Paraphrasing in English Academic Writing by Thai Graduate Students

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 48-54
Author(s):  
Buaboun Pinjaroenpan ◽  
Uthaivan Danvivath
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
English Language ◽  
Jel Classification ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Coding Scheme ◽  
English Academic Writing

Objective - The primary objective of this study is to investigate the use of paraphrasing in writing, as practiced by graduate students who are majoring in English Language at a university in Thailand. Methodology/Technique - The research data was collected from multiple sources including a questionnaire survey, semi-structured interviews, and students' written assignments. The participants were graduate students majoring in English at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, at Khon Kaen University. Students' paraphrased texts were analysed using a coding scheme adapted from Campbell (1987), Keck (2006), and Shi (2004). The coding scheme focuses on textual transformation, which has been further analysed for retaining the original meaning of the paraphrased text. Findings - The results reveal that, generally, students had a sound appreciation and understanding of paraphrasing and plagiarism at a conceptual level. However, the students made clear errors when required to paraphrase. In many cases, their lack of skill and knowledge led to instances of plagiarism in a significant number of respondents. In conclusion, greater attention should be given to educating graduate students how to paraphrase, to reduce plagiarism as well as to improve the standard of academic writing. The findings of this study provide beneficial knowledge concerning the practice of paraphrasing by graduate students' in Thailand; this understanding may foster improved paraphrasing standards among students. Novelty – This study is specifically concerned with the examination of perception, knowledge, and paraphrasing typology of students' English within a foreign language context. Type of Paper - Empirical Keywords: Academic Writing; English as a Foreign Language; Graduate Students; Paraphrasing; Plagiarism. JEL Classification: I20, I21.

scholarly journals Determining English Language Lecturers’ Quality of Marking in Continuous Assessment through Rasch Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (S3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mardiana Idris
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
English Language ◽  
Assessment Criteria ◽  
Continuous Assessment ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Strict Adherence ◽  
Total Data ◽  
Written Assessment ◽  
English Academic Writing

English language lecturers at matriculation colleges are generally equipped with assessment criteria for marking students’ written assessment. However, these criteria are normally susceptible to lecturers’ interpretation and understanding, which threatens quality marking. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the severity and consistency of English language lecturers’ marking of English academic writing (EAW) in continuous assessment. The participants were five English language lecturers and 50 matriculation students. Each lecturer selected ten EAWs randomly from 318 matriculation students. The five-part EAW was marked first by the class’s lecturer and later, it was marked by pre-assigned peer moderators who did not teach the students. The total data set collected was 250 (5 lecturers x 10 EAWs x 5 parts of EAW). The data were analyzed with Many-Facets Rasch Measurement (MFRM) application. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with both lecturers and students for triangulation purposes. Findings revealed that four out of five lecturers were lenient in marking but the marking was found to be internally consistent with infit and outfit mean squares for each lecturer ranged between 0.5 and 1.5. From interview responses analyzed, students perceived their lecturers as fair but strict in awarding marks. These responses were consistent with most lecturers’ responses on their strict adherence to assessment criteria. Discussion of findings is centered on the issue of severity and consistency of the assessors. This study could offer a practical solution in providing evidence for quality marking of written assessment and, consequently, aid in developing remedial measures for misfit assessors in educational institutions.

scholarly journals ESSENTIAL FEATURES OF EFFECTIVE ACADEMIC WRITING IN ENGLISH

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 41-43
Author(s):  
Yu.V. Lysanets ◽  
O.M. Bieliaieva ◽  
L.B. Slipchenko ◽  
K.H. Havrylieva ◽  
H.Yu. Morokhovets
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
English Language ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Professional Communication ◽  
Academic Standards ◽  
Medical Setting ◽  
British Council ◽  
Academic Communication ◽  
English Academic Writing

