This allows a writer to expand their use of vocabulary at the same time as creating tight cohesive links through subtle shifts in the focus of the argument between t-units referring to the same subject. The essence of this sub- category is that it involved Themes linking back to previous Themes not through simple repetition of the same words, or through substitution of a previous Theme with a pronoun, but instead used synonyms, possessive adjectives, semantically-related words, and rephrasing to connect one Theme to a previous one. As for the analysis of constant progression itself and subject grades, although no correlation was found, a sub-category which I define as 'inference constant progression' did correlate with subject grades. The occurrence of these long experiential Themes often coincided with the use of the simple linear progression, which in providing local cohesion allowed the writer to use the topical Theme either to present new information without compromising cohesion, or to provide an extra level of cohesion through the use of constant progression. For example, although the use of experiential Themes did not correlate with subject grades, the use of long experiential Themes (consisting of 10 words or more) was found to be significant. Where no statistically-significant correlations were first identified, further research uncovered correlations for some sub-categories. Positive, statistically-significant correlations were identified between the use of all orienting Themes and subject grades, and the use of simple linear progression and subject grades. In relation to thematic progression, the analyses undertaken searched for correlations between the use of simple linear progression, constant progression, and the ratio of simple linear progression to constant progression with subject grades. Regarding Theme choice, the analyses carried out focused on correlating the use of all orienting Themes, textual Themes, interpersonal Themes and experiential Themes with subject grades. None of the participants had received any kind of instruction regarding how to use different Themes and thematic progression in their texts. The texts were sourced from a international secondary school in the South of France, and also from the IB's publications '50 Excellent Extended Essays and 50 more Excellent Extended Essays' (2011). The corpus consists of 26 extracts of 25 t-units (clause complexes) each, all written for the History Extended Essay, which received subject grades ranging from A to E. The basic hypothesis of the present study was that the successful use of Theme choice and thematic progression correlates to the subject grades received by IB students. Other studies have focused on the pedagogical possibilities surrounding teaching students, especially non-native English learners, how to use Theme in their academic writing. Many studies have found correlations between Theme choice, particularly use of circumstantial Themes, and thematic progression, particularly the use of simple linear progression and constant progression, and a writer's first language, their level of proficiency in English, and also disciplinary variation. The aim of this research project was to analyse 26 examples of the International Baccalaureate's (IB) Extended Essay in History according to North's (2005) categorisation of orienting Themes (textual, interpersonal and experiential) and topical Themes as well as McCabe's (1999) realisations of thematic progression, in particular the simple linear progression and constant progression structures. The result showed that the participants who were exposed to the use of themes were able to write effectively by putting their sentences in a coherent way. By analysing coherence in writing and students’ selection of theme choice in writing, and through students’ perception of this approach, this study examined not only how the use of themes improves students’ writing, but more importantly, the implications of current strategies of teaching basic writing essays. This study’s sample included secondary school students who study in Form Four in a rural school in Batu Pahat. This quasi-experimental study utilises the framework of Systemic Functional Linguistics and examined the use of themes in improving coherence of writing in students’ narrative essays to see if there was a difference in coherence and the choice of themes between the pre-test and post-test. According to Halliday (1985), theme is defined as “the point of the departure” for the clause and therefore it is important for text organisation. The lack of coherence is a major problem in students’ writing as students are not able to link their ideas together in the sentences and paragraphs.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |