ABILITY OF THE SOPHOMORE STUDENTS IN USING TRANSITIONAL

DEVICES IN PARAGRAPH

An Undergraduate Thesis Presented

to the Faculty of English Language Department
PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Urdaneta Campus
Urdaneta City, Pangasinan

In Partial Fulfilment
of the Requirements for the Degree
BACHELOR OF ARTS IN ENGLISH

By:
ALEXIS M. GAVISAN
ABEGAIL L. ESPERANZA

April 2016
 APPROVAL SHEET

In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Bachelor of Arts in

English, this thesis entitled, “ABILITY OF THE SOPHOMORE STUDENTS IN

USING TRANSITIONAL DEVICES IN PARAGRAPH,” prepared and

submitted by ALEXIS M. GAVISAN and ABEGAIL L. ESPERANZA, is hereby

recommended for approval and acceptance.

MARY JULIE B. OCAY RUBY F. AMADO, MAEd.

Critic Reader Adviser

Approved by the Committee on Examination

MARVIN Q. CORPUZ, MAEd.

Chairman

MARISSA E. SISON, MAEd. MONICA B. BROSAS

Member Member-Statistician

Accepted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of

Bachelor of Arts in English.

MARISSA E. SISON, MAEd. DOMINGO M. CABARTEJA, Ed.D.

Chair, English Language Department Dean, College of Arts and Education

PAULO V. CENAS, Ed.D.

Campus Executive Director

ii
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The sweat, the time, and the dedication are all paid off. A partial end of

sleepless nights, and unexplainable feelings when hearing the words “research”

and “defense” has come. The completion of this collective works of mind would

not be possible without the guidance, wisdom, undying love, mercy, and grace of

our Good Lord Jesus Christ and of course without the help of the people who

unselfishly shared their precious time and knowledge for the researchers to make

it through the end.

To express their deepest gratitude, allow them to thank few people who

gave them direction and the courage to push through and work the hardest:

To the Campus Executive Director, Dr. Paulo V. Cenas, for allowing and

trusting them to conduct the study;

To the Dean of College of Arts and Education, Dr. Domingo M.

Cabarteja, for supporting them in this study;

To the Chair of the English Language Department, Mrs. Marissa E.

Sison, for the support and for the maximum patience checking and monitoring

their research study to make it even better;

To their first research instructor, Dr. Ruby Rosa V. Cruz, for teaching

them the fundamentals of research and for the patience answering their queries

regarding research study;

iii
 To their kindest research adviser, Ms. Ruby F. Amado, for the time, for

the expertise, and for the never ending patience correcting and teaching them

ideas that are to be incorporated in their study to make it a successful one.

Thank you for guiding them from the very beginning up to the completion of the

study;

To their critic reader, Mrs. Mary Julie B. Ocay, for the support and for

patiently and efficiently critiquing their manuscript for its improvement;

To their second research instructor and ever kind Chairman of the panel

members, Mr. Marvin Q. Corpuz, for the support, for the willingness to help

for the improvement of their study and for greatly helping and providing certain

resources for its accomplishment;

To their statistician, Ms. Monica B. Brosas, for the support and for

patiently analyzing and tabulating the data;

To their beloved parents, for the never ending love and support you

have for them. Thank you for providing them all what they need and for

continuously encouraging them not to give up and reach their goals;

To their friends, classmates, and loved ones, for the unconditional

love and support, for cheering them up when they felt so hopeless, and for

inspiring them to continue chasing their dreams, thank you for always being

there;

iv
 And lastly, the researchers would like to extend their sincerest gratitude to

their respondents, the sophomore BSED students, for the cooperation during

the floating of questionnaire. Thank you for honestly and patiently answering the

questions for the completion of the study.

Thank you very much. This is dedicated to all of you.

-THE RESEARCHERS

v
 DEDICATION

When you are surrounded by people who share a passionate commitment

around a common purpose, indeed, anything is possible! And now may I express
my deepest gratitude to the “SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS” of this work.

First of all, I want to thank ALMIGHTY FATHER for giving me wisdom and
courage. Thank You Lord for the unfailing love, blessings, and for guiding us all
throughout.

To the most supportive and amazing family, I love you the most. To my Papa
Mario and Mama Lou,thank you for trusting, supporting, and encouraging me
not to give up no matter what. Thank you for being the best parents and friends
to me. To my Kuya Loie, we may quarrel most of the time for some reasons,
but I know how much you loveme. Thank you for understanding.This success is
especially for you.I love you so much.

To my Mama Lucing, your challenges are my inspiration and motivation. This

work is dedicated to you. To my Ate Teodora,thank you for supporting and
providing my needs, financially and emotionally. Thank you and I love you both.

To our very beautiful and smart instructor/mentor/best friend/mother, Ms. Ruby

F. Amado, we are so much blessed to have you. Thank you for never letting us
down and for pushing us to strive more. You’re our idol! We love you so much.

To my best friend/partner in everything, Abegail L. Esperanza, thank you for

your kindness and patience. I love you best friend.

To my ABE IV family, you are forever treasured in my heart. Thank you for the
four years of wonderful memories. I love you.

And to my most precious POWERHOUSE, Rodel, Jyann, Pia, JM, Benj,

Louie, Abegail, and Deen, you made my college life the best. For four years,
we laughed, loved, cried, got into trouble and most of all matured together, and
now I can’t explain how I feel, but I am so thankful for having you guys in my
life, I really am. Thank you for the friendship and for all the life lessons you
taught me.

Furthermore, special thanks to Rodel “THE BEAUTIFUL” A. Lantano and

John Mark P. Haban, for without your help this work would not be possible.

And of course, to Mark Deen L. Santos, thank you for rescuing, helping, and
supporting me. I thank God you came.
-Alex-

vi
 DEDICATION

THIS STUDY WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE HELP OF THE

FOLLOWING:
To our LORD JESUS CHRIST, for providing knowledge and wisdom all throughout the
study and for His everlasting love and guidance.

To my parents, my dear mama PORTIA and papa ABRAHAM, a million thanks to both
of you. Thank you for supporting me morally and financially. You are a big part of this
achievement.
To my kindest and very supportive sister, ate P-ANNE, thank you for giving me a lot of
advice which really helped me in working this study. Thank you for being my companion
during my sleepless nights. Also, to my loving siblings, JAD and JEN, for being the best
partners in crime.
To my DADDY and MOMMY, thank you so much for the love, support and prayers.
To our adviser, the very loving instructor, our friend and our mother, ma’am RUBY F.
AMADO, thank you for your unconditional love. Your patience in checking our papers
made me believe that you are truly a brilliant and wonderful woman.
To sir MARVIN CORPUZ, our chairman, ma’am MARY JULIE OCAY, our critic reader,
and ma’am MARISSA SISON, our panel members, thank you for your numerous advice
to make this study better.
To my best friend and thesis partner ALEXIS M. GAVISAN, who accepts my quirky
habits and understands me in a way few others can. You are indeed my lifelong
BESTFRIEND.
To a very supporting friend of mine MARK DEEN, for being my true brother.
To my beloved ABE IV, thanks for the treasured 4 years of friendship and laughter.
To the friendship called “POWERHOUSE,” a big thank you. To RODEL,JM, DEEN,
ALEX, BENJ, JYANNE, SOPHIA and LOUIE, who gave me strength and inspiration.
Our friendship will be cherished and kept by me. I Love You guys!
To my “nanay” RODEL, thank you for being good and generous in sharing your
thoughts and opinions to make this study possible.
And to my DEAR JM, thank you for reminding me that all things work together for good.
You are an inspiration to me. Thank you for giving me courage to be more dedicated in
this work. Furthermore, thank you so much for your efforts to make this study possible.
<3

-ABEGAIL LEONIN ESPERANZA

vii
 ABSTRACT

TITLE OF THESIS: Ability of the Sophomore Students

in Using Transitional Devices
in Paragraph

NAME OF RESEARCHERS: Alexis M. Gavisan

Abegail L. Esperanza

COURSE: Bachelor of Arts inEnglish

NAME OF ADVISER: Ms. Ruby F. Amado
NAME OF INSTITUTION: Pangasinan State University
Urdaneta City, Pangasinan

KEYWORDS: Transitional Devices, Paragraph

Writing, Cohesion

This study aimed to determine the ability of the 25 sophomore BSED

students in using transitional devices in paragraph.Specifically, it aimed to

answer the profile of the respondents in terms of final grade in Writing in the

Discipline, type of high school graduated from, most preferred reading

material,and exposure to writing, that is, participation in campus paper and

frequency of participation in writing competitions.

The descriptive-correlational design was used in this study to determine

the ability of the sophomore students in using transitional devices. The

respondents of this study included the entire population of the sophomore BSED

students enrolled in Pangasinan State University, Urdaneta Campus during the

Second Semester of Academic Year 2015 – 2016.

viii
 Results showed that the grades of the respondents in their Writing in the

Discipline ranged from fair to very good. All of them came from public high

schools and majority of them preferred reading textbooks. As to their exposure

to writing, only few of them joined their campus paper and other writing

competitions. Further, based on the result of the test administered, the

respondents’ ability ranged from very poor to poor. Moreover, each variable in

the profile of the respondents has a different value when correlated with their

level of ability in using the four categories of transitional devices which ranged

from low positive to high positive.

From the findings of the study, the following conclusions were drawn: (1)

The students are all public high school graduates. Most of them have a

preference of textbooks as reading material, have never been exposed to writing,

and have a grade ranging from fair to very good; (2) The students have poor

ability in formulating paragraph using transitional devices; and (3) The profile of

the respondents has a positive influence with their ability in using transitional

devices within a paragraph.

