CICLO DE COMPLEMENTACIÓN

CURRICULAR
MODALIDAD A DISTANCIA

ASIGNATURA: GRAMATICA
TEXTUAL DEL INGLES PARA LA
CIENCIA Y LA TECNICA

Responsable docente: Licenciada Miryam del Carmen HEYMO.

Docente auxiliar: Licenciada Silvia Chuaire
INDEX

Presentation 1
Course rationale 3
State-of-the-art 4

Purposes 5
Relations between the curriculum and other subjects. 5
Competences 6
Evaluation criteria 7

UNIT 1 EST AS AN OBJECT OF STUDY

Introduction 8
Objectives 8

Contents 9
What do we understand by text? 9
Texts in context 9
Contexts of use 10

Context, text type and text 10

Text functions 10
Context and register 10
EST as an object of study for various discourse approaches 12
Some important features of EST 14

Teaching technical English 16

UNIT 2: LEXICO-GRAMMATICAL RESOURCES OF EST

Introduction 18
Objectives 18
Contents 18
Discourse analysis and grammar 18
Rank scale 19
Constituents of a Clause 19
The clause complex 21
Discourse Analysis and Vocabulary 22

Vocabulary and ESP 22

The concept of an academic vocabulary 23
Word attack skills 24
Taxonomy of vocabulary relative to ESP/EST 26

Unpacking a text 28

Text and interpretation 29

Discourse analysis and grammar. 29
Grammatical cohesion and textuality 29

The semantic profile of domain specific discourse 30

Reference 32
Substitution and ellipsis 32
Conjunction 32
Lexical cohesion 33

Grammatical cohesion 34
Linking adverbials 36
Rhetorical cohesion 36

Nominal groups 36
Impersonality in scientific discourse 39
Ergative verbs 39
The use of the passive and the active voice in the register of EST 43
Active verbs with inanimate subjects in scientific prose 44
Differences between passive voice and ergative verbs 44
The passive in academic writing 45
Use of subject-placeholders 46
 Use of reporting verbs in several structural variants 46
Use of subject-placeholder: qualitative differences 46
Impersonality in scientific discourse: the active voice 48
Modality 48
Tense in the language of science and its relationship to the text 50
structure

UNIDAD 3: GENRE APPROACH TO EST

Introduction 52
Objetives 52
Contents 52
Nominalization in scientific discourse 53
Nominalization as a textual resource 56

How to unpack a nominalization 57

Discourse and genre 57
The social and cultural context of genres 57
Defining genre 58

Using a genre-based approach 58

What are hedges and boosters 59
Genre-based approach 62
Personal pronouns in scientific discourse 64
Citations 67
How can learning about the structure of research articles help 68

international students
Activity schedule 74
Instructions 78
References 81
 PRESENTATION

This is a course on Grammar. But not grammar in general. It is a course on Text

Grammar for Science and Technology. Analyzing the parts of the name of the subject,
we know that the units of analysis of grammar go from the word (or the morpheme) to
the sentence (or clause) and we can define text as language that is functional, language
which is doing some job in some context. Furthermore, regarding the nature of a text,
although when we write it down it looks as though it is made of words and sentences, it
is really made of meanings, coded in words and structures. As a result, a text is es sentially
a semantic unit. (Halliday and Hassan, 1985, p. 10).
Then, this is not a sentence grammar, it is a TEXT grammar. It deals with sentences,
but sentences as they occur and function in text to make meanings. Moreover, this is a
text grammar of English for SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY.
There are two assumptions in the title TEXT GRAMMAR FOR English for SCIENCE
AND TECHNOLOGY: there are special texts for science and technology and that there
is a special grammar for this field of study. Both assumptions are true. And we will see in
the course of the subject how text and grammar interact.
This course is based on the study of language, or more specifically text at the l evel
above that of the sentence:
We are going to analyze how texts work. We are going to
❖ Study the cohesive links between sentences, of paragraph structure and of
the structure of the whole text. (Applied discourse analysis).
❖ Focus on text analysis to find out about the regularities of structure that
distinguish one type of text from another type (Genre analysis)
❖ Use a textual/discursive approach to establish the most relevant aspects of
discourse that needs to be interpreted, in terms of their semantic and pragmatic
components

In the syllabus you will have a view of the contents we are going to develop. This
manual is a reading material necessary to access the bibliographic selection and
do the practical works you will be required to do. During the classes we will work on

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the theoretical framework and carry out activities in pairs or groups whic h then we
will discuss altogether.

We hope that the teaching-learning process we are going to carry out will be
pleasant and enriching for everybody.

Lic. Miryam Heymo - Teacher in charge of the subject

Lic. Silvia Chuaire - Teacher assistant

pág. 2
COURSE RATIONALE
This course is based on the following principles:
a) Grammar has evolved to meet the needs of the users.
b) There are special grammatical structures that have evolved to meet the needs of
those doing science.
c) Grammatical choices are determined by the variables of the context and by the
genre, being this a linguistic manifestation of a purposeful social activity.

Students should become aware of several issues. The first one being aware of what it
is they are learning, a specialized language (a language for specific purposes), that is,
a linguistic subsystem which is an extension of the general common language and
which makes use of its grammatical code in a very simple and economical way with
particular syntactic and rhetorical patterns. ESP is centered on the language
(grammar, lexis, register), skills, discourse and genres appropriate to these activi ties.

Students become aware that they will be working in a linguistic meaningful context,
that is, they will be dealing with materials similar to those they will be working with later
in their professional lives. Then, students should be made aware of the most common
types of academic and scientific texts according to their production and dissemination
circumstances. By being familiar with these features, after the analysis of some texts,
the learner understands the specialized language and is able to identify patterns of
functioning of such texts, which is very effective as a preparatory procedure for the
subsequent construction of the meanings of a particular text.

