Thematic Progression in Students’ Descriptive Text

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 503-507
Author(s):  
Grace Purba ◽  
Arsen Nahum Pasaribu

A way for developing good writing skills is by using thematic progression. It can help students improve their writing abilities. Theme and rheme are used to analyze the thematic progression. This study aimed to find out the types of thematic progression of students' descriptive texts and the most dominant pattern of thematic progression in students’ descriptive texts. The researcher used the descriptive qualitative method in the research design. There were 50 texts written by students at SMP Swasta Sultan Agung Pematangsiantar. The data was analyzed using (Eggins, 2005) theory as the theoretical framework that found three types of thematic progression. The findings revealed that the students' descriptive texts follow three thematic progression patterns: reiteration or constant pattern, zig-zag or linear pattern, and multiple patterns or split rheme pattern. The constant pattern was the most dominant used by students in 271 occurences (91.80%), followed by zig-zag or linear pattern occurred 13 times (4.4%) and multiple patterns or split rheme pattern occurred 11 times (3.8%)l. The findings show students, in writing descriptive text, tend to use simple thematic progression due to their level of knowledge in grammar and thematic progression is relatively low.

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 172
Author(s):  
Merina Devira ◽  
Makhroji Makhroji ◽  
Allif Syahputra Bania ◽  
Novia Sari

The main problem faced by EFL students in writing English texts includes the difficulties to produce a cohesive and coherent text that it seems necessary to show how the tools of Theme and Rheme can be used to help construct the students' good English writing. This study aimed to find out the types of thematic progression patterns in each clause of the recount texts written by students and the dominant pattern of thematic progression revealed from the texts. The research design of this study is a qualitative method which employed the study instrument of the students' recount texts at class IX of SMAN 2 Langsa, Aceh. A content analysis approach by using a Theme and Rheme framework generated from a theory of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) was used to analyze the thematic progression patterns on the students' recount texts, which included several steps: reading the student's texts, identifying the theme and rheme of every clause of the student's text, describing the thematic progression patterns of student's text and drawing the thematic progression pattern on student's text. The findings of the analysis indicated that there are three (3) thematic progression patterns found on the students' recount texts: the Theme Constant, the Theme Zig Zag Linear pattern and Theme Multiple patterns. The dominant type of thematic progression patterns constructed by the students into their recount texts was revealed mostly on 123 constant or reiteration patterns (76.8%), followed by zig-zag patterns of 35 times (21.8%)  and 9 times (1.25%) of multiple patterns. The results of this study will be facilitative as the tools for English language teaching and learning classrooms particularly for writing English texts. 


Author(s):  
Dewi Fatmawati ◽  
Tengku Silvana Sinar ◽  
Rohani Ganie ◽  
Muhammad Yusuf

This study attempts to investigate thematic progression deployed in The Black Cat short story. The objectives of study are 1) To indicate the types of Thematic Progression in “The Black Cat” short story and 2) to describe the realization of Thematic Progression in “The Black Cat” short story. This study was conducted in descriptive qualitative design. The data were taken from the text of “The Black Cat” short story. The source of the data in this study was The Black Cat and Other Stories book written by Edgar Allan Poe. Systemic Functional Linguistics theory proposed by Halliday (1994) was used to analyzed thematic progression in “The Black Cat” short story regarded with Textual Function. In analyzing the thematic progression, there are three kinds of thematic progression: theme reiteration, the zig-zag pattern and the multiple- rheme pattern. The findings showed that the multiple- rheme pattern is the most dominant realized in 32 times (74%), theme reiteration is the second realized in 7 times (16,3%), and the zig-zag pattern is realized in 4 times (9,3%) and the least dominant pattern in “The Black Cat” short story.


Author(s):  
Kasyfur Rahman ◽  
M. Arsyad Arrafi’i ◽  
Imansyah Imansyah

Developing an English cohesive and coherent writing requires an effort of connecting ideas grammatically and semantically. To explore this, we carried out a research study by analyzing fifteen journal abstracts from international journals in ELT whose impact factors are within the top 10 in the field. The data showed that the abstracts make use of integrated pattern, not relying simply upon a single pattern. The findings also suggest ambiguous relationship between some clauses, many of which rather represent inductive relationship; therefore coding them into the three thematic progression patterns in Eggins (1994) seemed to be less accommodating. Further research on this subject would then require more sophisticated research theoretical framework.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
Yu Chunmei

