Beginning with a review of the theory and pedagogic practices that have been influential in EAP contexts, this book examines the practice of joint construction where teachers guide students to co-construct a text, and draws attention to the contested rationale for teachers taking a leading role in co-constructing texts with students. Informed by systemic functional linguistics, the book puts forward an accessible approach to the analysis of classroom discourse that centres on the dynamic mediation of meaning. Through a range of examples of classroom interaction involving international students who are studying English for Academic Purposes, and specifically as preparation for university entrance, it also provides insight into how the organisation of classroom talk supports students with 'trying out' new academic language, and how teachers can guide students to modify and improve their writing through the critique and justification of language choices.