The article discusses the features of academic writing in English based on the recommendations from the British Council in Ukraine in the framework of the “Researcher Connect” project, aiming to facilitate the transition to academic standards of English and improve the academic discourse produced by non-native language users. The authors outline major tendencies in the modern English language as pertains to written discourse and provide recommendations for rendering academic writing persuasive. It is a well-established fact that academic writing in English possesses unique features, which must be respected and taken into account. Hence, a transfer of academic norms from a person's mother tongue to English can be a challenge, which may impair the quality of academic writing. Presenting the research results without consideration of academic norms, grammar, and lexical features of English academic writing can lead to mistakes and misunderstanding, and result in a written work of poor quality, even if the research findings are valid. The mechanisms of improving the academic writing skills during the study of English for Academic Communication with due account for relevant grammar and lexical peculiarities have been explored. Therefore, the major challenge for researchers is the difficulty in transition to academic standards of a foreign language. The article discusses the surface and the deeper purposes in any academic writing; the significance of understanding one’s audience; the concepts of persuasion, clarity, and conciseness, as well as grammar and lexical means for achieving them. Developing the communication skills of Ukrainian scientists is crucial for successful international communication and cooperation. The study of potential difficulties, which the Ukrainian medical professionals may face in the process of academic writing in English, is important for developing the guidelines to eliminate possible mistakes and avoid misunderstanding in a medical setting. Further study of the peculiarities of academic writing in English will contribute to the optimization of international professional communication, the expansion of inter-institutional dialogue, and the integration of Ukraine into the world community.

scholarly journals Exploring the Writing Challenges Faced by M.Phil. and Ph.D. Scholars: A Case

2021 ◽  
Vol VI (IV) ◽  
pp. 34-41
Author(s):  
Hina Iqbal ◽  
Muhammad Saeed
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
English Language ◽  
Qualitative Case Study ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Interactive Programming ◽  
Report Quality ◽  
Grammatical Errors ◽  
Language Courses

Academic writing plays a pivotal role in developing research proposals. The present study aimed to explore the grammatical errors that M.Phil/PhDs scholars commit in academic writing. The present study employed a qualitative case study designed to explore the challenges in the English language faced by the M.Phil and PhDs scholars. The 20 Ph.D. and 36 M.Phil scholars were selected by busing purposive sampling technique. Data were collected by using two self-developed semi-structured interviews protocol. Thematic analysis approach was employed for data analysis. The findings revealed that all the participants reported that correct use of tenses was a big hurdle that entailed the other grammatical mistakes and reduced the report quality because all the lexical aspects are linked with these mechanics. The study recommended that English language courses be offered to postgraduate, M. Phil and Ph.D. scholars to learn the technical aspects of the language and provide students with online interactive programming.

scholarly journals Proposed Model to Assist Saudi Postgraduate Students in their English Academic Writing

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 527-542
Author(s):  
Noof Saleh Alharbi
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Written Feedback ◽  
Mixed Methods Design ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Sequential Mixed Methods ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Underlying Causes ◽  
English Academic Writing ◽  
Qualitative Phase

This current research forms part of a broader investigation into the problems Saudi postgraduate students face in English academic writing. The study used the interpretive paradigm to investigate and interpret the perceptions of Saudi postgraduate students and their supervisors in relation to the difficulties they encountered regarding academic writing in English. Therefore, the study adopted a sequential mixed-methods design. The quantitative phase of the research employed a questionnaire whereas the qualitative phase employed semi-structured interviews and document analysis. In total, 275 students completed the prepared questionnaire whilst 15 students, both male and female, and 9 supervisors participated in the semi-structured interviews. The research also used ten samples of written feedback students had received from their supervisors. SPSS descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data quantitatively, and MAXQDA software was used to analyse the data qualitatively. The study identified that Saudi postgraduates encounter a range of difficulties in their academic writing, which were due to several underlying causes. Therefore, to address this issue and to contribute to knowledge in the field, the author of this study devised a theoretical model to assist Saudi postgraduate students overcome their difficulties with English academic writing. The main focus of the current study is to explain this model in detail.

scholarly journals Autonomy Perceptions from Teachers of English as a Foreign Language in Diverse Colombian Public Teaching Settings

