This book contextualizes the field of English for Academic Purposes (EAP), with a particular focus on the professional and academic identity and role of the EAP practitioner. The authors examine previously neglected areas such as the socio-economic, academic and employment contexts within which EAP practitioners function. In doing so, they develop a better understanding of the roles, expectations and constraints that arise from these contexts, which in turn shape professional practice and the identity of the practitioner. As EAP is emerging as an academic discipline with a growing body of published research, this book will appeal to trainee and established practitioners, along with researchers and students of linguistics and education. Alex Ding is Lecturer in English for Academic Purposes and Director of the Centre for Excellence in Language Teaching at the University of Leeds, UK. He leads school-wide projects in language education scholarship, as well as teaching English for Academic Purposes and MA modules. He has also supervised and examined PhD students, and co-led the development of an innovative MA in EAP. Ian Bruce is Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics at the University of Waikato, New Zealand, where he also teaches on the MA degree of the same name. His research interests include the application of genre theory to English for Academic Purposes courses, and to academic writing instruction. He is closely involved with the British Association of Lecturers in English for Academic Purposes (BALEAP), and has contributed to the development of their teacher competency framework.