At the end of the study, the researchers recommended thatthe students

should use English textbooks, especially those that are related to transitional

devices, as their primary reading material. They are also encouraged to practice

using the English language more often. Moreover,English instructors are strongly

encouraged to prepare instructional materials that would enhance the ability of

the students in writing unified texts using transitional devices. In addition, they

ix
are further encouraged to includemore lessons on writing paragraphs and

cohesive devices for the Education students in the course Writing in the

Discipline. Lastly,future researchers are encouraged to conductsimilar studies,

provided they include other categories of transitional devices which are not

included in this study.

x
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

TITLE PAGE i

APPROVAL SHEET ii

ACKNOWLEDGMENT iii

DEDICATION vi

ABSTRACT viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS xi

LIST OF TABLES xiv

LIST OF FIGURE xv

CHAPTER

1 THE PROBLEM

Background of the Study 1

Statement of the Problem 4

Significance of the Study 4

Scope and Delimitation of the Study 5

Definition of Terms 6

2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

Related Literature 8

Related Studies 19

Synthesis of Reviewed Related Studies 24

Theoretical Framework 26

xi
 Conceptual Framework 28

3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Design 30

Respondents of the Study 31

Data-Gathering Instrument 31

Data Collection Procedure 31

Statistical Treatment of Data 32

4 PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, AND INTERPRETATION
OF DATA
Profile of the Respondents 35

Students’ Ability in Using Transitional Devices 41

Students’ Use of the Four Categories

Transitional Devices 43

Relationship of the Students’ Level of

Ability with their Profile 45

5 SUMMARY, FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary of Findings 50

Conclusions 52

Recommendations 53

BIBLIOGRAPHY 54

APPENDICES

A Questionnaire 57

xii
 B Letter of Permission to the Campus Executive Director 59

C Letter of Permission to the College Dean of Arts

and Education 60

D Request Letter to the Registrar 61

E Letter of Permission to the Chair of the English

Language Department 62

F Letter of Permission to the Instructor 63

G Letter to the Respondents 64

H Rubric Table for Evaluators 65

CURRICULUM VITAE 66

xiii
 LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1 Final Grade of the Sophomore BSED Students in

Writing in the Discipline 34
2 Profile of the Respondents in terms of the Type of
School Graduated From, Most Preferred Reading
Material,Participation in Campus Paper, and
Frequency ofParticipation in Writing Competitions 36
3 Level of Ability of the Sophomore BSED Students
in Using Transitional Devices in Paragraph 40
4 Overall Ability of the Sophomore BSED Students
in Using the Four Categories of Transitional Devices 42
5 Correlation between the Students’
Level of Ability and Profile Variables 44

xiv
 LIST OF FIGURE

Figure Page

1 Conceptual Framework 29

xv
 Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM

Background of the Study

A paragraph should always be a unit, whether independent or part of the

whole composition. When all its parts contribute to the development of its central

thought or emotional effect, the paragraph has unity. Every paragraph should

have a relationship to the previous paragraphs. Using key phrases or words from

a previous paragraph at the start of the next one can make a natural transition.

Transitional words or phrases allow the readers to understand not only the

connection between different paragraphs, but also the connection between a

particular paragraph and the main point of a writing.

In addition, transitional devices improve the connections and transitions

between sentences and paragraph, thus they connect two words, phrases or

clauses which make the text easier to read and improve the coherence.They are

vital devices for essays, papers or other literary compositions. Furthermore,

transitional devices are words or phrases that help carry a thought from one

sentence to another, from one idea to another, or one paragraph to another.

Thus, learning to use transitional devices properly helps an individual to come up

with a better and well- structured paper, essay, or composition (McClellan,

2012).

1
 2

Writing presents a challenge. As one subject or idea concludes, the next

subject or concept must be introduced smoothly. And that is what transitions are

for. Transition literally means “the process or the period of changing from one

state or condition to anotheror passing over and in writing transitions are words,

phrases or clauses that connect one idea to the other” (Lewis, 2015).

Transitional devices help the readers see the connection or relation between

ideas and prevent jarring mental leaps between sentences and paragraphs.

Using transitional devices can be very helpful in creating unity of a text (Willis,

2007).

Writing skills may be developed either deductively or inductively or by

enumerating the following topic sentences in one or two paragraphs. One way to

strengthen coherence within a paragraph is the use of transitional devices that

connect the sentences. A coherent paragraph contains no separate statements.

All the interrelated sentences fit together to produce one thought, or the central

idea. In this regard, transitional devices can be used to attain coherence in a

paragraph. Transitional devices also make a paragraph in order. They make its

movement or sequence of sentences in order and easier to understand. With the

help of transitional devices, the sentence can follow a movement from one time

to the next, from one space to an adjoining space, from one particular statement

to a general statement or conclusion, or from a general statement to a particular

one (Fernando et al., 2000).

 3

Transitional devices are essential, since they do not only connect ideas but

theyalso signal when to emphasize such as: in this case, for this reason, by all

means, first thing to remember, such as, to point out, in fact, after all, indeed,

specifically, etc.; when to contradict such as: instead, despite, otherwise,

rather than, whereas, although, conversely, nonetheless, not withstanding, etc.;

when to restate like: overall, ordinarily, usually, by and large, to sum up, on the

whole, in any event, in either case, all in all, etc.;and when to show space

relationship such as: alongside, in the middle, to the left/right, in front of, on

this side, in the distance, in the center of, etc. (Weber and Stoley, 2011).

The researchers believed that this study is indispensable for it tested and

measured the learning of the respondents regarding their abilities in using

transitional devices. Learning how to appropriately use transitional devices

especially in writing can certainly reinforce effective language learning.

Oftentimes, the researchersbelieved that there are instances of wrong use of

transitional devices that sometimes results to ambiguity. Since writing is

necessary, especially for students, having the knowledge about this would help

them express their thoughts or ideaswell and test their capacity on how good

they are at writing. Expressing what they know in a text with the proper use of

transitional devices is advantageous. Considering the importance of these

transitional devices, the researchers believed that it is necessary to look into the

ability of the sophomore BSED students in using transitional devices within a

paragraph.Moreover, the researchers believed that the findings of the research

 4

can help the students to be familiar and aware in using transitional devices

properly. This may also serve as a ready reference for them.

Statement of the Problem

This study looked into the level of ability of the sophomore BSED students

in using transitional devices within a paragraph.

Specifically, it sought to answer the following questions:

1. What is the profile of the sophomore BSED students in terms of:

a. grade in English 102 (Writing in the Discipline);

b. type of high school graduated from;

c. most preferred reading material; and,

d. exposure to writing:

i. participation in campus paper; and

ii. frequency of participation in writing competitions ?

2. What is the level of ability of the sophomore BSED students in using

transitional devices?

3. Is there arelationship between the level of ability of the students and

their profile?

Significance of the Study

The researchers believe that the result of this study can contribute to the

attainment of quality education in the English language instruction, particularly to

the students, English instructors, school, PSU administrators, and parents.

 5

Education Students. The respondentsare the primary benefits of the result of

the study for it gives them the awareness about their ability in using transitional

devices within a paragraph which moves them into learning more about the said

topic. With this, they can know what, how, and when transitional devices are

used.

English Instructors. This study can help the instructors determine the

strengths and weaknesses of their students in using transitional devices. As

facilitators of learning, the results of this study may be utilized as basis for

choosing better strategies in teaching the topic.

School Administrators.This study can be beneficial to the school

administrators. The findings can serve as an instrument for them to determine

what teaching approach is the most effective and to suggest policy

recommendations in the curriculum of the University that can help improve the

students’ writing skills with the proper use of transitional devices that may

contribute in one way to develop the students’ ability.

Parents. The results of this study may also serve as the basis for the

involvement of the parents in guiding their children’s learning.

Scope and Delimitations

The research study attempted to determine the ability in using transitional

devices in paragraph of the sophomore BSED Students of the Pangasinan State

University, Urdaneta Campus for the Academic Year 2015-2016.

 6

The study is delimited in determining the skill of the respondents in using

the different categories of transitional devices such as space, restatement,

emphasis, and contradiction.

Definitions of Terms

To facilitate understanding of the present study, the following terms are

defined conceptually and/or operationally:

Abilityisa high degree of intelligence or competence (Encarta Dictionaries,

2009). In this study, ability pertains to the skills of the respondents on how to

use transitional devices.

Transitional devicesrefer to the cues that help the readers interpret ideas

upon constructing paragraphs or sentences(Weber and Stoley, 2011). Transitions

are connectives (symbols, words, phrases; sometimes whole sentences and

paragraphs) that make possible a smooth “passing over” from one idea to the

next(Berke and Woodland, 1994). In this study, transitional devices, transitions,

transitional words and phrases are used interchangeably.

Paragraphis a piece of writing that consists of one or more sentences, begins

on a new and often indented line, and contains a distinct idea or the words of

one speaker (Encarta Dictionaries, 2009). In this study, paragraph is the

instrument in which transitional devices are applied.

Categoryis a group or set of things, people, or actions that are classified

together because of common characteristics (Encarta Dictionaries, 2009).In this

study, category refers to the different types of transitional devices.

 7

Spaceis a period or interval of time (Encarta Dictionaries, 2009). In this study,

itrefers to a category of transitional device that functions to restrict, limit, or

qualify space. For example alongside, in the middle, to the left/right, in front of,

on this side, in the distance

Restatementrefers to saying something again, especially in order to clarify or

summarize what has already been said (Encarta Dictionaries, 2009). In this

study, it refers to a category of transitional device used to restate ideas. For

example ordinarily, usually, by and large, to sum up, on the whole, in any event,

in either case

Emphasisrefers to the forcefulness of expression to indicate the importance of

something (Encarta Dictionaries, 2009). In this study, it refers to a category of

transitional device used to emphasize a point.For example obviously, in fact,

indeed, without a doubt, undeniably, without reservation

Contradictionis a statement, or the making of a statement, that opposes or

disagrees with somebody or something (Encarta Dictionaries, 2009). In this

study,itrefers to a category of transitional device used to contradict items. For

example instead, despite, otherwise, rather than, whereas, although, conversely,

nonetheless, notwithstanding.
 Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter provides insights relevant and significant to the present

study. It provides related materials helpful in the formulation of the conceptual

framework.

RELATED LITERATURE

Coherence in the Paragraph

Coherence means “holding together”. It is achieved when sentences and

ideas are connected and follow together smoothly. A paragraph without

coherence can inhibit a reader’s ability to understand the ideas and main points

of the paragraph (Dayne Sherman et al., 2011). Thus, coherence allows the

reader to move easily throughout the paragraph from one idea to the next and

from one sentence to the next. In a coherent paragraph, each sentence relates

clearly to the topic sentence or controlling idea, but there is more to coherence

than this. If a paragraph is coherent, each sentence flows smoothly into the next

without obvious shifts or jumps. A coherent paragraph also highlights the ties

between old and new information to make the structure of ideas or arguments

clear to the reader. Furthermore, according to Dayne Sherman et al. (2011),

there are several methods that can be used to achieve coherence in writing. One

of these is the use of transitional expressions to link ideas, sentences and

8
 9

paragraphs. Transitional expressions such as however, because, therefore and in

addition, are used to establish relationships between ideas, sentences and

paragraphs. They serve as signals to let the readers know how the previous idea,

sentence or paragraph is connected to what follows. On the other hand,

according to Wells Library Information Commons Indiana University (2011),

transitional expressions emphasize the relationships between ideas, so they help

readers follow your train of thought or see connections that they might otherwise

miss or misunderstand. The following paragraph shows how carefully chosen

transitions lead the reader smoothly from the introduction to the conclusion of

the paragraph.

I don't wish to deny that the flattened, minuscule head of the

large-bodied “Stegosaurus” houses little brain from our subjective, top-

heavy perspective, but I do wish to assert that we should not expect

more of the beast. First of all, large animals have relatively smaller

brains than related, small animals. The correlation of brain size with

body size among kindred animals (all reptiles, all mammals, for example)

is remarkably regular. As we move from small to large animals, from

mice to elephants or small lizards to Komodo dragons, brain size

increases, but not so fast as body size. In other words, bodies grow

faster than brains, and large animals have low ratios of brain weight to

body weight. In fact, brains grow only about two-thirds as fast as bodies.

Since we have no reason to believe that large animals are consistently

 10

more stupid than their smaller relatives, we must conclude that large

animals require relatively less brain to do as well as smaller animals. If we

do not recognize this relationship, we are likely to underestimate the

mental power of very large animals, dinosaurs in particular (Stephen Jay

Gould, “Were Dinosaurs Dumb?”).

