Author stance in theme position: variation across disciplines and years in a corpus of assessed student writing

1
Author stance in theme position variation across
disciplines and years in a corpus of assessed
student writing

• Signe Ebeling and Paul Wickens

2
The British Academic Written English Corpus

• Part of the ongoing ESRC-funded project An
  investigation of genres of assessed writing in
  British Higher Education (RES-000-23-0800 )
• Collaboration between Oxford Brookes, Warwick and
  Reading Universities
• Collection of 3,000-3,500 student assignments at
  Undergraduate and Masters level all marked gt60
• Four disciplinary groupings
• Arts Humanities
• Medical Life Sciences
• Physical Sciences
• Social Sciences

3
Data selection
1st year 2nd year 3rd year
4 4 4
4 4 4
4 4 4
4 4 4
English studies
48
Engineering
Health and social care
Anthropology
4
Thematic choice, stanceand disciplinary variation

• The literacy practices of a disciplinary
  community embody different orientations to
  knowledge constructions The initial
  constituent of the clause appears to have
  particular significance in the way it reflects
  the writer's beliefs and values, and thus
  provides an indicator of disciplinary difference
  in professional academic writing. (North 2005
  435)

• Aims
• point out disciplinary differences and/or
  similarities in the thematic choices of students
  academic writing.
• look at possible reasons why disciplines show
  different or similar tendencies in terms of
  point of departure of the message.

5
Framework and classification of data

• T-unit "an independent clause together with all
  hypotactically related clauses which are
  dependent on it" (Fries 1994 229)
• Topical theme typically fills a participant role
  within the clause and is most commonly found to
  be the grammatical subject (or the subject of the
  main proposition)
• Orienting theme the elements preceding the
  topical theme
• Textual makes "explicit the way the clause
  relates to the surrounding discourse" (Halliday
  2004 83)
• Experiential may contain fronted hypotactic
  clauses and experiential elements which do not
  fill participant roles (mainly circumstantial
  adjuncts)" (North 2005 438)
• Interpersonal typically expresses the speaker's
  "own angle on the matter in hand" (Halliday 2004
  84)

Orienting theme Orienting theme Orienting theme Topical theme Rheme
Textual Experiential Interpersonal
Of course passion, an emotion, cannot be said to physically flow

and in order for practice to be changed accordingly it is important that the results are trustworthy.
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An overview of orienting themes across disciplines
Orienting theme Orienting theme Orienting theme
Discipline Year of study Textual Experiential Interpersonal
English studies 1190 t-units 22 21 10
Engineering 1405 t-units 19 23 10
Health and social care 1306 t-units 24 20 23
Anthropology 1536 t-units 24 23 18
Figures (approximate) per 100 t-units
7
Interpersonal themes in the BAWE materialExamples

• 1) Modal adjunct
• Clearly force is essential to the complete turn
  around of rebellious individuals in 1984,
  (BAWE3003c)
• 2) Interrogative / inversion
• Does this leave the individual with any hope?
  (BAWE3003c)
• 3) Imperative
• Consider the use of plastic gears for one stage
  of speed reduction. (BAWE0023e)
• 4) Personal projecting clause
• In both novels, Orwell suggests that every
  system of power will inevitably abuse the use of
  language as mechanisms of control, (BAWE3007a)
• 5) Non-personal projecting clause
• It is possible that this is more than a
  criticism of the Bible itself but of the
  canonizing process, which Ostriker also argues
  has throughout history rested, not accidentally
  but essentially, in the silencing of women.
  (BAWE3006k)

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Distribution of interpersonal themes per 100
t-units
Discipline Interpersonal theme English Studies Engineering Health social care Anthropology
personal projecting clause non-personal projecting clause modal adjunct interrogative/ inversion imperative 3.2 3.5 2.9 0.4 0.3 5.3 0.3 0.5 3.4 12.1 9.7 0.5 0.2 8.2 6.5 2.9 0.7 0.1
Total 10 9.8 22.5 18.4
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Interpersonal themes Projection
Muir (2004) states that Researchers have shown
that
Non-self
Personal
I propose that I believe
Self
Projection
it is claimed for instance that The graph shows
that
External
Non-self
Internal
Non-personal
it is clear that There is a possibility that
Self
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Interpersonal themes projection
Personal English Engineering Health Anthropology
Non-self 2.7 0 6.7 7.7
Self 0.5 0.3 5.1 0.3
Other 0.3 0.2
total 3.2 0.3 12.1 8.2
Figures per 100 t-units Figures per 100 t-units Figures per 100 t-units Figures per 100 t-units Figures per 100 t-units
Non Personal English Engineering Health Anthropology
Non-Self 2.3 2.6 4.9 3.2
Self 1.2 2.7 4.7 3.2
Other 0.1 0.1
total 3.5 5.3 9.7 6.5
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Disciplinary Differences Personal Projection
English Engineering Health Anthropology
Non Self 2.7 0 6.7 7.7
Non Self Makdisi suggests that John Blades argues that John Blades notes that John Beer states that Blake suggests that Schon (1987) would say that Mildred Blaxter (1990) notes that Beauchamp and Childress (1989) believe Muir (2004) states that Thompson et al (2004) argue that Boyd and Silk suggest that Semaw (1997) points out that Richard Klein emphasizes that Tim Ingold argues that, Ingold conversely concludes that He claims for instance that
Self 0.5 0.3 5.1 0.3
Self I propose that I believe I think ultimately I would suggest that we can see that you find that I decided that I had always believed that I realise with hindsight that As professionals, we may feel Personally I feel that we cannot confidently say that I am satisfied however, that I dont think I concur that We can fairly safely say that
12
Disciplinary Differences Non-Personal Projection
English Engineering Health Anthropology
Non-Self 2.3 2.6 4.9 3.2
external 0.6 0.5 3.8 2.5
external feminist readings of the Bible, and indeed Atwoods novel itself, demonstrate that the turnover data suggests that Studies have shown that Statistics have shown that It has always been understood that It has been suggested It has been predicted that
internal 1.6 2.0 1.1 0.7
internal These actions suggest This symbolises that This passage also suggests that The graph shows that The results have shown that The results of this may show that These showed that This suggests that This essay argues that This example shows that This quote shows that
Self 1.3 2.7 4.7 3.2
It seems that it is clear it is natural that it appears that it is unlikely that It is expected that it is observed that It is also true that it is possible that it is highly unlikely that it was unclear why there is a high probability that it is unlikely It appears that it is not surprising that
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Mediated or second order learning
Teaching in HE is a rhetorical activity,
seeking to persuade students to change the way
they experience the world (and to) enable
students to learn the descriptions of the world
devised by others. () It is mediated learning,
allowing students to acquire knowledge of someone
elses way of experiencing the world.
Laurillard (1993) p28-29
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Health Care

