University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Analyzing discourse competence in argumentative essays

Lien, Yu-Wen

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LIEN-THESIS-2024.pdf

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/125612

Description

Title
Analyzing discourse competence in argumentative essays
Author(s)
Lien, Yu-Wen
Issue Date
2024-07-16
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Yan, Xun
Committee Member(s)
Tywoniw, Rurik
Department of Study
Linguistics
Discipline
Teaching of English Sec Lang
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
M.A.
Degree Level
Thesis
Keyword(s)
  • Discourse competence
  • Academic writing
  • Second language writing
  • Writing assessment
Abstract
This study investigates discourse competence in second language (L2) argumentative essays. Discourse competence has long been treated holistically in most rating rubrics in large-scale, high-stakes, writing tests. To investigate the detailed sub-constructs of discourse competence in second language (L2) writings, this study analyzed 120 argumentative essays of different proficiency levels on an English-as-a-second-language (ESL) placement test at a Midwest university in the United States with an adapted fine-grained discourse competence rating scale from Wang and Xie’s study (2022). The study found that among the nine discourse features, F1 Topic/Focus, F4 Body paragraphs, and F6 Theme-rheme development had strong and significant correlations with the EPT placement levels, and the F7 Connective complexity, F8 Connective accuracy, and F9 Complexity of hedges and boosters had very weak and insignificant correlations with the placement levels. The findings of the study presented the nature of discourse competence across proficiency levels and provided practical implications for ESL academic writing curriculum development.
Graduation Semester
2024-08
Type of Resource
Thesis
Handle URL
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/125612
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2024 Yu-Wen Lien

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