Another common means of strengthening coherence within a paragraph

and between paragraphs is the use of linking devices, such as conjunctions (and,

but, nor, etc.), personal pronouns (he, she, it, they, etc.) and their possessives,

determiners (such, this, these), adverbs (then, so, later, etc.), and various

transitional words and phrases (afterward, furthermore, however, nevertheless,

notwithstanding, on the other hand, for example, as a matter of fact, etc.).

These sequence signals function as sentence linkers by connecting sentences in

which they appear to previous sentences in which their antecedents have been

used (Fernando, J., P. Habana, and A. Cinco, 2006).

Consistency in the grammatical structure of sentences within the

paragraph is fundamental to coherence. This involves keeping the same subject

not necessarily the same word, as synonyms or pronouns may be used, through

all the sentences, presenting materials from the same point of view and in the

same tone, avoiding shifts in the number and person of pronouns, and keeping

the same tense, voice, and mood of verbs as far as is practicable.

 11

Use of Connecting Words/Use of Connectives

Some sentence pairs come together naturally, however others need a

connecting word in order to show relationship between ideas expressed in a

sentence. Connectives allow us to be more precise about the relationships

between statements in a sentence or between sentences. Particular phrases and

words serve different functions in connecting ideas and arguments (Gillet et al,

2009). The other definition suggests that connectives are joining words that

connect phrases together into longer sentences and improve the flow of writing.

Therefore, they can be used within sentences to link two or more points together

and connectives make our sentences more powerful and help the reader move

smoothly from one point to the next. This serves to make our ideas flow and to

improve the structure of our writing.

There are different types of connectives that can be very useful to link

separate sentences. First is the adding connectives. These connectives are

used to add further information. These connectives include and, moreover, too,

and also as well as. Second are the sequencing connectives wherein these

help to develop the logical sequence of ideas. They enable the writer to show

chronological order. These connectives include before, next, first, after, then,

second, third, eventually, meanwhile, finally, and firstly. Third are the

emphasizing connectives. These help to highlight ideas. These connectives

include above all, especially, indeed, in particular, notably, and significantly.

Fourth are the comparing connectives. These connectives are used to

 12

compare two different ideas with each other to show that they are similar. These

connectives include likewise, similarly, in the same way, like, as with, and

equally. Fifth are the contrasting connectives that use to compare two

different ideas with each other to show that they are different. These

connectives include whereas, alternatively, instead of, otherwise, unlike, and on

the other hand. Sixth are the cause and effect connectives which help to

explain why something happens. These connectives include so, because, thus,

consequently, and therefore. Seventh are the qualifying connectives that

help to explain why something may change because of something else. These

connectives include however, unless, although, as long as, if, and except. Eight

are the illustrating connectives that are used when we want to give an

example of something. These connectives include whereas, otherwise, instead

of, unlike, alternatively, and on the other hand. Ninth are place connectives

that are used to express the position of something. These connectives include

on, inside, within, outside, throughout, near, beyond, among, below, beneath,

to, towards, from, into, out of, and off. Lastly are the temporal connectives

that are used to express time and are usually used to explain when something

happens/ has happened in relation to something. These connectives include

before, during, earlier, later, since, meanwhile, whenever, at + o’clock, in +

hours, already, till, until, now, and by + the time.

Remember that upon writing sentences or paragraphs, these different

kinds of connectives are necessary because they make our writing more
 13

powerful; thus, the paragraph can easily move smoothly from one point to the

next. The use of these connectives is to make our ideas flow from one point to

another and to improve the structure of our writing.

Conjunctions

A conjunction is a word that joins words, phrases and clauses (Gabriel,

and Martires, 2004). It is a word such as and or because used to make

connections between words, phrases and sentences (George Yule, 2010).

Therefore, a conjunction joins things together. From the definition itself,

conjunctions have something to do with the coherence of a paragraph. Like

transitional words, they make the thought of a paragraph flows from one

sentence to the next.

Conjunctions or connectors can be divided into four groups each having a

different use or function in a sentence. In the first group are the common joining

words that connect words or groups of words of equal rank. They are called

coordinating conjunctions or coordinator.

Coordinating conjunctions must connect the same parts of speech—two or

more nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions, phrases, or

clauses. The most common coordinating conjunctions are and, but, or, yet, for,

nor, and so. The second joining group of conjunction is the correlative

conjunctions. Correlative conjunctions join equal elements (parts of speech or

phrases). The correlative conjunctions come in pairs. They are: both...and, just

as...so, not only...but also, either...or, neither...nor, and whether...or. The third
 14

joining group of conjunction is the subordinating conjunctions which

introduce adverb clauses and signal the relationship between the adverb clause

and another clause, usually an independent clause. An adverb clause answers

the question how, when, or why. An independent clause is group of words that

can stand on its own as a complete sentence. The subordinating conjunctions

are: after, although, as, as if, because, before, if, in order that, once, since, so

that, than, though, unless, until, when, where, and while. The last joining group

of conjunction is the conjunctive adverbs which are used to connect two

sentences. They explain how the first sentence relates to the second. The

conjunctive adverbs are: also, anyway, besides, certainly, finally, furthermore,

however, incidentally, indeed, instead, likewise, meanwhile, moreover, namely,

nevertheless, next, now, otherwise, similarly, still, then, therefore, thus, and

undoubtedly. Conjunctive adverbs can be moved to different positions in a clause

(part of a sentence). Independent clauses (parts of a sentence that could stand

alone as a complete sentence), connected by a conjunctive adverb must be

separated by a semicolon or a period, not just a comma (Lunsford, 2003).

Advantages of Reading English Textbooks

Fredericks (2005) asserted that reading textbooks provide several

advantages in the classroom to those who read them. Some of its advantages

include: (1) It provides organized units of work because textbooks give all the

plans and lessons a learner needs to cover; (2) It provides a balanced and

chronological presentation of information; (3) It tells you what to do and when

 15

to do it, meaning everything is carefully spelled out; (4) Good textbooks are

excellent teaching aids as they are an excellent resource for both teachers and

students.

On the other hand, Essberger (2010) outlined a number of many

advantages associated with reading English. First, one can learn vocabulary in

context. This means that as one reads, one usually encounter new words. In this

particular instance, one may not even need to use a dictionary because one can

guess the meaning from the rest of the text, that is, the context. Not only does a

reader learns new words, but he sees them being used naturally, making him

also learn of the proper use of words. Second, reading English is agood model

for writing. When a student reads, it gives him a good example for writing. Texts

that he reads show him structures and expressions that he can use when he

writes. Third, reading English is seeing "correctly structured" English. This is

expected because when people write, they usually use "correct" English with a

proper grammatical structure; otherwise, they may not be able to write a book or

an article at all. While this is true in writing, this may not be true when people

speak. So, by reading you see and learn grammatical English naturally.

On Students’ Writing Skills and Writing Motivations

According to Candy (2010) non-writers think of writing as intangible,

unpaid, and intellectual, so many of them do not have the proper motivation to

write and eventually avoid writing in the process. Tarr (2014), on the other hand,
 16

suggested possible mindset why some people do not have the proper motivation

to write. These include: “but I’m not good enough,” “I don’t have time,” or “I

don’t know what to write about.” These tell us that lack of belief on ones’

writing skills and lack of time aretwo of the most common deterrents that

discourage people to write, or even join a writing competition. Instead of starting

to write, they end up not writing at all.

While some people do not write because they do not have time, some

people do not write because they lack writing skills. In his article, Leef (2013)

revealed that many students enter college with amazingly poor writing ability. He

added that this could be attributed to the fact that no one paid much attention to

their writing while the students were in their K-12 years. Thus, when they enter

college, some students still lack the ability to formulate ideas and to write

cohesive texts. The decline of young people’s writing ability, according to

Morrison (2012), is a serious concern among young people themselves and

among the concerned educators in general. Quoting Professor X, the author of In

the Basement of the Ivory Tower, Leef reported that good writers have read a

lot of quality writing over many years; however, the truth is that, unfortunately,

few high school graduates have read much. Hence, the students enter college

with very poorly developed writing skills. In general, this is also the case in

almost every university throughout the world. He also revealed that one factor

which might contributed to the decline of students’ writing ability is the fact

many faculty members are content merely to jot down a brief comment or two
 17

about a paper and hardly any go through a paper line by line to correct writing

mistakes. This, unfortunately, sends a wrong message to students that content is

the only important and not the way they express it.

Meanwhile, Candy(2010) added that writing is a common dream for

almost all the people. Yet most people who dream about writing don’t actually do

it and there are still some writers who struggle to stay motivated, both external

and internal, and keep writing. Hence, motivation is one of the most important

factors that keep writers writing. In this relation, she provided six things that

might motivate a person to write. First, get motivated. This means that a person

longing to write should accept responsibility for his own actions because no one

else is going to do it for him. It’s a personal choice. Second, create tight

imaginary deadlines for yourself to spur you on. Third, commit to your writing.

She suggested that writing should be a part of one’s routine and keep at it until

it becomes a true habit. Fourth, remove all distractions. Cellphones and internet

connections are considered distractions, so it is better to unplug the phone, turn

off the router, and find a place where you one can effectively write with

undivided attention. Fifth, use motivational tools. Any motivation that could keep

one working is strongly recommended. Sixth, try co-motivation. “Bookmarking” is

one of the most effective co-motivation. By this, one should tell someone his

goal and then update him regularly on his progress.

 18

Benefits of Joining a Writing Contest

According to McPherson (2015), there are actually several sound reasons

for joining writing contests, not just for monetary considerations in the hope of

winning the competition. The aforementioned author revealed that writing

contests provide great experience in writing to a specific topic or theme. This is

very apparent because writing competitions provide the contestants a topic or

theme to write about and judges usually base their judgment on the writing’s

relevance to the topic. Also, contestants get to practice adhering to a word limit,

which is considered very important for professional writing assignments which

also usually favor the brevity of content. Moreover, contestants must write under

a deadline so they get to write fast to meet the deadline.In addition, they get to

practice editing. In doing so, they train themselves not just to be a good writer

but also to be a good editor. In return, contestants receive valuable feedback on

their writing skills and style, which can be used to better their writing skills.

Further, contestants’ work may be noticed, picked up, or published, opening new

doors and paths for future publication of their work. In most of the writing

competitions, some agents are on the lookout for prolific writers; hence, if one’s

work is seen to be excellent, it might catch their attention. Lastly, they build a

network of connections and a platform for future work.

 19

RELATED STUDIES

This section cites and discusses the foreign and local studies related to the

present study. It provides the researchers an understanding on how they

conducted their research.

Foreign Studies

The study of Elahi and Badeleh (2013) had investigated on “A Contrastive

Study on Transitional Markers in English Language Teaching Research Articles

Written by English and Persian Academic Writers.” The study attempted to work

on the distributions of the Transitional Markers in a corpus of thirty articles

related to the discipline of English Language Teaching. In this study, cohesive

elements were narrowed down to a modified list of transitional markers and tried

to find and describe the possible differences between the usage of these markers

in two series of English Language Teaching research articles written both in

English by the native speakers of the language and those written by the Persian

writers who speak English as a foreign Language. It was concluded in the study

that with the help of many cohesive devices, an individual’s piece of academic

writing becomes more fluent in its flow and comprehensible.

