Enhancement of Genre Awareness of Personal Statements and Cover Letters through Stories and Authentic Materials

Despite their importance for students' professional and career development, personal statements for graduate school applications and cover letters for internship and job applications receive little pedagogical attention from university language teachers as they are not closely related to students' academic studies. This e-poster demonstrates the development of a Small Private Online Course (SPOC) at FutureLearn aimed at supporting final year students at two universities in England and Hong Kong facing the challenges of applying for graduate schools and/or internships and jobs. While applicants tend to focus on language issues when seeking help, this course places emphasis on the importance of reflecting on one's learning journey by sharing stories of successful applicants. Annotated personal statements and cover letters samples are used to help the applicants better understand the reader expectations for the two genres. Applicants are guided to consider three common interview questions about competence, passion and teamwork when they draft their application essays and prepare for interviews. Teacher feedback has been provided to the students who work on these materials at various stages of planning, drafting and revising the application documents. Peer learning is encouraged at the FutureLearn platform to establish an inclusive and diverse learning community. We illustrate how research findings from genre studies could inform the pedagogical practices for university students on important and practical matters via an online course.