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 148
Author(s):  
Dr. David Wealthy Guerrero
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Research Question ◽  
General Purpose ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Research Production ◽  
English Language Teachers

<p><em>This qualitative descriptive case study reports the features in autonomy dynamics of three Colombian English language teachers in public schools in the District in Bogota Colombia. Three semi-structured interviews and reflective journals were used for data collection. The research question that guided this study was: What perceptions about autonomy do the three Colombian English language teachers have? The general purpose of this investigation was to identify the main features in teachers’ perceptions related to Autonomy. The specific objective was to identify the strategies that promoted autonomy in Teachers of English as a Foreign Language -TEFL- in different public schools in Bogota, Colombia. The study is, therefore, particularly significant as it can play a role in encouraging Colombian English as a Foreign Language -EFL- teachers to relate the factors needed to get a high quality in Education dynamics. Data indicated that the process heightened the teachers’ awareness of ‘self’ and practice. Autonomy also activated both the teachers’ ability to critically reflect on their context as well as focus on positive aspects of their practice through the willingness to improve their academic abilities and research production. Taken together, the findings serve as baseline data to further professional development in language assessment. </em></p><em></em><em></em>

scholarly journals A Discourse Analysis: Cohesion of the Introduction Section of Research Article

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Anis Firdatul Rochma ◽  
Sulis Triyono
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Research Articles ◽  
Semantic Meaning ◽  
Lexical Cohesion ◽  
Research Article ◽  
English Academic Writing ◽  
Writing Competence

<em>As an effort to give contribution to the existing knowledge, it is expected for the undergraduate students to compose an engaging research article in order to convince the readers about the importance of the research article. However, there is only a little attention given to the articles written by the undergraduate students although it is considered very critical to examine whether the exposure of English academic writing has significantly enhances the writing competence of the students. Furthermore, as it is also very crucial to build a meaningful semantic meaning among the sentences in order to disclose the worthiness of the research article, it is essential to analyze the cohesion of the research article written by the undergraduate students. Henceforth, the present research is projected to investigate the cohesion of the research articles written by the undergraduate students of English Language Teaching. As the introduction section of research article is likely to be an area to portray the logical explanation of the research, the present research solely focuses on examining the cohesion of the introduction section of research article. By adopting a qualitative design and involving several steps to analyze the introduction section, it is revealed that the grammatical cohesion is considered to be the most utilized type of cohesion in writing the introduction section. Still, the lexical cohesion is also necessary to build an eloquent semantic meaning about the topic as well the importance of the research article.</em>

Enhancing the English Language Ability of Postgraduate Research Students

2020 ◽  
pp. 84-96
Author(s):  
Johnson Ocan
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Ability ◽  
Resource Setting ◽  
Low Resource Setting ◽  
Postgraduate Level ◽  
English Language Ability ◽  
Good Writing ◽  
Research Students

The chapter discusses opinions about grammar as a prescriptive diction in academic writing. It also argues that the problem of personal pronouns can be used to analyze the language used by post-graduate students in low-resource setting and others whether in speech or writing, in non-literally discourse or literature. The chapter analyzes four maxims of good writing: Make your language easy to follow; be clear; be economical; and be effective. To successfully create knowledge, especially at postgraduate level, authors must communicate concisely to present their sense.

scholarly journals Linguistic Markers and Stylistic Attributes of Hedging in English Academic Papers Written by Native and Non-Native Speakers of English

MANUSYA ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Amara Prasithrathsint
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Linguistic Markers ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
English Academic Writing ◽  
The Impact