The study conducted by Ketabi (2012) was designed to look on, “A

Corpus-based Study of Conjunction Devices in English International Law Texts

and its Farsi Translation.” The study looked into the similarities and differences

of cohesive ties of international law texts in English and Farsi. The research

draws on the model of cohesion in English by Halliday and Hasan (1976) as cited
 20

by Ketabi (2012), to study and analyze the cohesive devices of four English

international law texts and its translation. The study focused on how cohesive

devices are used in every text and its frequency. It also looked into one

particular aspect of cohesive devices namely the function they have on relating

to each other linguistic elements that occur in succession, specifically, the

structural means. It was concluded that the study helps law students and

workers have a better understanding of the regularity of the use of conjunctive

devices in English and Farsi international law text which contributes for them to

lay a solid foundation for the information rendering from the original text into the

target text accurately and smoothly.

The study of Innajih (2007) had investigated on “The Impact of Textual

Cohesive Conjunction on the Reading Comprehension of Fourth Year English

Major Students in Libyan Universities.” It is proposed that among various textual

grammatical features, cohesive devices are used by writers to signal certain

semantic relations and make them explicit. In accordance, cohesive ties such as

reference, substitution, ellipsis, conjunctions and lexical cohesion have been

found to facilitate reading comprehension of L1 and L2 readers if they are

understood and used appropriately. The researchers also pointed out that other

cohesive devices such as conjunctions have a unique role in text structure in a

way that they join the independent sentences forming the text and contribute to

its coherence. By so doing, it is suggested that they facilitate reading

comprehension by guiding the reader to the type of the semantic relations

 21

existing between the linked sentences and “reduce the number of inferences the

reader must make in order to comprehend the subsequent text.” In addition,

according to Halliday and Hasan (1976) as cited by Innajih (2012), the prime

function of conjunction is to “specify the way in which what is to follow is

systematically connected to what has gone before.” The study adopted the

cohesion theory postulated by Halliday and Hasan as the main theoretical

framework. This theory suggested that conjunctions as one of the cohesive

devices contribute to the cohesion of text and consequently facilitate reading

comprehension if they are used properly.

Local Studies

Harold (2003) examined the “Performance of Fourth Year High School

Students in Anaphoric Devices of Cohesion.” The study looked into the

performance of fourth year high school students in anaphoric devices of

cohesion. The objective of the study is to determine the level of comprehension

of the students, their level of performance by subject area, and how selected

variables affect the respondents’ performance. The study also makes use of

cohesion which aims to reveal the process by which a piece of language is

interpreted in discourse. That is, sentences are related in form and in meaning to

become whole. Thus, code elements of syntactic and lexical structures are to be

considered. In a text, when sentences come in succession, one is concerned with

describing not only the structure of individual sentences but also accounting

formal devices of cohesion. The statement of Halliday and Hasan (1976) as cited
 22

by Harold (2012) is also included in the study that is cohesion makes texts hang

together. It occurs when the interpretation of some elements in the discourse is

dependent on that of another. One presupposes the other, in the sense that it

cannot be effectively decoded except by recourse to it.

A study conducted by Villanueva et al. (2010) as cited by Gelido and

Zareno (2014), found out that transitional devices are used in almost all forms of

writing, from the simplest to the most complex. They come in the form of simple

words like connectives, pronouns, and relation words, or they may come in the

form of phrases, sentences, and even in the entire paragraphs. Among other

things, they indicated the directions that composition will take next or the

paragraphs together. In every writing experience, there may be no need for

transition in paragraphs; however, transition paragraphs make writing flow more

smoothly. It was also further stated that there is no important difference in

principle between a sentence transition and in paragraph transition. In fact, one

chief reason for using both terms was to make it perfectly clear that an entire

paragraph, as well as sentences, may be used to make transitions. Naturally, the

same difference in form that may be found among sentence transitions holds

paragraphs.

De Jesus and Niones (2012) had investigated on the “Proficiency in Using

Transitional Words among Junior AB English Students.” The study determined

and analyzed the skill of the junior English major students of Pangasinan State

University, Urdaneta Campus on utilizing eight categories of transitional devices

 23

such as, addition, illustration, consequence, cause, similarity, contrast, time

sequence, and conclusion. In order to come up with a desired result, the

researchers floated some questionnaires to determine the level of proficiency of

the respondents. The researchers then used the descriptive correlational method

of research. The hypothesis was tested at 0.5 level of significance and found out

that there is a significant relationship between the profile of the students and

their ability in using transitional devices. Their grade on their subject Writing in

the Discipline however, has nothing to do with their ability in doing the said test.

In the result of the study, it was found out that the respondents are moderately

proficient in using transitional devices.

Gelido and Zareno (2014) conducted a study on the “Proficiency of Junior

AB English Students in using the selected Nine Categories of Transitional Words

in Sentences.” The research study looked into the proficiency of 107 junior

English major students of Pangasinan State University, Lingayen Campus in using

the nine selected categories of Transitional Devices namely contrast, addition,

effect, spatial, consequence, time sequence, conclusion, similarity, and

illustration. The study aimed to determine the relationship between the

proficiency level of the respondents in using the selected nine (9) categories of

transitional words and profile variables. The researchers found out however that

the profile of the respondents has nothing to do and has no significant

relationship with their ability in using transitions. Significant relation on the other

hand existed between the student’s level of proficiency in using transitional

 24

devices and their GPA in all their English subjects. The researchers of the study

have therefore concluded that students’ ability in using transitional words is

never influenced by their profiles but is dependent to their English grades.

Synthesis of Reviewed Study and Present Study

The reviewed related literature and studies provided concepts, principles

and ideas which are helpful for the present study. The related studies cited and

the present study may have striking similarities and differences.

The study of Elahi and Bedeleh (2013) had investigated on “A Contrastive

Study on Transitional Markers in English Language Teaching Research Articles

Written by English and Persian Academic Writers,” which centers on the different

usage and the frequent use of transitional markers in writing and translating

academic articles. It was stated in the study that with the help of transitional

markers, one’s piece of academic writing becomes more fluent and

comprehensible. It has a similarity with the present study which dealt with use of

transitional devices which helped the flow of ideas clear and helps in preventing

jarring mental leaps between sentences and paragraphs.

Likewise, Ketabi (2012) focused on cohesive devices and examined the

similarities and differences of these cohesive ties of international law texts in

English and Farsi. It has similarities with the present study in the sense that it

also dealt with writing. Aside from that, it proved that the use of conjunctive or

linking devices contributes to the effective forming of text which introduces every

idea smoothly, which the study also aimed to find out.

 25

The study of Innajih (2007) is related to the present study as this

proposed the prime function of cohesive conjunctions i.e. to specify the way in

which what is to follow is systematically connected to what has gone before

thus, contributing to the cohesive ties of texts. Although the study is more on

reading comprehension, it also looked into the importance of conjunctions in text

structures which can be used in the reading activities that give connection to the

present study.

Thestudy of Harold (2013) is related to the present study in the sense that

it dealt with cohesion and the application of cohesive devices. This study

concluded that in order to make texts hang together and become whole, proper

use of linking or cohesive devices must be observed.

Another study conducted byVillanueva et.al (2010) as cited by Gelido and

Zareno (2014), is also similar with the present study for it focused in using

transitional devices that are essentially found in writing compositions. The

differences lie on the respondents, locale and method used in this study.

The study conducted by De Jesus and Niones (2012) is related to the

present study for it also focused on the ability of the junior AB English students

in using transitional devices and the study used the descriptive correlational

method of research. The two investigations only differ in the categories of

transitional devices which are being studied.

The study presented by Gelido and Zareno (2014) has similarities with the

present study as its focus was also in the ability of the English major students in
 26

using transitional devices. The striking differences between the compared studies

are the application of the respondents’ knowledge in using transitions which is

only in the form of a sentence and not of a paragraph, and the categories being

investigated in the study.

Theoretical Framework

The present study is anchored on the English Cohesion Theory proposed

by Halliday and Hasan (1976), as discussed by Innajih (2007). Cohesion in

English has been investigated and analyzed by Halliday and Hasan from the mid-

sixties. Their efforts were fully recognized by the publishing of the valuable book

(Cohesion in English) in 1976. In this book, the relationships between sentences

were the focus of the investigation. Relationships within sentences and clauses

were excluded from their analysis because, as they said, these relations are

structurally related. Clauses and sentences are structurally cohesive with or

without the existence of cohesive ties.

Cohesive relations and the means by which they become explicit have

been the topic of many linguistic studies since the nineteen seventies. Linguists

such as Gutwinski (1976); Halliday and Hasan (1976); and Quirk et al. (1985)

dedicated a considerable amount of their time in studying sentence structure and

text features with the intention of understanding how a text is built up and the

items which contribute to the semantic structure of it.

Cohesion as defined by Halliday and Hasan (1976) is a semantic relation

between sentences to form a unified text. The existence of semantic relations in

 27

a text is realized by certain grammatical and lexical features. Many of these

features contribute to the cohesion of the text. For the concept (cohesion) to be

systematically analyzed and described, Halliday and Hasan divide its components

into a small number of distinct category, grammatical and lexical. Grammatical,

such as reference, substitution and ellipsis, others, such as reiteration and

collocation, are lexical. Conjunctions, however, are partly grammatical and partly

semantic. These conjunctive items are distinguishable in that they do not link

sentences anaphorically or cataphorically as reference, for instance, but they

explicitly signal certain relationships between the pairs of sentences they

connect. This does not mean that these relations are always clear to be studied

or distinguished by the reader. Halliday and Hasan try to draw clear boundaries

between closely related conjunctions. Nevertheless, some of the relations are still

vague.

In addition, Halliday and Hasan (1976) classify cohesive relations which

are made explicit by conjunctions into four semantic relations: additive,

adversative, causal and temporal. These relations are signaled by many

conjunctives. For example, the additive is represented by and, the adversative by

but, the causal by so, and the temporal by then. This major four category

division is followed by a fine description and analysis of conjunctive items which

are composed of one word such as but, and, yet, and so and other phrasal

expressions such as in addition to that, because of that, to sum up, and however

it is.
 28

Since then many linguists, literary critics and teachers of composition and

rhetoric have approached written text from different structural angles using the

cohesion terms suggested by Halliday and Hasan (1976). This positive

environment has encouraged linguists to recognize and analyze more linguistic

features, such as coordination, subordination and unity. The features which are

constructed by the presence of explicit linguistic items such as conjunctions have

attracted the attention of both linguists and teachers of reading skills. The

contributions of conjunctions to text cohesion and reading comprehension have

been recognized, and many applications to text analysis and English language

teaching have taken place.

Conceptual Framework

The foregoing ideas and insights were the guide of the researchers in

conceptualizing the proposed study. The interplay of the independent and

dependent variables strengthened the concept of the present investigation. The

independent variables included the profile of the respondents and the dependent

variable referred to the possible outcome of the study.

