. Demonstrating critical engagement with the literature:
Workshops on critical writing
Cassily Charles – Academic Writing Coordinator (HDR students) | Academic Support

15. Critical writing
Specific or general reference to the
views/work of others, combined with
Critical persuasive language
Value-laden language, modality,
Persuasive words referring to claims/views
Abstract terms for groups or
Analytical categories; language to show
relationships between facts and
ideas
Descriptive Concrete terms for the objects of study;
reference to sources
Cassily Charles – Academic Writing Coordinator (HDR students) | Academic Support

16. Defining language features
Value laden language: e.g. important,
suitable, narrower, lack, omit, beneficial,
Critical improvement
Discipline-specific value laden language,
e.g. Law: Rule of Law, judicial activism
Persuasive Education: student-centred
Anthropology: thick
Modality: e.g. could, might, should
– probably, possibly, clearly
– likely, possible
– probability, chance, risk,
suggest, seem, appear,
opportunity, need, important, etc.
Words for views: agree, claim, suggest,
argue, position, belief, etc.
Cassily Charles – Academic Writing Coordinator (HDR students) | Academic Support

17. Defining language features
Specific reference to the work of others:
Critical e.g. the model of Gnyawali & Fogel (1994)
Persuasive General or implicit reference to the
work of others: e.g. the few studies
that have examined PA; a historic
reliance on positivist approaches
Words for more than one opinion: e.g.
disagree, debate, critique
…PLUS persuasive language
e.g. Phongsava, Merom et al. (2004) did
not consider …
Cassily Charles – Academic Writing Coordinator (HDR students) | Academic Support

18. The Onion 3. The Onion at CSU
Examples: Scaffolding research literacies
2. Demonstrating critical engagement with the literature:
Workshops on critical writing
o Onion as a map of where critical writing sits
o First pass: onion layers in terms of purpose
o Second pass: onion layers in terms of language
o Use the Onion to read some model research texts
o Apply the Onion to participants’ own writing
Cassily Charles – Academic Writing Coordinator (HDR students) | Academic Support

19. The Onion 3. The Onion at CSU
People seem to find it helpful 
• The onion model was particularly illuminating (much information
in a relatively simple diagram).
[Research candidate, CSU]
• This is an idea that I teach over and over to my students and a
model like this is just perfect.
[Research supervisor, UNSW]
Cassily Charles – Academic Writing Coordinator (HDR students) | Academic Support

20. The Onion
Closing
Any further comments, ideas or questions?
ccharles@csu.edu.au
Cassily Charles – Academic Writing Coordinator (HDR students) | Academic Support