Analyzing discourse competence in argumentative essays

Lien, Yu-Wen

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

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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