The challenge of academic writing for Chinese students within ...

National College Entrance Examination (NCEE) and to be admitted into a prestigious
university.
In recently decades China has undergone a transition from elite to mass higher education
(Zha, 2008; Pretorius & Xue, 2003). Higher education in China is playing an important role
in economic development and modernization. Expansion of higher education in China is
driven by an increasing number of students who wish to obtain higher education; and the
demand for highly qualified human resources due to rapid growth in the economy, and
development in science and technology (Zha, 2008; Pretorius & Xue, 2003). The expansion
of higher education is rapid, and by 2005 China has achieved internationally recognized mass
higher education, with 23 million students recruited by all forms of HEIs and a gross
enrollment rate of 21% (CERNET, 2006); by 2006 the gross enrolment of the 18-22 age
group in HEIs has reached 22% compared with that of 3.4% in 1990 (MoE). Measures have
been taken to improve the quality of higher education during the process of massification.
China‘s Project 211 (MoE, 1996) was launched to develop 100 top-class key universities and
key disciplines. Project 985 (Jin, 2009) was aimed to develop world-class universities and
world renowned research universities. Universities enlisted in Project 211 and Project 985
received large amount of government funding to develop key disciplines and infrastructure,
and toimprove teaching quality.
Students who wish to attend HEIs must pass the NCEE. The NCEE (Gaokao) is the entry
examination to higher education in China. It is a highly centralized examination system held
across China on June 6, 7 and 8 every year (Yu & Suen, 2005) and is extremely competitive.
There is a hierarchy of higher education institutions in China with key universities
(encapsulated in Project 211 and 985) on the top and local HEIs in smaller cities at the
bottom. Students are pressured to work extremely hard in order to receive admission to
prestigious national key universities at the top of the ranking table. Families in China share
the traditional value that education is linked with upward social mobility. The more esteemed
university they go to the more chances students can secure good jobs and a better future. Also
as they are the only child of the family, admission to a good university brings honor to the
family and means the students have lived up to their parents‘ expectations. Children of
middle-class families who fail to enter universities in China are often sent overseas for higher
education. Many wealthier families choose to send their child to study abroad even at senior
high school level.
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