Syntactic complexity in learner-generated research paper introductions: Rhetorical functions and level of move/step realization

Saricaoglu A., Bilki Z., Plakans L.

JOURNAL OF ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES, cilt.53, 2021 (AHCI) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 53
  • Basım Tarihi: 2021
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.jeap.2021.101037
  • Dergi Adı: JOURNAL OF ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, EBSCO Education Source, Education Abstracts, Educational research abstracts (ERA), Linguistics & Language Behavior Abstracts, MLA - Modern Language Association Database
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Syntactic complexity, Rhetorical functions, Move, step realization, Research paper introductions, RESEARCH ARTICLE INTRODUCTIONS, LANGUAGE, QUALITY, JUDGMENTS, ENGLISH, WRITERS, CAF
  • TED Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

This study explored the relationship between syntactic complexity and rhetorical functions and the relationship between syntactic complexity and level of move/step realization in learnergenerated research paper introductions. We created a corpus of 79 introductions written by undergraduate L2 students at intermediate to high-intermediate levels. We annotated the introductions for moves and steps, measured their syntactic complexity at the global, clausal, and phrasal levels, and rated their level of move/step realization across four levels (no, low, intermediate, and high). We conducted one-way MANOVA, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and stepwise multiple linear regression analyses. We found sentences realizing Reviewing items of previous research function to be significantly longer than other steps in Move1 and to contain significantly more clausal and phrasal complexity features. Sentences performing Claiming centrality function also demonstrated significantly more phrasal complexity features as measured by complex nominals per clause. We also found a higher level of phrasal complexity in introductions with a higher level of move/step realization, which can be attributed to introductions including Step1 and Step3, rather than containing all steps. Our findings imply that there is value in developing explicit instructions on how to use complex structures in performing rhetorical steps in research paper introductions.