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STATE-OF-THE ART
Parkinson (2013) states that the wide range of purposes and contexts in which English
is used has made English for specific purposes (ESP) an eclectic discipline. The author
adds that the initial interest of EST teachers and researchers was on linguistic forms, with
later emphasis on skills, a more recent focus has been on disciplinary socialization, and
most recently a critical perspective, which considers how literacy practices express
societal or disciplinary power differences.
Halliday (1993a) comments that a text is recognized as scientific English because of
the combined effect of clusters of features and, importantly, the relations of these features
throughout a text. However, the author considers that characteristic forms and vocabulary
of science or technology should not be analyzed as separate from the genres in which
they occur, because linguistic differences are part of what constitutes genre. Similarly the
genres of science and technology partially constitute the various disciplines, and cannot
be separated from them. Being a member of a discourse community involves using its
characteristic language and genres, and also sharing its values (which are reflected in its
language and genres), and taking on a role recognized by other members of the discourse
community (Paltridge, 2012).
Swales (2004) has noted that genres in any discipline or discourse community come
in related sets, such as the RA. Parkinson (2013) states that much progress has been
made also in analyzing the rhetorical and linguistic features of genres and identifying how
they reflect the values and culture of the discourse community. Rhetorical Features of the
Research Article Investigation of high stakes genres such as the RA have been valuable
to EST teachers of graduate or professionals, who must read or write RAs.
The grammatical and lexical features of language we use for specific purposes are by
definition specialized Indeed corpus studies have shown how specialized the lexico-
grammar and discourse strategies of disciplinary genres are (Paltridge 2009). Thus, ESP
has tended to emphasize communication in the specialized target context rather than
language teaching (Hyland, 2007). Attention to language has been embedded in the
teaching of key genres and language varieties learners will need to use in their disciplines.

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 PURPOSES

✓ Address written discourse for science and technology carrying out an analysis from
the Generative and Functional Grammar Perspective.

✓ Reflect on the need of becoming aware of the lexico-grammatical resources used

in technical and scientific texts to be able to design and implement EST courses
analyzing the cognitive processes, strategies and abilities involved in developing
the reading skill.

✓ Recognize the teaching practices in the EST area engaging critically in the different
teaching-learning approaches and theories in the area.

✓ Identify problems in the EST area for research works through the analysis and
practice in the recognition of lexico-grammatical and discursive elements of the
Research Article (RA).

RELATIONS WITH THE SYLLABUS AND OTHER SUBJECTS

The course will be related to discourse analysis and genre analysis since it is devoted
to the study of the lexical and semantic difficulties in the interpretation of the scientific-
technical discourse in English for pre-graduate university students when they need to
extract specific information from texts they are interested in, and help them to keep up to
date with the latest events in their field of study, research and work. The analysis of texts
will be carried out from “discourse analysis” and “genre analysis” approaches. We will
apply discourse analysis and emphasize its relevance for the teaching of the receptive
skill of reading. Furthermore, we will use genre analysis and its relevance for the teaching
of the productive skill of writing, which demands teaching the form and its use in contexts
relevant to learners’ needs.

The seminar contributes to the ongoing teacher training since teachers are not usually
trained to be ESP teachers. The subject is closely related to Didactics for EST as well as
Seminario de Profundización Pedagógica y Curricular.
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 COMPETENCES
• Recognize the lexical and semantic difficulties in the interpretation of
the scientific-technical discourse in English when students need to extract
specific information from texts they are interested in.
• Analyze texts from “discourse analysis” and “genre analysis
approaches”.
• Reflect on Genre analysis and its relevance for the teaching of the
receptive skill of reading and the productive skill of writing, which demands
teaching the form and its use in contexts relevant to learners’ needs .

EVALUATION CRITERIA

A formative evaluation will be carried out focusing on the learning process. As a

support to the formative evaluation we will have tutoring meetings (either virtual or
face-to-face) so that students can do the necessary consultations as they do their
practical works as well as the final exam.

The summative evaluation will be carried out with the purpose of determining the
final student’s academic situation in the subject. A student can be promoted in the
case he/she gets a minimum mark of 7(seven) in the exam covering all the topics
dealt with, or the student will be a regular student in the case he/she gets a mark
lower than 7 (seven) in the exam.

Practical works to be uploaded to the virtual platform as well as participation in

the forums are considered necessary and compulsory.

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 UNIT 1

EST AS AN OBJECT OF STUDY

General framework for analyzing discourse: discourse, language in use and variation.
Context, structure and text. Variants of language in use: ESP, EAP and EST. Definitions
of EST. Nature of EST. EST as an object of study: approaches. Different focuses of EST
at various levels of education: pre-graduate and postgraduate courses. The features of
EST. Discrete feature identification in an early register analysis. T he spectrum of EST in
a discourse/rhetorical analysis. Features of text at lexical, syntactic and rhetorical levels.
Difficulty in dealing with them.

INTRODUCTION

In this unit we will reflect on the concepts of discourse, language in use and
variation, context and text. Then, we will analyze the variants of language in use,
specifically ESP and its branches, focusing on their definitions. Finally, we will focus
on EST analyzing its nature and the approaches to study it

General objective

At the end of the unit students should be able to:

• Reflect on the nature of EST, recognizing the main differences it

presents with general language

Specific objectives:

At the end of the unit students should be able to:

- Identify the variants of language of use, focusing on EST as an object of

study.

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 - Recognise EST features

- Identify features of text at lexical, syntactic and rhetorical levels.

CONTENTS
ACTIVITY 1

We will watch the following video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eCj7iulp4A

After watching it we will debate about the contents of the video regarding the characteristics
of English for Specific Purposes in the class.

WHAT DO WE UNDERSTAND BY TEXT?