• Draws equally on literature (P NP Non-Self) and
  personal (P NP Self) as point of deparutre to
  orientate reader.
• Key epistemology is of reflective practitioner
  evident in P/ Self.
• Clusters of Interpersonal themes. E.g. in
  conclusion
• Projection gives reflective distance and
  integrates two elements.

Orienting topical Rheme
I was also unaware that post registration, each practitioner is personally responsible for ensuring that practice meets legal requirements and maintaining professional competence, which means keeping up to date with new procedures and policies (NMC 2002).
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Conclusion 2nd year Health Care
Orienting topical Rheme
The decision to deceive someone about their treatment is not one that should be taken lightly
and I hope that this case study has illustrated some of the areas that should be considered by the team.
Although the Mental Capacity Bill (2005) has made the guidelines about non-consensual treatment clearer, it is highly unlikely that the practice of covert medicine administration will ever be detailed by the letter of the law since this could lead to its abuse.
Kant would argue that since his categorical imperative cannot be applied, the practice should not be allowed.
Most practitioners though, particularly in the mental health field recognise that there are times when an individual may need an intervention even though they dont want it
16
Anthropology

• Key focus Literature as point of departure (P
  NP Non-Self)
• Lack of explicit self (P/Self). Use of NP Self.
• Example of pattern or clusters of interpersonal
  theme (projection)
• Personal Non-Self arguments in the literature

Orienting topical Rheme
Concurrently, Katherine Milton (1999) suggests that, using meat to supply essential amino-acids and many required micronutrients frees-space in the gut for (high energy i.e. USO) plant foods (p11).
In reply, proponents of the USOs hypothesis and especially Richard Wrangham, argue that if cooked, tubers could fulfil all the dietary requirements.
17
English Studies

• Few Interpersonal themes (twice as many Textual
  and Experiential)
• Extensive referencing and quotation exists but
  little projection point of departure
• Integrated into main clause (use of numerical
  index system)

The way in the Romantic poets revolutionised
such rational and structured ideas is abundantly
evident in William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor
Coleridges Lyrical Ballads, arguably the most
important single volume of the romantic period
which signalled a literary revolution.1 1
Duncan Wu Romanticism An Anthology Second
Edition (Oxford Blackwell Publishing, 1998) p.189
18

• In both novels the dystopic totalitarian regimes
  purport ways of living in a disturbingly
  collective manner. In the world of 1984 the
  distortion of reality by the omnipresent Big
  Brother creates a society absent of purpose and
  without the freedom of individual choice. In The
  Handmaids Tale the abundance of biblical
  imagery, and allusion to various narratives of
  the Bible generates a harrowing image of a
  futuristic patriarchal society, which legitimates
  the humiliation and enslavement of women with
  literal interpretations of scripture. However,
  what I would also argue as a key idea in both
  novels, and also feminist hermeneutics, is the
  importance of the preservation of the individual
  self within the larger, collective body. In
  particular, feminist readings of the Bible, and
  indeed Atwoods novel itself, demonstrate that
  the voices of these individuals should not, and
  will not, remain silenced. (conclusion

• Orienting themes experiential Circumstances
  relating to text object of study
• Clusters of textual and interpersonal themes for
  key points
• Literature or personal stance not often the point
  of departure
• In gerneral, writers perspective on the text
  (object of study) is the main proposition

19
Engineering

• No P/ Non-Self and few NP Non-self. (few
  references and citation)
• Little explicit Self (P/ Self). There is use of
  NP/Self
• NP/ Non-self / Internal refers to data or
  proposition established in students text.

It is unlikely though that anyone could apply his
or her full body weight to the drill, as this
would unbalance him or her.
This principle suggests that the restraints on
the beam in the experimental and initial FE model
would have no effect on the results due to the
distance from the ends exceeding 306mm. However
the results indicate that this is not the case
where the FE model produced two different sets of
results for differing end restraints, with the
experimental and theoretical giving two different
yield loads.
20
References

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