Writing research for writing practice
Writing matters. With mnemotechnical writing, we jot down notes and have extended our memories; with communicative writing, we share thoughts and have built knowledge societies; with epistemic writing, we engage in mental dialogues and have boosted our reflective capacity; with fragmented and ubiquitous "by-the-way" writing, we synchronize communities and have made writing the default mode of communication; and with regulative writing in technical environments, we program algorithms and have got AI off the ground.
And now, AI is here, stopping people from taking writing classes. Journalists have only ceased claiming that translators and programmes were being made redundant by DeepL and alike when they started to realize that they could be next in line. Medical doctors and lawyers might follow. On the horizon, robots stand up to take on working-class jobs. Of course, this could bring people back to writing classes, albeit therapeutic instead of professional writing. But why bother anyway? Isn’t this conference about writing research?
Yes and no. Yes, because our special interest lies in investigating writing, not necessarily doing so – which tends to become tangible in missed deadlines for contributions to journals in our field. No, because we know better. Human writing is at the core of thinking, decision-making, and joy of life. Who else if not writing researchers can provide evidence that writing, once developed, has become a substantial part of human existence. With AI, writing matters even more, but differently. Writing research for writing practice shows how and why.
Welcome to the 21st SIG Writing Conference … and welcome to the Zurich University of Applied Sciences.
Prof. Dr. Daniel Perrin
Dean, School of Applied Linguistics
Welcome to SIG Writing 2026
It is a great pleasure to welcome you to the 21st biennial SIG Writing conference, hosted here at ZHAW in Winterthur. Every second year, EARLI SIG Writing brings together a vibrant community from all over the world to explore how empirical findings and theoretical innovations can transform real-world writing contexts, to meet old friends and make new ones, to share data and discuss methodological issues.
The success of this event is the result of dedicated teamwork. I would like to thank my fellow conference chairs, Liana Konstantinidou and Daniel Perrin, and our tireless Local Organizing Committee: Renate Balogh, Maren Runte, Nadja Spillmann, and Margo Ulasik. The conference and research school would not have been possible without you. We are also deeply grateful for the invaluable support of our Organizing Committee partners: Sibylle Hurschler Lichtsteiner (PH Luzern), Stefan Daniel Keller (PH Zurich), Afra Sturm (FHNW), and Mirjam Weder (University of Basel).
Special thanks go to our students from the BA Multilingual Communication and BA Language and Integration programs, for their work on the Book of Abstracts and the program website, and for conference support.
We would also like to acknowledge the generous support of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), CLARIN-CH, ZHAW digital, ZHAW Sustainable, the ZHAW University Library, FHNW, EARLI, and VALS-ASLA.
We hope this conference inspires fruitful discussions and lasting connections. Enjoy the conference and the beautiful city of Winterthur.
Prof. Dr. Cerstin Mahlow
Conference Chair, SIG Writing 2026
Coordinator SIG Writing
Professor of Writing Research, School of Applied Linguistics
Programme note
This website reflects the programme status as of 20 May 2026. Further changes will be communicated on site.
This website was produced by students of the Zurich University of Applied Sciences for the course Project Technical Documentation: Tabbea Aires Santana; Marie Jetzer; Alina Reusch; Andrea Ruchti; Tamara Rüegger; and Tanya Schnyder.
Overall Timetable
This page shows the full conference schedule across all event days.