The paradigm in Figure 1 illustrates the flow of the study. It was drawn to

show the basic outline and clear concept of the investigation.

 29

Independent Variables Dependent Variable

PROFILE OF THE STUDENTS

IN TERMS OF:

1. Grade in English102
(Writing in the Discipline)

2. Type of High School

Graduated from Ability of the Sophomore
Students in Using
3. Most Preferred Reading Transitional Devices in
Material Paragraph

4. Exposure to Writing
a) participation in
Campus Paper
b) Frequency of
participation in
writing competitions

Figure 1: The paradigm shows the relationship of the respondents’ profile and
their ability in using the four categories of transitional devices.
 Chapter 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter provides the reader a picture of how the researchers

undertook the study. It describes the method of research to be used, the

respondents of the study, the data gathering instruments, the procedure for

data-gathering, and the statistical treatment of data.

Research Design

The descriptive-correlational method of research was used in the study to

determine the skill of the sophomore BSED students in using transitional devices.

Descriptive design according to Manuel and Medel (1976) as cited by

Joaquin (2014) is a type of research that describes the question “what is.”It

involves the description, recording, analysis, and interpretation of the present

nature, composition or processes of phenomena. The focus is on prevailing

conditions, or how a person, group, or thing behaves or functions in the present.

It often involves some type of comparison or contrast. Correlational design, on

the other hand, is designed to determine the relationship of two variables

whether the relationship is perfect, very high, high, marked or moderate, low or

negligible (Paler-Calmorin et al., 2008).

The said method was used in the present study for it was most

appropriate in the investigation that required the identification of sophomore

BSED students with regard to their level of ability in using transitional devices.

30
 31

Respondents of the Study

The respondents of this study included the 25 total population of the

sophomore BSED students enrolled in Pangasinan State University, Urdaneta

Campus during the Second Semester, Academic Year 2015-2016. The complete

list of the names of these students was verified from the records of the

Registrar’s office.

Data-Gathering Instrument

The tool used in gathering the needed data was in the form of a

questionnaire, which was personally designed by the researchers; however, the

topics given in Part II were adopted from the former study of Buhayang and

Ancheta (2014). Part I focused on the respondents’ personal profile which

included their type of high school graduated from, preferred reading material,

and the frequency of their exposure to writing. The respondents’ GPA in English

102 (Writing in the Discipline) as one of the profile variables was no longer

included in the checklist as that was requested from the Registrar to ensure

accuracy. Part IIcentered on writing exercises that focused on the topics

provided and the usage of the four categories of transitional devices such as

space, restatement, emphasis, and contradiction.

Data Collection Procedure

After the tools used in gathering the data were finalized, the researchers

sought the permission and approval of the Campus Executive Director of

Pangasinan State University - Urdaneta Campus, Dr. Paulo V. Cenas, the Dean of
 32

the College of Arts and Education, Dr. Domingo M. Cabarteja, and the

Department Chair of the English Language Department, Marissa E. Sison to

conduct the study to the sophomore BSED students. The researchers also asked

permission from the Registrar for gathering the complete list of the sophomore

BSED students and their GPA on their subject Writing in the Discipline.

Furthermore, the researchers personally floated the questionnaire and

administered the test to the respondents and asked for their cooperation to

accomplish the desired completion of the study. As for the questionnaires’

retrieval, the researchers personally collected them from the respondents. The

questionnaires were checked by one evaluator who was guided by a rubric table

that can be found at appendix H(page 65), which served as the basis on the

proper scoring of the said papers.

Statistical Treatment of Data

All the data gathered were processed manually. They were classified and

tabulated accordingly, then analyzed and interpreted based on their

corresponding frequencies and percentages.

For question 1, the respondents’ profile, the result was presented using

frequency counts and percentage distribution.

In particular, the grade of the respondents was described using the rating

scaleon the next page as suggested by statisticians:

 33

GRADE RANGE DESCRIPTIVE RATING

1.5 – 1.0 Outstanding
2.0 – 1.75 Very Good
2.5 – 2.25 Good
3.0 – 2.75 Fair
4.0 – 5.0 Poor

For question 2, the level of ability of the sophomore BSED students in

using transitional devices, the researchers used the descriptive statistics:

frequency, percentage, and mean.

In particular, the level of the respondents’ ability in using transitional

devices was described using the following rating scale:

SCORE RANGE EQUIVALENT RATING

49 – 60 Very Good
36 – 48 Good
24 – 35 Fair
12 – 23 Poor
1 – 11 Very Poor

In addition, the overall ability of the respondents in using the four

categories of transitional devices was described using the following scale:

MEAN RANGE EQUIVALENT RATING

13 – 15 Very High
10 – 12 High
7–9 Average
4–6 Poor
1–3 Very Poor
 34

As for question 3, which investigated therelationshipbetween the level of

ability of the students in using transitional devices and their profile, Spearman’s

Rho, Point Biserial Correlation and Pearson Chi-Square were used to elicit the

needed data along with the scale and its corresponding interpretation below.

R Interpretation
1.00 Perfect Correlation
±0.75 – ±0.99 High Positive/Negative Correlation
±0.51 – ±0.74 Moderately High Positive/Negative Correlation
±0.31 – ±0.50 Moderately Low Positive/Negative Correlation
±0.01 – ±0.30 Low Positive/Negative Correlation
0 No Correlation
 Chapter 4

PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

This chapter presents the findings of the study together with the analysis

of the data gathered which were analyzed and interpreted according to the

specific problems formulated.

PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENTS

Final Grades in English 102 (Writing in the Discipline): Table 1 presents

the frequency counts and percentage distribution of the sophomore BSED

students’ final grade in the course Writing in the Discipline from which the

respondents learned about the present study.

Table 1

Final Grade of the Sophomore BSED Students in Writing in the

Discipline

GRADE RANGE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE DESCRIPTIVE

EQUIVALENT

1.75 – 2.00 3 12 Very Good

2.25 – 2.5 12 48 Good

2.75 – 3.0 10 40 Fair

TOTAL 25 100

35
 36

As shown in Table 1, the grades of the respondents in the course Writing

in the Discipline ranges from fairto very good; not one of the respondents got

outstanding nor poor. Taken singly, it can be seen that only 3 or 12% of the

total respondents obtained a verygood grade. Furthermore, it can be noted that

majority of the respondents, that is 12 or 48%, obtained a good grade. Lastly,

the remaining 10 respondents (40%) incurred a fair grade.

The findings are similar from the study of De Jesus and Niones (2012)

which reflected that majority of the respondents’ final grade in Writing in the

Discipline also ranges from fair to very good. The only difference, however, is

that there were more respondents who obtained very good grades in the study

of De Jesus and Niones than in the present study.

Students’ Profile in termsof the Type of High School Graduated From,

Most Preferred Reading Material, and Exposure to Writing: Table 2

presents the frequency counts and percentage distribution of the sophomore

BSED students in terms of the following: (1) the type of high school they

graduated from, that is, public or private; (2) their most preferred reading

material which revealed the most preferred reading materials of the respondents

among the choices such as textbooks, pocketbooks, newspapers, magazines,

journals, and online reading materials;(3) their exposure to writing whether or

not they have participated in their Campus Paper; and (4) the frequency of their

participation in any writing competitions.

 37

Table 2

Profile of the Respondents in terms of theType of High School

Graduated From, Most Preferred Reading Material, Participation in
Campus Paper, and Frequency of Participation in Writing Competitions

CATEGORIES FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

TYPE OF HIGH Public 25 100
SCHOOL
GRADUATED FROM TOTAL 25 100
Textbooks 21 84
Pocketbooks 1 4
MOST PREFERRED Online
READING MATERIAL Reading 3 12
Material
TOTAL 25 100
Yes 5 20
PARTICIPATION IN
No 20 80
CAMPUS PAPER
TOTAL 25 100
Once 7 28
FREQUENCY OF 2 to 3 times 4 16
PARTICIPATION IN 4 times and
WRITING 1 4
above
COMPETITIONS Never 13 52
TOTAL 25 100

As can be gleaned from table 2, all of the respondents, that is, 25 out of

the 25 sophomore BSED Students, graduated from publicschools. This is to say

that all the respondents spent their secondary education in public schools and

none of them studied from private schools.

Also, it shows that out of 25 students, 21 or 84% of the respondents

preferred reading textbooks; 3 or 12% of the respondents selected online

reading materials; 1 or 4% of them favored pocketbooks; whereas, none of the

respondents preferred reading newspapers, magazines and journals.

 38

The data imply that most of the respondents preferred to read textbooks

as evidenced by having the highest percentage among the choices, followed by

online reading materials and pocketbooks, respectively. However, newspapers,

magazines, and journals are not preferred by the respondents.

This could be attributed to the fact that reading textbooks provide several

advantages to those who read them (Fredericks, 2005). Since the respondents

are enrolled and presently studying, they are more inclined to use textbooks than

any other type of reading materials to supplement their learning and eventually

apply it in the class discussion. According to the aforementioned author, most

textbooks are accompanied by teacher guides, which provide individuals with

supplemental ideas, and activities to use throughout the academic year. They

provide organized units of work and give all the plans and lessons needed to

cover a topic in some detail. They help and provide individuals with a balanced,

chronological presentation of information and a lot more at that. Accordingly, the

respondents chose textbooks because of its many benefits to them, especially in

their academic performance.

Moreover, the table shows that only 5 or 20% out of the 25 respondents

were able to participate in their campus paper; whereas, 20 or 80% of the

respondents have not participated at all.

From the data shown, it was reflected that only a number of the students

have participated in any campus paper; however, most of them did not.
 39

One of the factors that contributed to the result could be the students’

lack of desire and commitment brought about by the lack of time to join and

participate in a campus paper. In any writing organization, desire and

commitment are vital requirements as they demand the students’ time, focus,

and attention in writing for the campus paper. Being a member of any campus

paper carries with it a big responsibility as it demands a lot of time to cover and

write a story or news that could be daunting on the part of the students, thereby

choosing not to join a campus paper. Tarr (2014), in his article, revealed that

one of the reasons why few people write is the lack of time indicated by the

statement “I don’t have time.” From the data gathered, it can be logically

concluded that most of the students lack the desire and commitment to join a

campus paper because they lack the time to write stories or news.

In addition, lack of writing ability could also be a factor that led the

students to not participate in a campus paper. It should be remembered that one

of the primary qualifications of one desiring to be a writer is the ability to write.

Otherwise, one could not be a member of a campus paper. Also, most, if not all,

of the campus papers conduct a screening to determine whether or not an

aspirant writer has the ability to write to be qualified in the campus paper. The

lower the ability of the students to write, the lower their chance to become a

member of a campus paper. The result of the test administered by the

researchers support this conclusion as most of the respondents performed poorly

in the test, signifying their lack of writing ability and their inability to apply the
 40

rules of transitional devices in its proper usage. This conclusion finds support

with the study of Leef (2013) who revealed that many students, unfortunately,

enter college with poor writing ability. He also added that some students still lack

the ability to formulate ideas and to write cohesive texts, which in Morrison’s

work (2012) is a serious concern among young people themselves and among

the concerned educators in general.

