This study investigates how non-Anglo-Saxon doctoral students transform and develop their academic writing skills during PhD studies in an Anglo-Saxon context. Appling institutional work theory and memory work methodology, we study the experiences of doctoral students with an Eastern European background completing their degrees in Norway. The findings reveal the struggles of these doctoral students, expressed through the metaphor of the “Bermuda Triangle” of academic writing. This metaphor originally refers to the navigationally challenging area, where ships and planes used to inexplicably crash and disappear. In this paper, the Bermuda Triangle illustrates the riskiness, mystery and drama of an academic ‘shipwreck’ during a PhD journey. In particular, we claim that it is important to recognize the non-Anglo-Saxon institutional baggage of these doctoral students and how they interact with the Anglo-Saxon academic traditions and transform their academic writing skills. To address the struggles and increase the chances of transformation, we suggest the importance of ‘transitional institution’ formation, to be driven by both formal transition procedures and the institutional work of academic altruists, who help students escape from the Bermuda Triangle of academic writing.

这项研究调查了非盎格鲁-撒克逊人的博士生如何在盎格鲁-撒克逊人的背景下攻读博士学位期间改变和发展他们的学术写作技能。应用机构工作理论和记忆工作方法，我们研究了具有东欧背景的博士学位的学生在挪威完成学位的经历。调查结果揭示了这些博士生的挣扎，这是通过学术写作“百慕大三角”的隐喻来表达的。这个比喻最初是指导航困难的区域，以前船只和飞机曾在其中莫名其妙地坠毁和消失。在本文中，百慕大三角说明了在博士途中学术“沉船”的风险，神秘性和戏剧性。特别是，我们声称，重要的是要认识到这些博士生受到的非盎格鲁-撒克逊制度的沉重包and，以及他们如何与盎格鲁-撒克逊人的学术传统互动并改变他们的学术写作技能。为了解决斗争和增加转型的机会，我们建议“过渡制度”形成的重要性，这要由正式的过渡程序和学术利他主义者的制度工作共同推动，后者帮助学生摆脱百慕大学术写作三角的束缚。