Exploring the Placement of the Thesis Statement in Moroccan Students’ Argumentative Essays: An Intercultural Rhetoric Perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mounir Chibi
Keyword(s):  
Intercultural Rhetoric ◽  
Thesis Statement ◽  
Argumentative Essays

Writing Processes of EFL Students in argumentative Essays

2003 ◽  
Vol 139-140 ◽  
pp. 153-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdessatar Mahfoudhi
Keyword(s):  
Process Analysis ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Global Level ◽  
Writing Processes ◽  
Coding Scheme ◽  
Think Aloud Protocols ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Thesis Statement ◽  
Argumentative Essays

The paper reports on a case study of the writing processes and products of Tunisian EFL university students in an argumentative essay. The data came from (i) audio-taped think-aloud protocols followed by immediate retrospective comments, (ii) experts' comments and grades on the subjects' products, and (iii) a questionnaire administered to the students. Results of the process analysis, using an adapted version of the coding scheme used by A. RAIMES (1985;1987), corroborated by the questionnaire fmdings, showed that students wrote fluently and concerned themselves more with meaning than with granunatical correctness. However, they planned very little, rarely made notes before writing, and rarely rewrote. They faced difficulties especially in fmding the appropriate word and in organizing their ideas. At the local level, products showed inaccurate use of mechanics and granunar. At a more global level, most essays lacked clear thesis statement, substantial support of claims, adequate transitions, and hedged statements. The product problems were partially attributed to little planning, notemaking, and revising. The process strategies were themselves related to writing habits for which the classroom and the exam settings are partly responsible.

Beyond Differences: Assessing Effects of Shared Linguistic Features on L2 Writing Quality of Two Genres

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaopeng Zhang ◽  
Xiaofei Lu ◽  
Wenwen Li
Keyword(s):  
Latent Variables ◽  
Moving Average ◽  
College Level ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Writing Quality ◽  
Efl Writing ◽  
Test Corpus ◽  
Argumentative Essays ◽  
Complex Nominals

Abstract This study explored the relationship between linguistic features and the rated quality of letters of application (LAs) and argumentative essays (AEs) composed in English by Chinese college-level English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. A corpus of 260 LAs and 260 AEs were analyzed via a confirmatory factor analysis. Latent variables were EFL writing quality, captured by writing scores, and lexical sophistication, syntactic complexity, and cohesion, each captured by different linguistic features in the two genres of writing. Results indicated that lexical decision times, moving average type-token ratio with a 50-word window, and complex nominals per clause explained 55.5 per cent of the variance in the holistic scores of both genres of writing. This pattern of predictivity was further validated with a test corpus of 110 LAs and 110 AEs, revealing that, albeit differing in genre, higher-rated LAs and AEs were likely to contain more sophisticated words and complex nominals and exhibit a higher type-token ratio with a 50-word window. These findings help enrich our understanding of the shared features of different genres of EFL writing and have potentially useful implications for EFL writing pedagogy and assessment.

Effects of task complexity on the learning of genre specific rhetorical moves and linguistic forms: the case of contrast and argumentative essays

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Pia Gomez Laich ◽  
Naoko Taguchi
Keyword(s):  
English Learners ◽  
Task Complexity ◽  
Private University ◽  
Task Group ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Complex Task ◽  
Simple Task ◽  
Undergraduate Level ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Argumentative Essays

Abstract This study investigates whether task complexity improves L2 English learners’ ability to write contrast and argumentative essays as measured by the use of rhetorical moves and linguistic forms characteristic of these essays. The participants were 62 students in an undergraduate-level composition class in a private university in the U.S. The study involved a first phase that targeted contrast writing and a second phase that targeted argumentative writing. In both phases, students were assigned randomly to a simple or complex task group and wrote an essay in dyads. In terms of rhetorical moves, the complex task group outperformed the simple task group in the immediate and delayed post-test of contrast essays. For argumentative essays, this superiority of the complex group was only found in the immediate post-test. As per linguistic forms, the complex task group outperformed the simple task group in the immediate and delayed post-test of both contrast and argumentative essays.

scholarly journals Independent Searching During One-Shot Information Literacy Instruction Sessions: Is It an Effective Use of Time?

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebekah Willson
Keyword(s):  
Information Literacy ◽  
Literacy Instruction ◽  
Search Time ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Pedagogical Practice ◽  
Class Time ◽  
Information Literacy Instruction ◽  
Thesis Statement ◽  
Effective Use

Objective – To test the assumption that giving students time to research independently during a one-shot information literacy instruction (ILI) session, combined with scaffolding, is an effective pedagogical practice and a good use of class time. Methods – The study was conducted at a student-focused, four-year undergraduate institution with 8,500 full load equivalent students. Following brief, focused instruction in 10 different ILI sessions, first-, second-, and third-year students in 80-minute one-shot ILI sessions were given time to research independently. The librarian and instructor were present to scaffold the instruction students received. Students were asked to track the research they did during class using a research log and to fill out a short Web survey about their preparedness to do research and the usefulness of the ILI session. Results – Students agreed to have 83 research logs and 73 Web surveys included in the study. Students indicated that they felt more prepared to do research for their assignment after the ILI session and rated individual help from the librarian as the most useful aspect of the instruction session. Students did not rate independent time to do research as valuable as anticipated. Examining the research logs indicated that several things are taking place during the ILI session, including that students are demonstrating what was taught in the session in their searches, that their searches are progressing in complexity, and that students are using feedback from previous searches to inform the formulation of search queries. While students appear to be putting independent search time to good use, many students’ articulation of their thesis statement remains poor and searches continue to be fairly simplistic. Conclusions – This study gives evidence that giving independent research time in ILI sessions, with scaffolding, is an effective use of class time. The study also demonstrates that the majority of students are able to use what is taught during classes and that they are using class time effectively, though searching remains fairly simple. The focus of ILI sessions is on skill development, and future research should be on integrating IL into the curriculum to develop more complex skills and thinking needed in the research process.

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