scholarly journals The effect of cohesive features in integrated and independent L2 writing quality and text classification

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 110-134
Author(s):  
Rurik Tywoniw ◽  
Scott Crossley
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-92
Author(s):  
Abdul Saeed ◽  
Shahzad Karim ◽  
Shahid Hussain Mughal

Coherence and cohesion are considered two main elements of essay writing. Despite their importance in writing, they are still regarded as difficult to teach and learn as compared to grammar and spelling. Theme-rheme development is suggested to be a tool to teach coherence and cohesion in writing. This experimental study was carried out to verify whether the teaching of theme-rheme approach helps the learners to improve their textual coherence. Forty graduate-level students (20 males and 20 females), aging between 19 and 23, participated in the study. The participants were equally divided into two groups. The experimental group was taught coherence and cohesion by using the thematic progression method, whereas the controlled group was taught by using the ordinary method. Pre- and post-tests were conducted to compare the effects of the thematic progression method. The findings show that the teaching of coherence and cohesion through the thematic progression method helped the learners to improve their essay writing quality. The experimental group outweighed the controlled group as it got twice higher marks in the post-test than the pre-test. In contrast, the controlled group showed a negligible improvement.


2021 ◽  
pp. 136216882110412
Author(s):  
Mohammed Ali Mohsen

Writing in a language different from one’s mother tongue is a daunting task. The same challenge may apply to languages that have diglossic features whose spoken form differs from the written form. This article investigates Arab students’ writing behaviors (fluency, pauses, and revision) in response to an argumentative composition in their L1 (first language: Arabic) and L2 (second language: English), given that understanding their complexities in writing processes would help instructors to rectify language writing-related problems. Guided by Kellogg’s model, this article attempts to investigate the cognitive processes underlying these writing behaviors as aided by a keystroke logging program (Inputlog 7.0). It also examined if writing behaviors would be correlated to the writing quality of their produced final texts. Data were collected from log files of the Inputlog generated upon the students’ writing processes, screened video recordings, and a stimulated recall interview. Results indicated that compared with L2 writing in character production, L1 writing processes were highly significant, less significant in pauses over word boundaries, and highly significant in time on the task factor. Concerning revision behavior, no significant differences were found in time spent on deletion and insertion, whereas a significant difference was found in R-burst for L2 writing. As regards quality of text, many pauses and minimal production of words tend to be negative indicators for writing quality output. Pedagogical implications and suggestions for future research are highlighted.


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