In addition, the table shows that out of the 25 respondents, 7 or 28% of

them were able to participate once; 4 or 16% of them tried to participate 2 to 3

times; and only 1 or 3.7% of them has participated 4 times and above.

Moreover, the highest number, that is 13 or 52% of the respondents have never

tried joining any writing competitions.

As can be seen from the data, it was reflected that most of the students

have never experienced to join writing competitions. However, there were still a

few number of students who were able to participate and experience joining

writing competitions.

The data suggest that only a few of the respondents believe that they

possess a writing ability worthy of competing against any other individuals.

Otherwise, the students would not participate in any writing competition if they

themselves did not believe that they possess a writing ability. In any other case,

this could also mean that only a few of them are seen and believed to have a

writing ability which could have been the basis for pushing and encouraging

them to join a writing competition. This is often the case when one of the
 41

teachers, if not all, saw the writing ability of a student, often leading one to

encourage a student to join a writing competition. This inference is particularly

compatible with the claim of Tarr (2014) which tell us that lack of belief on ones’

writing skills is one of the most common deterrents that discourage an aspiring

writer to write, more so to write in a writing competition.

Students’ Ability in Using Transitional Devices: Table 3 summarizes the

test result of the sophomore BSED students on the use of transitional devices in

paragraph.

Table 3

Level of Ability of the Sophomore BSED Students in Using

Transitional Devices in Paragraph

SCORE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE DESCRIPTIVE

RANGE EQUIVALENT
13-24 23 92 Poor

0-12 2 8 Very Poor

TOTAL 25 100

As shown in table 3, it is evident that majority of the respondents’ score in

the test are poor. In particular, it can be gleaned from the table that 23 or 92%

of the respondents fared poorlyin the test as can be seen by its corresponding

rating, that is, poor. On the other hand, 2 or 8% of the respondents performed

very poorlyin the test as their test scores were rated very poor.
 42

The finding suggests that using the four categories of transitional devices

in a paragraph was found to be challenging among sophomore BSED students.

This is to say further that they had difficulties applying the rules of transitional

devices in the writing activity administered by the researchers. It also suggests

that the students were not able to apply what they have learned in the course

Writing in the Discipline. As evidenced by the respondents’ grade presented in

table 1, most of the respondents obtained a grade ranging from fair to very

good. Consequently, this affected their performance in the administered test.

The result of this study, however, differs from the study conducted by

Gelido and Zareno (2014) which reflected that majority of the students’ ability in

using transitional devices ranges from fair to good. One of the primary reasons

could be the course of the respondents; the respondents of the aforementioned

study are AB English students while the respondents of this study are BSED

students. Basically, the AB English students are more exposed to writing; hence,

the better knowledge they have in terms of the English grammar which

encompasses the use of transitional devices that might have led them to a better

performance than the BSED students. Furthermore, the curriculum of the AB

English is focused on training the students to become effective and efficient

writers; thus, the degree offers the respondents more subjects related to

grammar. Accordingly, they get more accustomed to the rules of the transitional

devices, giving them a disadvantage over the BSED students who have only one

subject related to transitional devices.

 43

Students’ Use of the Four Categories of Transitional Devices: Table 4

presents the mean or the expected value of the set of the four categories of

transitional devices and its descriptive equivalent. The results are presented on

the next page.

Table 4

Overall Ability of the Sophomore BSED Students in Using the Four

Categories of Transitional Devices

MEAN DESCRIPTIVE
EQUIVALENT
Space 3 Very Poor

Emphasis 5 Poor

Restatement 4 Poor

Contradiction 4 Poor

Overall Mean 4 Poor

As can be gleaned from Table 7, of the four categories of transitional

devices, emphasis has the highest number of correct answers with a mean of 5

which indicates poor ability. Hence, it could be concluded that the respondents

had the highest ability in using transitional devices under the category of

emphasis. This is supported by their performance in the test as shown in the

mean of their scores. Second is contradiction with a mean of 4 which also

indicates poor ability. This simply means that the respondents also performed

better in this category than the remaining three categories as established by the
 44

mean of their scores. Third is restatement with a mean of 4 which again

indicates poor ability. Fourth is space, which has the lowest number of correct

answers, with a mean of 3 which indicates very poor ability. This is simply

interpreted as the category of transitional devices with which the respondents

performed very poorly as revealed by the mean of their scores. Among the four

categories, this is where the respondents have had the most difficulties to the

extent that they scored very poorly in the given test.

Further, the findings suggest that the students are most knowledgeable in

emphasizing thoughts as they got the highest number of correct answers in the

emphasis category of transitional devices. The students are, on the other hand,

more knowledgeable by contradicting items, which corresponds to the

contradiction category of transitional devices. Furthermore, it can be gleaned

from the analysis of data that most of the students have had difficulties in

restating ideas, that which corresponds to the restatement category of

transitional devices, and in restricting and qualifying space, which corresponds to

the space category of transitional devices. Hence, the data indicate that the

students are knowledgeable in these categories, restatement and space, though

only at a certain degree. This degree, however, is very low as indicated by the

corresponding mean of the last two categories.

Overall, their ability in using transitional devices in a paragraph, as

indicated by the overall mean (4) is still considered poor.

 45

Relationship of the Students’ Level of Ability with Their Profile: Table 5

shows the relationship between the level of ability of the students in using

transitional devices in a paragraph and their profile in terms of grade in writing in

the discipline, most preferred reading material, participation in campus paper,

and frequency of participation in writing competition.

Table 5

Correlation between the Students’ Level of Ability and Profile Variables

PROFILE OF THE CORRELATION

INTERPRETATION
RESPONDENTS VALUE

Grade in Writing in the Discipline 0.282 Moderately Low Positive

Most Preferred Reading Material 0.774 High Positive

Participation in Campus Paper 0.127 Low Positive
Frequency of Participation in
0.690 Moderately High Positive
Writing Competition

As shown intable 5, each variable in the profile of the respondents has a

different value when correlated with their level of ability in using the four

categories of transitional devices. The variable grade in Writing in the Discipline

has a correlation value of 0.282 which indicates a moderately low positive

relationship; the variable most preferred reading material has a correlation value

of 0.774 which indicates a high positive relationship; the variable participation

in campus paper has a correlation value of 0.127 which indicates a low positive

relationship; and the variable frequency of participation in writing competition

has a correlation value of 0.690 which indicates a moderately high positive

relationship.
 46

In particular, the data imply that the performance of the respondents in

their subject Writing in the Discipline do affect their level of ability in using

transitional devices. This further denotes that as their grade in Writing in the

Discipline increases, their score or ability in using transitional devices in a

paragraph also increases. Consequently, a low grade in the said subject also

suggests a low score in using transitional devices. However, since the data only

indicated a “moderately low positive” relationship, the possibility of the grade in

Writing in the Discipline affecting the level of ability in using transitional devices

is at a low percentage.

Furthermore, the computed correlation value between the preferred

reading material and the ability in using transitional devices indicated a “high

positive” correlation. This simply denotes a very high possibility of correlation

between the two variables, that is, the more the respondents read textbooks, the

more they increase their ability in using transitional devices in paragraph. The

same is true with the opposite, that is, the lesser the respondents read

textbooks, the more they decrease their ability in using transitional devices in

paragraph. Fredericks (2005) asserted that reading textbooks provide several

advantages to those who read them. In this case, it can be argued that the more

the respondents read textbooks, especially English grammar textbooks, the more

they learn about the use of transitional devices and the more they are exposed

to the proper uses of transitional devices which could lead them to a more

enhanced writing ability. Hence, the more exposure to textbooks, the more they
 47

familiarize themselves in the use of transitional devices in a paragraph, making it

easier for them to apply it in writing activities such as writing essays. In relation,

Professor X, as quoted by Leef (2013) observed that good writers have read a lot

of quality writing over many years; however, the truth is that, unfortunately, few

high school graduates have read much. Hence, the students enter college with

very poorly developed writing skills.

In addition, the computed correlation value between the respondents’

participation in campus paper and the ability in using transitional devices

indicated a “low positive”correlation. This denotes that the greater the

participation of the respondents in a campus paper, the higher their ability in

using transitional devices. On the other hand, the little the participation of the

respondents in a campus paper, the lower their ability in using transitional

devices. Based on the gathered data, majority of the students have no

participation in a campus paper, so it could be reported that those students had

also poor ability in using transitional devices in a paragraph. However, since the

data only indicated a “low positive” relationship, the possibility of the

respondents’ participation in campus paper affecting the level of ability in using

transitional devices is at a very low percentage.

On the other hand, the computed correlation value between the frequency

of their participation in writing competitions and the ability in using transitional

devices indicated a “moderately high positive”correlation.This further denotes

that as the frequency of the respondents’ participation in writing competitions

 48

gets higher, their ability in using transitional devices in a paragraph also gets

higher. Conversely, as their frequency of participation in writing competitions

gets lower, their ability in using transitional devices in a paragraph also gets

lower. This relationship could easily be justified when one takes into

consideration that those who join writing competitions possess a writing ability

worthy of competing against any other individuals; otherwise, they would not

join at all. Accordingly, the students who had joined a writing competition have

the higher ability in using transitional devices. This is justified because students

who had joined writing competitions get to practice their writing and editing skills

every time they join. In doing so, they train themselves not just to be a good

writer but also to be a good editor. In return, contestants receive valuable

feedback on their writing skills and style (McPherson, 2015), which can be used

to better their writing skills; hence, it is but expected that those with experience

in joining writing competitions possess better writing skills than those who had

no experience. Based on the gathered data, majority of the students had no

participation in any writing competitions, so it could be reported that the majority

have also poor ability in using transitional devices in a paragraph. Also, since the

data indicated a “moderately positive” relationship, the possibility of the

frequency of the respondents’ participation in writing competitions affecting the

level of ability in using transitional devices in a paragraph is at an average

percentage.
49
 Chapter 5

SUMMARY, FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter presents the summary of findings, the conclusions

formulated from the findings, and the recommendations made by the

researchers for possible course of action.

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

Based on the analysis of the gathered data, the following are the findings

of the study:

1. Profile of the Respondents

a) Final grade in Writing in the Discipline. As for the respondents’

grade in Writing in the Discipline, only 3 or 12% of the respondents

have a “very good academic performance.” Also, 12 or 48% have

“good academic performance.” However, 10 or 40% obtained only a

rating of “fair academic performance.”

b) Type of High School Graduated From. All the twenty five (25) or

100% of the respondents spent their secondary education from public

schools.

c) Most Preferred Reading Material. Most of the respondents

preferred textbooks, 21 or 84%; online reading materials, 3 or 12%;

and pocketbooks 1 or 4% as their reading materials.

50
 51

d) Exposure to Writing

i. Participation in Campus Paper. As for the respondents’

Participation in Campus Paper, only 5 or 20% participated and 20

or 80% of them have never joined.

ii. Frequency of Participation in Writing Competitions.

Moreover, 13 or 52% of the respondents have never participated in

any writing competitions; 7 or 28% have participated once; 4 or

16% have participated 2 to 3 times; and only 1 or 4% has

participated four times and above.

