Maria Bliss

Senior Tutor in English for Academic Purposes

Centre for English Language Education

MA Applied Linguistics and TESOL, University of Leicester

BA (Hons) Open, The Open University

Certificate in Education (Post-Compulsory Education and Training), University of Greenwich

I joined the Centre for English Language Education (CELE) at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China in September 2026, having previously worked at Loughborough University in the UK. I have over 14 years of experience in English for Academic Purposes (EAP), teaching and supporting undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral students across a range of academic disciplines.

At Loughborough University, my responsibilities included leading pre-sessional EAP courses, curriculum and assessment development, teaching observations and supporting colleagues with course delivery. I also coordinated academic writing provision for doctoral researchers and played a leading role in the collaborative development of a doctoral academic writing course, designing most of its teaching materials with a particular focus on clarity, structure and critical engagement with academic literature. Alongside this, I worked closely with academic schools, particularly Business and Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, to design and deliver bespoke academic language and skills support tailored to students’ disciplinary needs.

A particularly rewarding aspect of my work has been providing individual academic writing consultations. I enjoy helping students recognise how they can communicate their ideas more clearly through effective structure, coherence, logical progression and argument development. Seeing students gain a better understanding of their own writing, sometimes within a single consultation, has been one of the most satisfying aspects of my teaching.

My teaching experience includes:

• Pre-sessional EAP

• In-sessional and discipline-related academic language and skills provision, including academic communication, presentations, critical thinking, and responsible use of GenAI in academic writing

• Doctoral academic writing and research communication

• Individual academic writing consultations and personalised feedback for undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral students

At UNNC, I teach on the Year 1 EAP programme and will take on module convenorship responsibilities for English in Specific Academic Contexts A (ESACa) in Semester 2.

Professional and Pedagogical Interests

My main professional interest is academic writing development, particularly how students can learn to communicate their ideas clearly and effectively. I am interested in the role of individualised feedback and writing consultations in helping students develop coherent arguments, make purposeful choices about structure and meaning, and become more independent academic writers. I am also interested in critical thinking, source-based academic writing and the responsible use of generative AI in teaching and learning. More broadly, I enjoy exploring practical, student-centred approaches that encourage active engagement, reflection and learner autonomy.