Language is realized, first and foremost, as text. As users of language we have to

cope with texts. We have to make sense of them, and we have to produce them. This is
as true for second language users as it is for first language users.
“We can define text, in its simplest way perhaps, by saying that it is language that is
functional. By functional, we simply mean language that is doing some job in some
context, as opposed to isolated words and sentences that I might put on the blackboard.
… So any instance of living language that is playing some part in a context of
situation, we shall call a text. It may be spoken or written. …
The important thing about the nature of a text is that, although when we write it down
it looks as though it is made of words and sentences, it is really made of meanings. Of
course, the meanings have to be coded in words and structures … , but as a thing in
itself, a text is essentially a semantic unit. Halliday and Hassan, 1985 (p. 10)
Then, a TEXT GRAMMAR deals with sentences, but sentences as they occur and
function in texts to make meanings.
Text grammarians see texts as language elements strung together in relationships with
one another than can be defined. McCarthy (2011) states that linguists such as Van Dijk,

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De Beaugrande, Halliday and Hassan have made a significant impact in this area. The
Prague School of Linguistics which is interested in the structuring of information in
discourse, has also been influential. Its most important contribution has been to show the
links between grammar and discourse. McCarthy (2011) remarks that Discourse analysis
has grown into a wide-ranging and heterogeneous discipline which finds its unity in the
description of language above the sentence and an interest in the contexts and cultural
influences which affect language in use.

TEXTS IN CONTEXT.

Texts are written or read, spoken or listened to, by particular people in particular
situations and for particular purposes. In other words, they have contexts. We will look at
the way the context influences both the production and the interpretation of texts.

Texts not only connect internally, but they connect with their contexts of use. The study
of language in its context of use- and how these contexts impact on the way we produce
and interpret texts- is known generally as pragmatics. Because the pragmatic meaning of
an utterance or text is context sensitive, it is variable, as opposed to i ts semantic meaning,
which is more fixed. The meaning of a text is difficult, if not impossible, to unpack without
context knowledge.

Context, text type and text

There is a direct relation between the lower-level choices of grammar and vocabulary
and the text type itself. In turn, there is a relation between text, text type and the context
in which the text operates.

Text functions
Various theories of language and context have been proposed, each identifying the
contextual factors that most significantly affect the language choices involved in text
production and interpretation. Most theorists agree that a key factor determining the
structure and language in a text is its function. In fact, Halliday (the father of functional
9
grammar) defined text as “language that is functional”. Functional implies that it is
language that is doing some job in some context.

Context and register

We have already seen that the purpose of a text affects its production, although not in
ways that are always completely transparent.
The following three components of the context might impact on the language choices
in text production:
• The what of the situation- what kind of social activity is going on, and
about what sort of topic (what is called the field)
• The who of the situation- the participants, their relationship and so
on (what is called the tenor).
• The how of the situation- the means by which the text is being
created (what is called the mode).

These three contextual dimensions -field, tenor and mode-determine what is called the
register of the resulting text. That is to say, different configurations of these dimensions
demand different kinds of choices at the level of grammar and vocabulary, and these
choices create textual effects that we recognize as being appropriate to the context of the
text’s use.
Discourse is the way that language-either spoken or written- is used for
communicative effect in a real-world situation. Discourse analysis is the study of such
language, and the analysis of the features and uses of texts - or text analysis- is an integral
component of discourse analysis. One way of looking at the distinction between discourse
and text is to think of discourse as the process and text as the product.
The way meanings in a text are organized (the words chosen; the structures used) to
convey the message is what we mean by discourse. Discourse analysis is the study
of how discourse is produced and organized, how the sentences in a text are organized,
how they relate to one another takes as its object of study language in use.
For professional communication, language is one of the components that facilitate
the reaching of specific goals. Acknowledging that there are linguistic resources (lexical,
grammatical, rhetorical and functional) among which users may choose some and ignore
others, in order to achieve their communicative goals in professional practice, studies

10
have referred to this discourse as “language for specific purposes”. The who, why, where,
when and what for all play a part in the action and interaction language for specific
purposes displays. Within this scope, we set out to work with ENGLISH FOR SCIENCE
AND TECHNOLOGY.
Starting from a wider perspective of discourse as language in use, context, structure
and text as pillars of discourse understanding, attention is turned towards a narrower,
functional perspective of variation in language use. Three important concepts are
reviewed and defined here:

• ESP refers to domain related discourses and its study looks into aspects of
communication in specialized fields such as science, medicine, law, environment,
etc. A discourse-oriented approach is taken to analyze domain specific
communication based mainly on factors such as the degree of specialization of
text, the relationships between the communication participants, the degree of
expertise they have and the purposes pursued by them.

• EAP is seen in the context of languages for specific purposes; attention is

given to the branch labeled English for specific academic purposes (Jordan,
1997). Here characteristics of modern academic prose are presented: it is
described as condensed and compressed, that its grammatical complexity lies
mostly in the structure of the nominal phrase and that it is semantically less explicit
as understanding of specialized meaning depends heavily on specialized
knowledge.

• EST is the language used in the professional contexts of natural sciences

and technology.

We need to define EST as an object of linguistic study and find out the meanings the
term EST has acquired.

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EST AS AN OBJECT OF STUDY FOR VARIOUS DISCOURSE APPROACHES:
analysis of the discourse of science from comprehensive discourse analysis theories,
through genre theory, register variation and cognitive approaches to variation inside
frameworks of analyzing specialized discourse.

• The first approach is L. Trimble’s (1985) who states that EST is a

spectrum/continuum extending from the peer writing of scientists and technically
oriented professionals to the writing aimed at skilled technicians. It is the first
comprehensive view on the discourse of science and technology as a distinct
variant of language in use.
• In the Systemic Functional framework, the focus is “the language of
science” seen as a functional variety or “register”. Halliday’s framework
emphasizes the social functions of language and the thematic and informational
structure of speech and writing. One crucial aspect in the evolution of sci entific
discourse is the need to construct technical taxonomies. This particular cognitive
and communicative act was realized in the English Language by regular
morphological patterns for representing a classificatory system in words.
Recognizable resources of scientific discourse are nominalizations, high lexical
density, nominal style and grammatical metaphor.

