The relationship between syntactic complexity and rhetorical stages in L2 learners’ texts: A comparative analysis

IF 3.2 1区文学 Q1 LINGUISTICS English for Specific Purposes Pub Date : 2023-10-01 DOI:10.1016/j.esp.2023.08.003

Yujiao Zhang , Jie Cui

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Abstract

A recent trend in corpus-based genre analysis emphasizes the relationship between syntactic complexity and rhetorical units, with a primary focus on English texts for research and publication purposes. The present study extends this trend into research on argumentative writing, a genre that L2 learners have to write and master, by examining the syntactic features of rhetorical stages and their variation across these stages through a comparative analysis. Based on a corpus of argumentative texts (written by 162 native English speakers and 148 Chinese English learners), analyzed for rhetorical structures and assessed for syntactic complexity, this analysis reveals robust differences between the two writing groups in the syntactic features of specific rhetorical stages. It also shows some consistency but more variation between the two groups in their patterns of syntactic variation across these stages. The findings reveal a strong relationship between syntactic complexity and the rhetorical stages of argumentative texts, thus demonstrating the feasibility and necessity of studying the function-form relationship in L2 learner writing. The authors suggest that genre-based L2 writing teachers should focus on the syntactic features of rhetorical stages and increase students’ awareness of the function-form relationship.

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二语学习者语篇中句法复杂性与修辞阶段关系的比较分析

基于语料库的体裁分析最近的一个趋势是强调句法复杂性和修辞单位之间的关系，主要关注用于研究和出版目的的英语文本。本研究通过对比分析考察了修辞阶段的句法特征及其在这些阶段的变化，将这一趋势扩展到了议论文写作的研究中，议论文写作是二语学习者必须写作和掌握的一种体裁。基于162名英语母语者和148名中国英语学习者的议论文集，对其修辞结构进行了分析，并对其句法复杂性进行了评估，该分析揭示了两个写作群体在特定修辞阶段的句法特征上的巨大差异。这也显示出两组在这些阶段的句法变化模式上有一些一致性，但更多的变化。研究结果揭示了议论文的句法复杂性与修辞阶段之间的密切关系，从而证明了研究二语学习者写作中功能-形式关系的可行性和必要性。作者建议基于体裁的二语写作教师应关注修辞阶段的句法特征，提高学生对功能-形式关系的认识。

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来源期刊

English for Specific Purposes LINGUISTICS-

CiteScore

5.70

自引率

8.00%

发文量

审稿时长

62 days

期刊介绍： English For Specific Purposes is an international peer-reviewed journal that welcomes submissions from across the world. Authors are encouraged to submit articles and research/discussion notes on topics relevant to the teaching and learning of discourse for specific communities: academic, occupational, or otherwise specialized. Topics such as the following may be treated from the perspective of English for specific purposes: second language acquisition in specialized contexts, needs assessment, curriculum development and evaluation, materials preparation, discourse analysis, descriptions of specialized varieties of English.