2. Level of Ability of the Sophomore BSED Students in Using

Transitional Devices in Paragraph. On writing paragraphs, 23 or 92%

obtained “poor rating”; whereas, 2 or 8% have “very poor rating.”

Moreover, among the four categories used in paragraph writing, emphasis

got the highest number of correct answers with a mean of 5. Second is

contradiction with a mean of 4. Third is restatement with a mean of 4.

Last in the rank is space with a mean of 3.The overall mean is 4 which

indicates poor ability.

3. Relationship of the Students’ Ability with their Profile

a) The variable grade in Writing in the Discipline (0.282) indicated a

moderately low positive relationship with the respondents’ ability of

using transitional devices;

 52

b) The variable most preferred reading material (0.774) indicated a high

positive relationship with the respondents’ ability of using transitional

devices;

c) The variable participation in campus paper (0.127) indicated a low

positive relationship with the respondents’ ability of using transitional

devices; and

d) The variable frequency of participation in writing competition (0.690)

indicated a moderately high positive relationship with the

respondents’ ability of using transitional devices.

CONCLUSIONS

Based from the significant findings of the study, the following conclusions

are formulated:

1. The students are all public school graduates. Most of them have a

preference of textbooks as reading materials, have never been exposed to

writing,and havea grade ranging from fair to very good.

2. The students have poor ability in using transitional devices in a paragraph.

3. The profile of the respondents has a positive influence with their ability in

using transitional devices within a paragraph.

 53

RECOMMENDATIONS

In connection with the findings and conclusions arrived at, the researchers

suggest the following recommendations:

1. Students are encouraged to use English textbooks as their reading

material, especially those related with transitional devices and those which

have something to do with writing exercises to help them improve their

skills in formulating well-developed paragraphs using transitional devices.

Moreover, students are encouraged to give more attention in using and

applying the rules of the English language for their own benefits,

especially for their academic improvement.

2. English instructors are encouraged to prepare instructional materials

particularly designed to enhance the ability of the students in writing

unified texts using transitional devices.This would help the students in

expressing their thoughts in a cohesive way. They are further encouraged

to utilize teaching techniques that would effectively and efficiently teach

English grammar to non-English major students and to include more

lessons on writing paragraphs and cohesive devices in the subject Writing

in the Discipline as this would significantlyimprove the students’ ability

along the said area.

3. Similar studies should be conducted to include other categories of

transitional devices which are not included in this study.

 54

BIBLIOGRAPHY
A. BOOKS

Broukal, M. (2004). Grammar Form and Function 3.McGraw – Hill

Companies, Inc.

Fernando, J., Habana, P., & Cinco, A. (2006). New Perspectives in

English One.Rex Bookstore Inc.

Gabriel, Josefina P. &Martires, E. M. (2003).English III. 53 – D Don

Alejandro Roces Avenue, QC, Philippines. Saint Bernadette
Publications, Inc.

Hopkins, D. & Cullen, P. (2007). Grammar for IELTS with Answers.

Cambridge University Press.

Lunsford, A. A. (2003). The St. Martin’s Handbook (Fifth Edition). Saint

Martin Press.

Paler-Calmorin, L. &Calmorin, M. (2007). Research Methods and Thesis

Writing (2 Edition). Quezon City. REX Printing Company, Inc.
nd

Sherman, D., Slawson, J., Whitton, N., & Weimelt, J. (2010). The Little,
Brown Handbook (11th Edition).Southeastern Writing Center.

Yule, G. (2006).The Study of Language (Fourth Edition).Cambridge

University Press.

B. UNPUBLISHED THESES/DISSERTATIONS

Buhayang, C., & Ancheta, J. K. (2014). Student’s Performance in

Paragraph Writing Using Cohesive Devices. Unpublished thesis,
Pangasinan State University, Uradaneta Campus.
De Jesus, R.&Niones, S.(2012). Proficiency in Using Transitional Words
among Junior AB English Students.Unpublished thesis, Pangasinan
State University, Urdaneta Campus.

Elahi, M. & Badeleh, M. T.(2013). A Contrastive Study on Transitional

Markers in English Language Teaching Research Articles Written
by English and Persian Academic. Golestan University of Medical
Sciences, Gorgan, Iran.
 55

Gelido, R.B. & Zareno, J. B.(2004). Proficiency of Junior AB English

Students in Using the Selected Nine (9) Categories of Transitional
Words in Sentences. Unpublished thesis, Pangasinan State
University, Lingayen Campus.

Harold, N. L.(2003).Performance of Fourth Year High School Students in

Anaphoric Devices of Cohesion. Unpublished thesis, Benguet State
University.
Innajih, A. A.(2007). The Impact of Textual Cohesive Conjunctions on the
Reading Comprehension of 4th Year English Major Students in
Libyan Universities. Unpublished thesis, University of Newcastle
Upon Tyne.

Ketabi, S.(2012).A Corpus-based Study of Conjunction Devices in

English International Law Texts and its Farsi Translation.
Unpublished thesis, Islamic Azad University.

C. ELECTRONIC RESOURCES

Berke, J. & Woodland, R. (1994). Twenty Questions for the Writer.

Retrieved onNovember 2015 from,
http://www.uark.edu/campus-
resources/qwrtcntr/resources/handouts/transitions.htm

Candy, A. (2014). Motivation Tips that Actually Work: 6 Sure-Fire Ways To

Get Writing and Keep Writing. Retrieved ON April 20, 2016 from,
http://writetodone.com/motivation-tips-that-actually-work-6-sure-
fire-ways-to-get-writing-and-keep-writing/

Gillet, A., Hammond, A., & Martala M. (2009).Using English for

Academic Purposes, Academic Writing.Retrieved on December
2015 from,www.services.unimelb.edu.au/academicskills

Essberger, J. (2010). Improve your English through Reading. Retrieved on

April 27, 2016, from: https://www.englishclub.com/esl-
articles/200003.htm

Fredericks, A.(2005). “Textbooks: “Advantages and Disadvantages.”

Retrieved on March 20, 2016 from,
www.ttuhsc.edu/sop/faculty/document/textbooks.pdf

Lewis, A. (August 2015). WordWeb. Retrieved on November 2015from,

WordWebSoftware.com
 56

Lualhati, R. (March 29, 2014). Transitional Devices. Retrieved on

November 2015 from,
https://prezi.com/3rdptjum 29u9/descriptive.method/

McClellan, L. (2012). Transitional Words.Retrieved on November2015

from, https://simplewriting.org/

McPherson, M. (2015). Why Writers Should Enter Free Writing Contests.

Retrieved on April 20, 2016 from,
http://www.livewritethrive.com/2015/05/25/why-writers-should-
enter-free-writing-contests/

Microsoft Encarta. 2009. Microsoft Corporation.

Morrison, D. (2012). The Decline Of Student Writing and What Instructors

can do About It. Retrieved on April 20, 2016 from,
https://onlinelearninginsights.wordpress.com/2012/09/11/the-
decline-of-student-writing-and-what-instructors-can-do-about-it/

What are connectives? Retrieved on November 2015 from,

www.theschoolrun.com/what-are-connectives

Weber, R. & Stoley, C. (2011). Transitional Devices (Connectives).

Retrieved onDecember 2015 from,
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/574/02/

Wells Library Information Commons Indiana University (2011).

Paragraphs and Coherence.Retrieved: November 2015.
Retrieved from:www.indiana.edu/~wts/

Willis, M.A (2007).Transitions and Transitional Devices.Retrieved:

December 2015. Retrieved from: https://owl.englishpurdue.edu/

Tarr, J. C. (2014). Why Not Enter a Family History Writing Competition?

Retrieved on April 20, 2016 from,
http://www.familyhistorywritingchallenge.com/a-writing-tool-for-
motivation-and-focus/

Transitonal Devices.Retrieved on November 2015 from,

www.uark.edu/campus.resources/qwrtent/resources/handouts/tran
sitions.htm
 57

APPENDIX A
Questionnaire
Dear Students:
The researchers are currently conducting a study entitled “Ability of the
Sophomore BSED Students in Using Transitional Devices in Paragraph”. In relation to
this, you are chosen to be one of the respondents. Your kind cooperation in answering
this questionnaire will be a big help for the completion of this study. Rest assured that the
result of this will be fully confidential.
PART I. Student’s Profile
Name: ________________________________
Directions: Below are checklists used to gather personal information about the
respondents. On the space provided, put a check mark (√) on the choice that corresponds
to your answer.
1. Type of High School Graduated from
_____ Public
_____ Private
2. Most preferred reading material
_____ Textbooks _____ Magazines
_____ Pocketbooks _____ Journals
_____ Newspapers _____ Online Reading Materials
3. Exposure to Writing
A. Have you participated in your Campus Paper?
_____ YES _____ NO
B. How many times have you participated in writing competitions?
_____ Once
_____ 2 – 3 times
_____ 4 times – above
_____ Never

PART II. Test Proper

Directions: Choose three from any of the given topics below. In each topic, make an
essay. Each essay should have at least five transitional devices from each categories
provided in the box on the next page. Write your answers on the blank sheet provided.
 58

TOPICS
 A good name is more desirable than great riches.
 Difficulties are blessing in disguise.
 Loneliness is a growing problem of the society.
 What difficulties have challenged you most?
 I learned the value of honesty the hard way.
 Too much love will kill you

TRANSITIONAL DEVICES
TO SHOW SPACE RELATIONSHIP
alongside, between, beyond, before, next, within, the following, across, over, from…to,
around, beneath, beside, behind, in the middle, to the right/left, in front of, on this side, in
the distance, here and there, in the background, in the center of, opposite to

TO SIGNAL EMPHASIS
obviously, in fact, indeed, without a doubt, without reservation, in general, in particular,
in detail, to demonstrate, to emphasize, to repeat, to clarify, to explain, to enumerate,
such as, to point out, for example, for instance

TO RESTATE IDEAS
ordinarily, usually, by and large, to sum up, on the whole, in any event, in either case,
overall, all in all, given this point, as shown above, in other words, for the most part, on
balance

TO CONTRADICT ITEMS
instead, despite, otherwise, rather than, whereas, although, conversely, nonetheless,
notwithstanding, however, nevertheless, regardless
 59

APPENDIX B

Letter of Permission to the Campus Executive Director

Republic of the Philippines

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Urdaneta City Campus
Urdaneta City, Pangasinan

_____________________

PAULO V. CENAS, Ed.D.

Campus Executive Director
PSU-Urdaneta Campus

Sir:

We, the undergraduate AB in English students of Pangasinan State University, Urdaneta Campus, are
currently conducting a thesis entitled “Ability of the Sophomore Students in Using Transitional Devices
in Paragraph.” In connection with this, may we humbly ask for your permission to allow us to float our
research questionnaire to the Sophomore BSED students.

Your favorable action to this request will truly help us in the completion of our research work. Rest assured
that all information to be gathered will be used solely for research purposes.

Thank you very much and more power.

Respectfully yours,

ALEXIS M. GAVISAN

ABEGAIL L. ESPERANZA
Researchers

Noted:

RUBY F. AMADO, MAEd. MARISSA E. SISON, MAEd.