• The language of science is viewed in genre studies in the context of

professional communication. Studying professional communication and its genres
is motivated by:
a) The fact that written disciplinary communication is meant to facilitate
social interaction and the production of knowledge.
b) The fact that the production of knowledge is codified in generic forms.

Two traditions are overviewed here:

i. Swales’ Create a Research Space Model
(1990, 2004)
ii. Bathia’s professional genres perspectives
(2004).

Genre studies relate professional communication as patterned responses with

12
professional practices and communities producing the respec tive genres. They introduce
the idea of variability within patterns and disciplinary variation in language use. An
extension of this genre theory is the social/cognitive genre approach, where social and
cognitive are complementary categories and complete a detailed and comprehensive
view of discourse and textual features of genres. (Bruce, 2005).

• Corpus based approaches provide another interesting view on languages

for specific purposes and on the language of science in the same context. Corpus
based studies draw statistical data from large population of texts. They allow
comparisons with many text-variables and contextual variables. An important
outcome of the study of disciplinary communication is their stress on parameters
of similitude and variation, not as individual features but as patterns of co-
occurrence. These approaches support increasingly more specific l evels of
analysis. Comparative studies show that the “register” of science varies on several
dimensions from, for example, conversation (Biber et al 1998). Multi-dimensional
analysis proved useful in studying more specific registers and in identifying what
makes them different from one another (e.g. research articles in ecology versus
research article in history).

• Lexical approaches to EST are related mostly to language teaching and

learning. Computer aided research and language corpora offer opportunities to
look at specific “technical” vocabulary beyond single words in any field. Data driven
research has indicated that specialized lexis is better thought of as language
prefabs or “formulaic multi-word units/collocations” (Mudraya, 2006). Thus
technical vocabulary comprises words and collocations specific to one or closely
related fields, with high frequency, specific meaning and typical collocation
patterns.

Each approach supplies valuable insights into its lexical-grammatical profile,

historical evolution, rhetorical structures and situational characteristics. The written
mode has been favoured. These different approaches reveal the degree of
interdependency between linguistic characteristics and situational factors such as the
communicative needs of the discipline, its diachronic evolution, its discourse community
and its genres
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ACTIVITY 2

In groups of no more than three people:

a) Read Chapter 8 -English for Science and Technology by Jean Parkinson (2013) in
The Handbook for English for Specific Purposes.
b) Provide a summary of the most important points of the text.

c) Reflect on the differences you find between general English and English for
Science and Technology

SOME IMPORTANT FEATURES OF EST

The term “scientific English” is a useful label for a generalized functional variety, or
register, of the modern English language. (Halliday, 1988)
1. It is said to be FORMAL, IMPERSONAL and OBJECTIVE.
2. All EST texts are specialized in that they deal with a specific technical or
scientific field.
3. Complex grammar and lexis.
a) High use of Passive/Stative verb constructions (Trimble,
1985).
i. Passive “The heat exchanger assembly is lowered from the
compartment while resting on the platform”
ii. Stative (which describes the state or condition of the grammatical
subject of the sentence) “The RS-5 system is composed of an
undersea acoustic beacon”
b) Modals/Modal passives. (“It should be made clear that…, “It can
be assumed that…”

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 c) Higher proportion of complex noun phrases, a lower proportion
of names and pronouns, and fewer simple noun phrases as
clause subject.

Two or more atoms joined to form a molecule are represented by…

d) Nominalization (which often creates longer noun compounds or
noun strings) the verb system provides lexis to describe
processes, actions or states. It is an essential resource for
constructing scientific discourse.
“When you install a new flywheel housing you must position it
versus the flywheel installation position must be ensured”
(with nominalization of processes and actions)
e) Higher density of LEXICAL WORDS (due to the process of
nominalization). “The gaseous products of volcanic activity
include water vapour, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen and
various sulphur compounds. The most common constituent is
water vapour…”
f) Higher frequency of subject specific terminology which helps
distinguish the register.

Analysis of the scientific-technical discourse written in English and its teaching: it is

taught to develop frequently one skill. That skill is the receptive skill reading
comprehension.

TEACHING TECHNICAL ENGLISH.

A) WHY DO WE TEACH TECHNICAL ENGLISH?

1. Definition of EST
EST is the area of study of English for science and technology. It
emphasizes purposeful and utilitarian learning of English. The
communicative needs of the learners are important consideration of
course design. EST is concerned with both the oral and written

15
 discourse of English for academic and professional, occupational or
vocational purposes. EST mainly deals with learners at the tertiary
level for whom the learning of English takes on a service role for their
specific needs in study, work or research.

2. Nature of EST.
❖ Utilitarian
❖ Needs-oriented.
❖ Learner-centered.
❖ Customized.

3. Reasons for teaching technical English.

❖ Students are familiar with the subject content.
❖ The learning objectives meet student´s communicative
needs.
❖ The materials and activities promote students’ learning
motivation,
❖ Learning is purposeful and beneficial.

B) Syllabus Design.

❖ Register approach.
❖ Rhetorical approach.
❖ Skills-based approach
❖ Content-based approach.
❖ Genre-based approach.

C) Materials Development

1. Procedure.
(1) Analyzing learner characteristics and learner needs.
(2) Determining course objectives.
(3) Evaluating/selecting available materials.

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 (4) Deciding on an appropriate approach.
(5) Designing/adapting/producing materials.
(6) Testing materials.

2. Adapting materials.

(1) At lexical level.

(2) At sentence level
(3) At rhetorical level

ACTIVITY 3
In groups of no more than three people:

a) You will read two texts. You must compare and analyze the two texts at the lexical,
sentence and rhetorical levels to determine which one was written in general
English and in which text language for specific purpose was employed.
b) Provide reasons for your choices.