Hedging means mitigating words so as to lessen the impact of an utterance. It may cause uncertainty in language but is regarded as an important feature in English academic writing. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the style of academic writing in English with particular reference to the significant role of hedging and the linguistic features that mark it. The data was taken from academic articles in the humanities written by native speakers of English, Filipino speakers of English, and Thai speakers of English. It is hypothesized that speakers of English as a foreign language use fewer and different hedging devices than native speakers of English. The result of the analysis shows that the prominent linguistic markers of hedging are the auxiliaries may, might, could, the verbs suggest, appear, seem, and the adverbs perhaps and often. They are divided into three groups according to their stylistic attributes of hedging; namely, probability, indetermination, and approximation. The use of hedging found in the data confirms what Hyman (1994) says; i.e., that hedging allows writers to express their uncertainty about the truth of their statements. It is also found that English native speakers use hedges most frequently. The Filipino speakers of English are the second, and the Thai speakers of English use hedges the least frequency. This implies that hedging is likely to be related to the level of competence in English including knowledge of stylistic variation, and that it needs to be formally taught to those who speak English as a second or foreign language.

scholarly journals Proposed Model to Assist Saudi Postgraduate Students in their English Academic Writing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noof Saleh Alharbi
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Written Feedback ◽  
Mixed Methods Design ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Sequential Mixed Methods ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Underlying Causes ◽  
English Academic Writing ◽  
Qualitative Phase

This current research forms part of a broader investigation into the problems Saudi postgraduate students face in English academic writing. The study used the interpretive paradigm to investigate and interpret the perceptions of Saudi postgraduate students and their supervisors in relation to the difficulties they encountered regarding academic writing in English. Therefore, the study adopted a sequential mixed-methods design. The quantitative phase of the research employed a questionnaire whereas the qualitative phase employed semi-structured interviews and document analysis. In total, 275 students completed the prepared questionnaire whilst 15 students, both male and female, and 9 supervisors participated in the semi-structured interviews. The research also used ten samples of written feedback students had received from their supervisors. SPSS descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data quantitatively, and MAXQDA software was used to analyse the data qualitatively. The study identified that Saudi postgraduates encounter a range of difficulties in their academic writing, which were due to several underlying causes. Therefore, to address this issue and to contribute to knowledge in the field, the author of this study devised a theoretical model to assist Saudi postgraduate students overcome their difficulties with English academic writing. The main focus of the current study is to explain this model in detail.

scholarly journals STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS TOWARD THE EFFECTIVENESS OF COLLABORATIVE BRAINSTORMING IN ACADEMIC WRITING CLASSES

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Listyani - Listyani
Keyword(s):  
21St Century ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
21St Century Skills ◽  
English Language ◽  
Classroom Interaction ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
English Language Education ◽  
Writing Classes

The 21st century skills include collaboration and teamwork, creativity and imagination, critical thinking, and problem solving. In writing  classes collaborative brainstorming is one of many activities that can be conducted by teachers to help students develop their 21st century skills. It is because collaborative brainstorming makes students think critically, creative, work better in a group, and solve problems collaboratively. This study investigated students’ perceptions on the use of collaborative brainstorming in Academic Writing classes and its effectiveness in the students’ eyes in writing. The participants of this study were 33 English Language Education Program (ELEP) students who were taking Academic Writing class. The data were analyzed qualitatively, supported by open ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The results of the data analysis exposed to prove that collaborative brainstorming helps students in Academic Writing projects. Finally, this study indicates the importance of classroom interaction during classroom learning activities. This study also suggests a strategy to overcome students minor participation during group discussions. The 21st century skills include collaboration and teamwork, creativity and imagination, critical thinking, and problem solving. In writing  classes collaborative brainstorming is one of many activities that can be conducted by teachers to help students develop their 21st century skills. It is because collaborative brainstorming makes students think critically, creative, work better in a group, and solve problems collaboratively. This study investigated students’ perceptions on the use of collaborative brainstorming in Academic Writing classes and its effectiveness in the students’ eyes in writing. The participants of this study were 33 English Language Education Program (ELEP) students who were taking Academic Writing class. The data were analyzed qualitatively, supported by open ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The results of the data analysis exposed to prove that collaborative brainstorming helps students in Academic Writing projects. Finally, this study indicates the importance of classroom interaction during classroom learning activities. This study also suggests a strategy to overcome students minor participation during group discussions.

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