Adviser Chair, English Language Department

DOMINGO M. CABARTEJA, Ed.D.

Dean, College of Arts and Education

Approved:

PAULO V. CENAS, Ed.D.

Campus Executive Director
 60

APPENDIX C
Letter to the College Dean

Republic of the Philippines

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Urdaneta City Campus
Urdaneta City, Pangasinan

_____________________

DOMINGO M. CABARTEJA, Ed.D

Dean, College of Arts and Education
PSU-Urdaneta Campus

Sir:

We, the undersigned students of Pangasinan State University, Urdaneta Campus, would like to
request from your good office to please allow us to conduct a research on the “Ability of the
Sophomore Students in Using Transitional Devices in Paragraph,” in the College of Arts and
Education specifically, in the Bachelor of Arts in English Program. .

Rest assured that all the information to be gathered will be treated with much confidentiality. It
will solely be used for research purposes and will provide data that can be essential for linguistic
improvement.

Respectfully yours,

ALEXIS M. GAVISAN

ABEGAIL L. ESPERANZA
Researchers

Noted:

RUBY F. AMADO, MAEd.

Adviser
 61

APPENDIX D
Request Letter to the Registrar

Republic of the Philippines

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Urdaneta City Campus
Urdaneta City, Pangasinan

_______________________

MRS. SUSAN G. MENDOZA

Registrar
PSU-Urdaneta Campus

Madam:

We, the undersigned undergraduate students of Pangasinan State University Urdaneta Campus,
are presently conducting a research entitled “Ability of the Sophomore Students in Using
Transitional Devices in Paragraph.” In connection to this, we are writing to request for the
official list of the Sophomore BSED Students enrolled for the Second Semester of Academic
Year 2015-2016, with their corresponding grades in the subjects Eng. 102 (Writing in the
Discipline). This is to determine the number of our respondents for our research.

We are hoping for your positive response. Rest assured that the data from your office will be
exclusively used for this study.

Thank you very much.

Respectfully yours,

ALEXIS M. GAVISAN

ABEGAIL L. ESPERANZA
Researchers

Noted:

RUBY F. AMADO, MAEd.

Adviser
 62

APPENDIX E
Letter of Permission to the Chair of English Language Department

Republic of the Philippines

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Urdaneta City Campus
Urdaneta City, Pangasinan

_____________________

MARISSA E. SISON, MAEd.

Chair, English Language Department
PSU-Urdaneta Campus

Madam:

We, the undersigned students of Pangasinan State University, Urdaneta Campus, would like to
request For your permission to allow us to conduct a research on the “Ability of the Sophomore
Students in Using Transitional Devices in Paragraph” in the said campus.

Rest assured that all the information to be gathered will be treated with much confidentiality. It
will solely be used for research purposes and will provide data that can be essential for linguistic
improvement.

Respectfully yours,

ALEXIS M. GAVISAN

ABEGAIL L. ESPERANZA
Researchers

Noted:
RUBY F. AMADO, MAEd.
Adviser

Approved:

MARISSA E. SISON, MAEd.

Chair, English Language Department
 63

APPENDIX F
Letter of Permission to the Instructor

Republic of the Philippines

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Urdaneta City Campus
Urdaneta City, Pangasinan

_____________________

MR. MARK DARREL P. PARAYNO

Faculty, College of Arts and Education
PSU-Urdaneta Campus

Sir:

We, the undersigned students of the AB in English program, are currently conducting our
research entitled “Ability of the Sophomore Students in Using Transitional Devices in
Paragraph.” In connection to this, we would like to request from your good office to allow us to
float our questionnaire to the Sophomore BSED students.

Rest assured that all the information to be gathered will be treated with much confidentiality. It
will solely be used for research purposes and will provide data that can be essential for linguistic
improvement.

Respectfully yours,

ALEXIS M. GAVISAN

ABEGAIL L. ESPERANZA
Researchers

Noted:

RUBY F. AMADO, MAEd.

Adviser
 64

APPENDIX G
Letter to the Respondents

Republic of the Philippines

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Urdaneta City Campus
Urdaneta City, Pangasinan

Dear Respondents:

We, the undergraduate AB in English students of Pangasinan State University, Urdaneta Campus,
would like to request for your support and cooperation in answering the questionnaire in relation
to our study entitled, “Ability of the Sophomore Students in Using Transitional Devices in
Paragraph.”

Rest assured that all information to be gathered will be used solely for research purposes.

Sincerely yours,

ALEXIS M. GAVISAN

ABEGAIL L. ESPERANZA
Researchers

Noted:

RUBY F. AMADO, MAEd.

Adviser
 65

Appendix H
Rubric Table for Evaluators
Directions: Please rate the output of the respondents based on the rubric table below. Give
corresponding points using the following scale:
Scale Descriptive Rating
5 Very Good
4 Good
3 Fair
2 Poor
1 Very Poor
The student The student The student The student The student
has used 4 - 5 has used 3 has used 2 has used 1 has never
transitional transitional transitional transitional used any of
devices devices devices device the given
properly. properly. properly. properly. transitional
RATING
devices
properly.

(5pts) (4pts) (3pts) (2pts) (1pt)

Transitional
Devices
Space

(To qualify
space)
Emphasis

(To emphasize
a point)
Restatement

(To restate
ideas)
Contradiction

(To contradict
items)
 66

CURRICULUM VITAE

ALEXIS MORILLO GAVISAN

65 Ilang-Ilang Street, San Patricio,
Sta. Maria, Pangasinan
amorillo2295@yahoo.com
09063509037

I. PERSONAL INFORMATION

Date of Birth: December 22, 1995

Place of Birth: Sta. Maria, Pangasinan
Sex: Female
Civil Status: Single
Citizenship: Filipino
Height: 5’4’’
Weight: 52 kg.
Languages Spoken: Iloco, Filipino, English
Religion: Roman Catholic
Father’s name: Mario T. Gavisan
Mother’s name: Marilou M. Gavisan

II. EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

Tertiary: Pangasinan State University - Urdaneta

San Vicente, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan
2012 – 2016
Bachelor of Arts in English

Secondary: Saint Mary’s Integrated School Incorporated

Poblacion West, Sta. Maria, Pangasinan
2008 – 2012

Elementary: East Central School

Poblacion East, Sta. Maria, Pangasinan
2002 – 2008
 67

III. SEMINARS/TRAININGS/ WORKSHOP ATTENDED

The 13th EdukCircle Convention Delegate (National)
On Psychology and Media U.P. Film Institute
Convention University of the Philippines
Diliman, Quezon City
February 21, 2016

Student Leadership Training Participant (University-based)

Caravan 2015 Pangasinan State University – Urdaneta
San Vicente, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan
October 30, 2015

The 11th EdukCircle Convention Delegate (National)

On Media Communication U.P. Theater
University of the Philippines
Diliman, Quezon City
August 17, 2014

Workshop on Documentary Participant (University-based)

Making Pangasinan State University – Urdaneta
San Vicente, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan
June 5 and 19, 2013

Seminar Workshop on Campus Participant (University-based)

Journalism Pangasinan State University – Urdaneta
San Vicente, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan
December 19, 2012

On-the-Job Trainee SITEL Baguio

BCEZ Loakan Rd., Baguio City, Benguet
April 20 to May 22, 2015

IV. ACCOMPLISHMENTS/AWARDS

Short and Sweet Play Pasuc-1 Culture and the Arts Festival
3rd Place Don Mariano Marcos Memorial
State University
Agoo, La Union
October 29, 2015
 68

Hosting Competition English Festival 2012

2nd Place Pangasinan State University – Urdaneta
San Vicente, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan
December 11, 2012

Class Salutatorian Saint Mary’s Integarted School Inc.

Leadership Awardee Poblacion West, Sta. Maria, Pangasinan
Loyalty Awardee March 29, 2012

With Honors East Central School

Girl Scout of the Year Poblacion East, Sta. Maria, Pangasinan
March 28, 2008
V. ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATION

P.I.O.
League of English Major Students (LEMS)
2015 – 2016

Member
Linguist League
2012 –2016

VI. CHARACTER REFERENCES

Mr. Marvin Q. Corpuz
Instructor, Faculty member
Pangasinan State University – Urdaneta
San Vicente, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan
09333705256

Ms. Ruby F. Amado

Instructor, Faculty member
Pangasinan State University – Urdaneta
San Vicente, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan
09328441969

Mrs. Marissa E. Sison

Chair, English Language Department
Pangasinan State University – Urdaneta
San Vicente, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan
09234746609
 69

CURRICULUM VITAE

ABEGAIL LEONIN ESPERANZA

205 de Leon St., Pob. West, 2440
Sta. Maria, Pangasinan
abe_lesperanza@yahoo.com
09369314483

I. PERSONAL INFORMATION

Date of Birth: March 11, 1996

Place of Birth: Moncada, Tarlac
Sex: Female
Civil Status: Single
Citizenship: Filipino
Height: 5’1’’
Weight: 50 kg.
Languages Spoken: Filipino, English
Religion: Church of Christ
Father’s name: Abraham E. Esperanza
Mother’s name: Portia L. Esperanza

II. EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

Tertiary: Pangasinan State University - Urdaneta

San Vicente, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan
2012 – 2016
Bachelor of Arts in English

Secondary: Saint Mary’s Integrated School Incorporated

Poblacion West, Sta. Maria, Pangasinan
2008 – 2012

Elementary: West Central School

Poblacion West, Sta. Maria, Pangasinan
2002 – 2008
 70

III. SEMINARS/TRAININGS/WORKSHOP ATTENDED

The 13th EdukCircle Convention Delegate (National)

On Psychology and Media U.P. Film Institute
Convention University of the Philippines
Diliman, Quezon City
February 21, 2016

Student Leadership Training Participant (University-based)

Caravan 2015 Pangasinan State University – Urdaneta
San Vicente, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan
October 30, 2015

The 11th EdukCircle Convention Delegate (National)

On Media Communication U.P. Theater
University of the Philippines
Diliman, Quezon City
August 17, 2014

Workshop on Documentary Participant (University-based)

Making Pangasinan State University – Urdaneta
San Vicente, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan
June 5 and 19, 2013

Seminar Workshop on Campus Participant (University-based)

Journalism Pangasinan State University – Urdaneta
San Vicente, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan
December 19, 2012

On-the-Job Trainee SITEL Baguio

BCEZ Loakan Rd., Baguio City, Benguet
April 20 to May 22, 2015

IV. ACCOMPLISHMENT

With Honors Saint Mary’s Integarted School Inc.

Loyalty Awardee Poblacion West, Sta. Maria, Pangasinan
March 29, 2012
 71

VI. CHARACTER REFERENCES

Mr. Marvin Q. Corpuz

Instructor, Faculty member
Pangasinan State University – Urdaneta
San Vicente, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan
09333705256

Ms. Ruby F. Amado

Instructor, Faculty member
Pangasinan State University – Urdaneta
San Vicente, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan
09328441969

Mrs. Marissa E. Sison

Chair, English Language Department
Pangasinan State University – Urdaneta
San Vicente, Urdaneta City, Pangasinan
09234746609