Compulsory reading

Paltridge, B. and Starfield, S. (2013). The handbook of English for specific purposes (pp.
2-4). U.K.: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Hirvela, A. (2013). ESP and Reading. In B. Paltridge and S. Starfield (Eds.), The
handbook of English for specific purposes. U.K.: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Parkinson, J. (2013). EST. In B. Paltridge and S. Starfield (Eds.), The handbook of
English for specific purposes. U.K.: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

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 Participation in forum
Topic: Why is this subject called Text Grammar for EST? What is the
difference between traditional grammar and text grammar? What is the
relationship between lexico-grammatical resources, text, context, discourse community
and genre? Approaches to address these issues?

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 UNIT 2
DISCOURSE ANALYSIS APPROACH TO EST

Lexical level: specialized lexis. Changes of meaning and specificity level in technical
concepts according to the context and different scientific fields they belong to.
Collocations. Compounds: adjective and noun compounds. Affixation. Lexical and
Grammatical Cohesion. Reference, substitution, ellipsis, discourse markers. Lexical
bundles. Rhetorical cohesion: Units of Sense: noun phrase and verbal phrase.
Impersonality in scientific discourse: passive voice, ergative constructions, active verbs
with inanimate subjects. Nominalizations: uses. “ed” and “ing” clauses. Modals. Tenses
in the language of science and its relationship to text macrostructure. Modality.

INTRODUCTION
In this unit we will concentrate on the identification of the different lexico-grammatical
resources used by scientific and technical discourse to make meaning and contribute to
the knowledge building of the scientific community researchers belong to

OBJECTIVES
- To recognize the different lexico-grammatical resources used to convey
meaning in EST from a critical analysis of them.
- To identify them in research articles reflecting on the causes for the use of them
in the different sections of these research documents

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 ACTIVIDAD 1
a) We will watch three videos:
- What is Systemic Functional Linguistics:
youtube.com/watch?v=XSnbVbJEuC4
- What is SFG:
youtube.com/watch?v=d1wMw_D3s74
- Youtube.com/watch?v=gvNnb5lKzZK

Discourse analysis and grammar

A fundamental principle of the functional model of language is that language is
organized differently at different levels. In this unit we will examine the different levels of
the language system by looking firstly at the concept of rank scale and secondly at
the notion of constituency. These understandings will enable a more detailed
exploration of the structure of a clause (the basic unit of meaning in a functional grammar)
and the functions of its different parts. This will provide a valuable starting point for
analyzing texts.

Rank Scale
The concept of rank scale is important for understanding how the language system
works. It identifies the different levels of language and shows how the units at each level
(or rank) are made up of one or more units of the rank below.

TEXT
CLAUSE COMPLEX
CLAUSE
GROUP GROUP GROUP
WORD WORD WORD WORD WORD WORD
Droga, L. H. (2002).

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 In a functional grammar, the clause is the basic unit of meaning. Clauses join together
to form clause complexes (although a single clause is also called a clause complex) and
clause complexes join together to form the stages in spoken or written text s. We also
need to look at the “building blocks” or constituents of the clause itself. The rank scale
shows how clauses are made up of one or more groups, which in turn consist of one or
more words. When we analyze texts, we look at the choice, patterning and function
of the units of each rank.

Constituents of a Clause

It is important to be able to recognize the constituents of a clause in order to

successfully analyze how they function to make meaning within texts. A clause is made
up of one or more groups, the essential element being a verbal group. We can
recognize a clause by the presence or absence of the verbal group. However, clauses
may also consist of one or more other clauses. Most functional linguists recognize four
other groups: nominal groups, adverbial groups, conjunction groups and
preposition groups. However, preposition groups are typically found combined with
nominal groups and are then referred to as prepositional phrases. These groups cluster
around the verbal group to form different types of clauses and make different kinds of
meaning.

A group is like an expanded word- each group contains one essential element and,
when there are other words in the group; they expand or modify this element.

Type of group or Typical constituents Example

phrase (main element in
bold)
Main element is a finite
or non-finite verb. May She will probably be
contain auxiliary verbs (to
The verbal group (vg) leaving on Sunday.
do with tense and opinion)
before the main verb.
Main element is a noun
(or pronoun). Often
contains other words
before the noun (eg.
21
 The nominal group determiners, numerals, We smelt the smoke
(ng) adjectives) acting as from the volcano.
Modifiers. May include
further expansion after the
main noun.
Adverbial group Main element is an The police should have
(adv.g) adverb. Can also contain come a little earlier.
modifiers.
Prepositional phrase A preposition combined Hot lava and gases
(pp) with a nominal group. were released into the
atmosphere.
Conjunction group Usually consists of a
(conj.g) conjunction only, linking Firstly, the decision
clauses within a clause
was made without
complex, or linking clause.
consultation.
Droga, L. H. (2002). Getting Started with Functional Grammar. Target Texts.

Sometimes we find that a grammatical unit “shifts rank”. Typically, this happens with
clauses and phrases. For example, a clause may function as one of the constituents of
one of the groups or phrases in a clause. These are called embedded or rank shifted
clauses.

EXAMPLES :
What I really liked about Tokio were the cherry blossoms.
(Functioning as a group in the vg ng
clause)

My husband Loves The dress (that I bought in

Tokyo).
ng Vg (Functioning as a constituent of a
nominal group in the clause)

Sit on the grass (that has been freshly mown)

22
 vg (Functioning as part of the nominal group within a prepositional
phrase)
Droga, L. H. (2002). Getting Started with Functional Grammar. Target Texts.

A prepositional phrase can also shift rank, usually to function as a constituent of a

nominal group.

This decision will have a devastating effect (on the

community)
ng Vg ng

The clause complex

A clause complex is made up of one or more clauses. There are several different
clause types, and these combine in different ways to form complexes. Clauses that can
stand alone are called independent clauses and may combine with other independent
clauses or dependent clauses. A dependent clause cannot stand alone and provides
supporting information for an independent clause.