Presupposition refers to what is assumed by the speaker when uttering a specific sentence, usually realized by the useof particular lexical items and/or linguistic constructions which are known as presupposition triggers, is an evitablerequirement for interpretation of the utterance. Based on the theme-rheme theory and thematic progression patternssuggested by Hu Zhuanglin and Zhu Yongsheng, the author adopts qualitative method to make an analysis of thetextual function of presupposition which is realized by serving as themes in clauses, helping to construct differentthematic progression patterns and transmitting information in business letter discourse. Presupposition helps toconstruct four main thematic progression patterns in business letter discourse, which can be conclude as T1→T2 (thesame theme), R1→R2 (the same rheme), R1→T2 (the rheme or part of the rheme in the previous clause becomes thetheme of the next clause) and T1+R1=T2 (both the theme and rheme of the preceding clause are encapsulated into anoun phrase functioning as the theme of the frequent clause). The author chose 30 business letters selected from theinternet and several textbooks as the object of research, and they cover almost every stage of foreign trade.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Risdaneva Risdaneva ◽  
Syarifah Dahliana

This study reports the thematic progression of the EFL learner- produced texts in Acehnese context. The study employed qualitative method focusing on the content analysis. The content analysis technique was incorporated to analyse the corpora of 40 learner-produced texts. The findings of the study highlight both prevalent and problematic thematic progression patterns in the students’ texts. The EFL learners are inclined to use the constant theme pattern with less consistency of accuracy in longer paragraphs. With regard to the problematic patterns, the students tend to find difficulties in developing the ideas throughout the texts. This is shown through the emergence of many brand new themes and empty rhemes which result in incohesive and incoherent texts. The overall findings suggest that introducing the theme- rheme pattern concept to the students in English writing classes can be useful for improving the cohesion of the EFL students’ writings. 


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sri Yunita

This study aims to investigate the Theme and Thematic progression patterns in students’ recount text in a state vocational school in Bandung. This study employs a descriptive-qualitative research design. The data were obtained from a collection of students’ texts. This study uses the theory of Theme system developed by Halliday (1994) and the theory of Thematic progression proposed by Eggins (2004) as the framework to analyze the data. The findings showed that the Theme and Thematic progression supports the character of Recount text written by the students to some extents: the Topical Theme represents the students’ ability to deliver what the text is about, the Interpersonal Theme helps students declare their personal comments, while the Textual Theme showed the students’ ability to develop the logical relationship between clauses and make their texts more cohesive and coherent. In terms of thematic progression patterns, the Theme Reiteration pattern signposts that the students tend to make the text focus by repeating the same element as Themes; the Zig Zag pattern showed that the students introduce newly information by promoting the Rheme in a clause to the Theme in the subsequent clause, and the Multiple Theme pattern specifies that the students develop the texts well according to the prior plan before writing those ideas in the text.


Author(s):  
Laura J. Shepherd

This chapter outlines the motivation for undertaking the research presented here, and offers an account of the contexts for the peacebuilding-related activities in which the United Nations is involved: Burundi; Central African Republic; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Liberia; and Sierra Leone. The research design is explained, with an overview provided of both the theoretical framework supporting the research and the methodological approach taken. The methodology is a form of discourse analysis engaging both documentary and transcribed interview texts, and this chapter explains how the author uses the concepts of gender and space to structure the analysis in the rest of the book. The chapter also presents an analysis of the literature on peacebuilding to which the author seeks to make a contribution with this research.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
John Demuyakor

Speech acts as an important element during communication, because it explains the thoughts of the speaker(s). A speech act is more about what is performed when uttering words and not about individual words or sentences that are known to form the basic elements of human communication. An attempt to do something through speaking is what is known as a speech act and a lot of things can be done through speaking. A speech act is studied under speech act theory and is found in the domain of pragmatics. Using a qualitative research design, the key objective of this study is to analyze the types of speech acts adopted in the inaugural address of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo as the President of the Republic of Ghana for his second term on the 7th January 2021. This study analyzed the Inaugural Address using Searle’s theory of speech act as a theoretical framework with emphasis on Searle’s five categories of speech act. The study showed that out of a total of 74 locutionary / Statements in the inaugural address,assertive acts are 40.5% of the utterances, commissive acts are 25.6%, while directive, expressive and declarative have small portions, of 13.5%, 12.2%, and 8.2% respectively.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
Paramita Kusumawardhani

<p>The aims of this research are to know about the use of flashcards to improve the English Young Learners’ writing skills. English has four skills to be learned; they are listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and writing skill is the most difficult skill to be taught and learnt. Flashcards are one of the ways to improve the learners’ skill, especially EYL writing skill. The participants of this research are English Young Learners (EYL) in of the English Course at Gading Serpong, Tangerang. Classroom Action Research (CAR) was used as the method of the research and the English Young Learners’ (EYL) story paper are used as the instruments of the research. The results of the research are: (1) Most learners were excited when they are asked to see the colorful flashcard; (2) Learners who have good writing skill could make the story by completing the missing words and answer the questions then arrange the answer sentences well and (3) Learners who are not really master in writing, got some difficulties not only in completing the missing words but also answering then arranging the answer sentences well.</p>


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