The shoppers fled //when the fire alarm rang./// Then the police arrived.///
Independent dependent independent

So far, we have been examining the constituents of clauses and groups/phrases in

terms of the class they belong to.
Some grammatical regularities are observable in well-formed written texts, and this
structuring of sentences have implications for units such as paragraphs, and for the
progression of whole texts.

23
DISCOURSE ANALYSIS AND VOCABULARY

VOCABULARY AND ESP

Major word classes

Words can be broadly grouped into TWO classes according to their main functions and
their grammatical behavior:

- LEXICAL WORDS: Main carriers of meaning: nouns, verbs, adjectives and

adverbs.
They are members of open classes. They have a complex internal structure
They can be the head of phrases
They are the main building blocks of texts

-FUNCTION WORDS: two main roles: -indicating relationships between lexical

words or larger units - indicating the way in which a lexical word or larger unit is to
be interpreted.
They are members of closed systems.
They are short and lack internal structure.

Vocabulary is the largest single element in tackling a new language for the learner.
The vocabulary lesson has a place in a discourse-oriented syllabus. We will look at some
specific relationships between vocabulary choice, context (in the sense of the situation in
which the discourse is produced) and co-text (the actual text surrounding any given lexical
item)

THE CONCEPT OF AN ACADEMIC VOCABULARY

➢ The term is used to refer to items which are reasonably frequent in a wide range
of academic genres.

24
 ➢ Vocabulary is typically seen as falling into three main groups (Nation, 2001):

1. High frequency words: the most widely useful 2,000-word families in English,
covering about 80% of most texts.
2. An academic vocabulary of words which are reasonably frequent in academic
writing and comprise some 8%-10% of running words in academic texts.
3. A technical vocabulary which differs by subject area and covers up to 5% of the
texts.
4. PEDAGOGIC ATTRACTION OF A UNIVERSAL ACADEMIC VOCABULARY: a
growing body of research suggests that the discourses of the academy do no form
an undifferentiated, unitary mass, constitute a variety of subject specific literacies
(Hyland, 2000, 2002)
5. Many items are considerably underrepresented in particular fields or disciplines.
The AWL seems to be most useful to students in computer sciences and least
useful for students of biology.
6. The findings of the study serve to undermine the value of relying on
decontextualized lists of vocabulary as a source of generally available and equally
valid items for writers across the disciplines.

ASSUMPTION: Students of English for EAP should study a core of high frequency words
because they are common in an English academic register.

• COXHEAD’S ACADEMIC WORD LIST (AWL) (2000)

• It contains 570 word families believed to be essential for students pursuing higher
education irrespective of their chosen field of specialization.
• Study: exploration of the distribution of its 570 word families in a corpus of 3.3million
words from a range of academic disciplines and genres
• Academic corpus: a broad cross section of writing in the disciplines and includes a
range of professional and learner texts representing key academic genres across a
broad span of disciplines.
• Disciplines: biology, physics, and computer studies (sciences), mechanical and
electronic engineering (engineering), and sociology, business studi es and applied

25
 linguistics (social sciences)
• It is believed to be essential for students pursuing higher education irrespective of
their chosen field of specialization

WORD ATTACK SKILLS

THE VOCABULARY PROBLEM

➢ The use of the dictionary.
➢ Structural clues:
grammatical function.
grammatical category
morphology

Approaches and perspectives on teaching vocabulary for discipline-

specific academic writing. (Coxhead, 2013)

❑ Theoretical concerns related to discipline-specific vocabulary

✓ Second language learners need a large vocabulary to cope with their studies in an
academic environment. Research by Nation (2006) suggests that learners need a
vocabulary size of around 8,000–9,000-word families plus proper nouns (around 2
per cent) to reach 98 per cent coverage of an academic text. An example of a word
family is identify, identifies, identified, identifies, identity, identities and
identification. Identify is the headword and the word family members are 1993).
✓ Nation (2013: 31) states that the size of a technical vocabulary differs from
discipline to discipline, citing Medicine and Botany as two subjects with large
technical vocabularies.
✓ The term ‘discipline-specific vocabulary’ is used to describe lexical items which
tend to occur mostly in one discipline and not in others. That is, it tends not to be
shared across disciplines, and people who have not studied or do not work in that
discipline usually would not know these words
✓ In electronic versions of texts, these lexical items may be hyperlinked to a
dictionary. Textbooks might also provide images such as pictures or graphics to

26
 demonstrate a specialised term.
✓ Proper nouns appear to have higher frequency in some disciplines, for example
Medicine and History, than other academic areas of study.
✓ Another feature of discipline-specific vocabulary is that it is often Graeco-Latin in
origin. This point is important for learners and teachers because word parts can
become part of the learning goals for this kind of vocabulary. An example of a
common prefix is semi – meaning ‘half’ as in semi-circle.
✓ Another set of lexical items which form part of a discipline-specific vocabulary are
abbreviations, such as chemical symbols such as FE for iron and AG for silver.
Words often co-occur in patterns or combinations. These combinations can include
two-word collocations, bundles or strings or three or more words together, and
frames, which contain slots for words to fit in, such as the XXX of (as in the
concept)
➢ Everyday words that take on specialized meanings in particular contexts
(«monitor» in computer science and «weight» in physics)
➢ Words that occur in a very narrow range of usage (such as «photosynthesis»)
➢ It can be referred to with different names: special purposes, specialized, technical,
subtechnical and semisubtechnical.

ESP learners may face an extremely large learning task to fully develop their
understanding and use of specialized vocabulary in their subject area at university or
in a professional context.

VOCABULARY IN ESP IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE:

❖ Understanding and using this special purpose vocabulary shows that these
learners belong to a particular group. (This point is particularly important if learners
are to become fully-fledged members of a particular community).

❑ A common Core Approach: The Academic Word List (AWL) Coxhead (2000)
This list was designed as a ´potential tool for teachers and learners to help bridge
more general everyday language that they might have encountered and used in high
schools and language schools and the more specialized and Graeco- Latin language.

27
 ❑ What are some challenges for vocabulary in ESP?

1- One difficulty with identifying vocabulary for ESP is what to do with everyday
words that take on a particular meaning in a specialized context.

2- These everyday words with specialized meanings could present some

difficulties for teachers as learners struggle to learn new meanings and
concepts for words that are already established in their lexicon in a particular
way.

❑ Another reason why vocabulary in ESP can be challenging, according to Crawford

Camiciottoli (2007) is that specialized vocabulary «evolves and renews itself
according to changing interests within communities of practice»

Taxonomy of vocabulary relative to ESP/EST

Robinson (1991) divided the vocabulary of ESP into three categories depending on
their semantic ambiguity.
• First the ultra-specialized vocabulary belonging to each scientific or
technical field or subfield. The words one could almost say is the jargon to be found
there. They are never used to communicate except the closed circle of specialists
in that field.
• These words refer to elaborated concepts and therefore have no semantic
ambiguity, i.e every word has but a unique and precise meaning in the scientific or
technological domain that is being considered. The meaning corresponds to a
concept, a notion which is referred to by a term.
• The second layer consists of general scientific and technological words, the
kind of vocabulary referring to situations, actions, problems, etc., common to every
field (or most fields) from research to technology.
Here are a few of these cross-specialty themes

28
 Total quality management, total quality control, total productive maintenance, design
to cost, life cycle cost; concurrent engineering, project management, productivity
improvements, modeling, how enterprises adjust to environmental issues, expert
systems, multi-technology systems, etc.

Robinson (1991) notices that the semantic ambiguity of this category of v ocabulary
may be slightly higher than that of ultra-specialised words, yet, it remains very low.
Examples:
The vocabulary of quality: (reliable, low-cost, affordable, failure, improve, etc;
that of users manuals: (check, fasten, perform, avoid, supply, fit, insert etc.) or
that of basic computing (hardware-software word processor-spreadsheet-
hacker-byte-data digit)

As soon as an invention or a new device leaves the closed circle of scientists and
technicians, gains popularity and is used in everyday life, the corresponding word
passes from the category of general scientific and technological words to that of
General English.
In terms of ambiguity and meaning, these words may have high ambiguity, which
make them difficult to understand, since the exact meaning is not always
immediately perceivable even to the L2 learner who knows the word. Even such a
usual verb as clean can be a problem: a mechanics will clean a carburetor, an
electrician can clean a wire, while a farmer cleans a field or a ditch.
• The last class of vocabulary is that of articles, auxiliary verbs,
preposition, particles, linking words, etc. These words halfway between lexis
and grammar are the backbone of the language and without which no complex
meaningful sentence can ever be built. They, naturally, do not belong to the
language of ESP, as such, but are essential, nonetheless.

Before tackling specialized vocabulary, students should learn the vocabulary belonging
to general scientific and technical English or those general English words that are often
found in EST.

29
 Moreover, one could argue that there exist specialized dictionaries to which a student
can refer, should he or she happen to come across such terms. Finally, what seems more
important to teach than specialized lexis are strategies for understanding new words,
such as the use of context or word composition.

In these units we will be looking at texts “from inside out”. We will be concerned with
the way that texts are internally structured and inherently meaningful. We will look at
specific features of texts and how they relate to other parts of the same texts, the co-text

Texts -even very short ones- can “deliver” a great deal of information about the
language. Texts have much potential for the purposes of exemplifying features of
language, of vocabulary, grammar and discourse for teaching purposes.

ACTIVITY 2

In groups of no more than three people:

a) Read Chapter 6- Vocabulary and ESP by Averil Coxhead (2013) in The Handbook
for English for Specific Purposes.
b) Summarize the expert’s ideas using a mind map (you may use one of the apps
suggested to carry out the activity required)

Unpacking a text.

What features of English grammar texts display that might be usefully highlighted for
learners?
All texts have grammar and –especially if they are authentic texts- the grammar that
is embedded in them is fairly representative of English grammar as a whole. In this sense,
language shares a feature of other complex systems: its smallest self -standing
components (i.e. texts) are miniature representations of the system as a whole (i.e. lexico-
grammar)
What makes a text?
30
 • It is self-contained.
• It is well-formed.
• It hangs together (i.e. they are cohesive)
• It makes sense (i.e. they are coherent)
• It has a clear communicative purpose.
• It is a recognizable text type.
• It is appropriate to the context of use.

How can a text be distinguished from a random collection of sentences and what
implications this might have for learners in interpreting texts and in producing their own?

Text and interpretation

McCarthy (2011) states that markers of various kinds, i.e. the linguistic signals of
semantic and discourse functions (e.g. in English the –ed on the verb is a marker of
pastness), are very much concerned with the surface of the text. Regarding cohesive
markers, the author considers that they create links across sentence boundaries and pair
and chain together items that are related (e.g. by referring to the same entity). But reading
a text is far more complex than that: we have to interpret the ties and make sense of
them. He emphasizes that making sense of a text is an act of interpretation that depends
as much on what we as readers bring to a text as what the author puts in it.

We’ll now look at the question of cohesion-what is it that binds the parts of a text
together?

DISCOURSE ANALYSIS AND GRAMMAR

Grammatical cohesion and textuality

Grammatical cohesion is defined as the surface marking of semantic links between

clauses and sentences in written discourse. There are a number of ways that texts are
made cohesive, and these cohesive devices (also called linking devices) are traditionally
classified at the level of lexis, grammar and discourse (or rhetoric). These include:

31
 1) Lexical cohesion
- Direct repetition, word families, synonyms and antonyms.
- Words from the same semantic field, lexical chains and lists.
- Substitution with one/ones.
2) Grammatical cohesion.
- Reference: pronouns, articles.
- Substitution of clause elements using so, not, do/does/did,
etc.
- Ellipsis of clause elements.
- Conjuncts (also called linkers)
- Comparatives.
- Tense
3) Rhetorical cohesion
- Question-answer.
- Parallelism

They embody features of the language that might be of use to a learner. Texts show a
typical distribution between grammar words (or function words) and content words.

THE SEMANTIC PROFILE OF DOMAIN SPECIFIC DISCOURSE

From Lexis to Semantics

❑ The study of vocabulary cannot be separated from the analysis of the context in
which words occur on the one hand, and from the study of its grammatical
structure since to study language without reference to meaning is like studying
road signs from the point of view of their physical properties (how much they
weigh, what kind of paint are they painted with, and so on), or like studying the
structure of the eye without any reference to seeing (Wierzbicka,1996, p. 3) .
❑ With this perspective, it is assumed that different discourses structure the world
in a different way and that the members of a particular speech community share
a common understanding of disciplinary vocabulary. This understanting is
grounded in the fact that
32
 ❑ Vocabulary choice is intrinsically related to situation and context constraints. The
lexical relations are specific to a particular community. The words may be the
same but with a different use. It is through the presupposed structuring of
disciplinary lexical knowledge that discipline members can interpret the text
successfully.

❑ Cohesion is an essential quality for good academic writing. In academic writing,

the flow of ideas from one sentence to the next should be smooth and logical.
Without cohesion, the reader will not understand the main points that you are
trying to make. Cohesion necessarily precedes coherence.

❑ Coherence means the connection of ideas at the idea level, and cohesion
means the connection of ideas at the sentence level. Basically, coherence refers
to the “rhetorical” aspects of your writing, which include developing and
supporting your argument (e.g. thesis statement development), synthesizing and
integrating readings, organizing, and clarifying ideas. The cohesion of writing
focuses on the “grammatical” aspects of writing.

❑ There is a difference between the two terms: cohesion is achieved when

sentences are connected at the sentence level, whereas as coherence is
achieved when ideas are connected. Coherence means the connection of ideas
at the idea level, and cohesion means the connection of ideas at the sentence
level. Basically, coherence refers to the “rhetorical” aspects of your writing, which
include developing and supporting your argument (e.g. thesis statement
development), synthesizing and integrating readings, organizing and clarifying
ideas. In contrast to the study of cohesion, which refers to surface-level patterns,
coherence entails the study of larger discourse relationships. The cohesion of
writing focuses on the “grammatical” aspects of writing.
In addition, cohesion focuses on the grammar and style of your paper.

Lexical Cohesion in Disciplinary Writing

Studies of cohesion in text are rooted in Halliday and Hassan’s (1976) work. Within the
33
framework of systemic functional linguistics, Halliday (1985) and Martin (1992) apply a
discourse semantics perspective to the analysis of the text. Following these authors,
cohesion can be understood as a semantic concept. By developing a network of cohesive
ties in which an element is dependent on the reference to another to be interpreted and
decoded, the text acquires its texture. Cohesive chains of reference, s ubstitution, ellipsis,
conjunction or lexical cohesion between elements make the text a complete meaningful
semantic unit. Lexical cohesion is achieved by the use of vocabulary, either by means of
reiteration of a lexical item (a general noun, a synonym, a near synonym or a hyponym)
or of collocation, the association of items that co-occur (such as the collocation of pairs
such as planning, and design or erect and demolish.

Reference

Certain items of language in English have the property of reference. That is, they do not
have meaning themselves, but they refer to something else for their meaning.

Substitution and ellipsis

Substitution is the replacement of one item by another and ellipsis is the omission of
the item. If writers wish to avoid repeating a word, they can use substitution or ellipsis.
“The scientific study of memory began in the early 1870s when a German
philosopher, Hermann Ebbinghaus, came up with the revolutionary idea
that memory could be studied experimentally. In doing so he broke away from a
2000-year-old tradition that firmly assigned the study of memory to the philosopher
rather than to the scientist. He argued that the philosophers had come up with a
wide range of possible interpretations of memory but had produced no way of
deciding which amongst these theories offered the best explanation of memory.
He aimed to collect objective experimental evidence of the way in which memory
worked in the hope that this would allow him to choose between the various
theories.”
Here, "so" means "studying memory experimentally". The writer has substituted
"studying memory experimentally" with "so". Other words that can be used are
"one", "ones", "do", "so", "not".
34
Ellipsis is substitution by zero.
“Some of the water which falls as rain flows on the surface as streams. Another
part is evaporated. The remainder sinks into the ground and is known as ground
water.
"Another part" means "Another part of the water" and "The remainder" means "The
remainder of the water".

Conjunction
Conjunction shows meaningful relationships between clauses. It shows how what follows
is connected to what has gone before.
“The whole Cabinet agreed that there should be a cut in the amount that the
unemployed were receiving; where they disagreed was in whether this should
include a cut in the standard rate of benefit. The opposition parties, however, were
unwilling to accept any programme of economies which did not involve a cut in the
standard rate of benefit.”
The word "however" shows that this statement is opposite to the ideas that have
come before. Other words used are "for example", "as a consequence of this",
"firstly", "furthermore", "in spite of this", etc.

Lexical cohesion

This is a way of achieving a cohesive effect by the use of particular vocabulary items. You
can refer to the same idea by using the same or different words.
❑ Other commonly used are "repetition", "synonyms" and "near synonyms",
"collocations", "super/sub-ordinate relationships" (e.g. fruit/apple, animal/cat) etc.
Anaphoric nouns
❑ Another useful way to show the connection between the ideas in a paragraph is
anaphoric nouns. Look at the following text:
“Moulds do not usually grow fast, and conditions had to be found in which large
quantities of Penicillium notatum could be produced as quickly as they were
wanted. The solution to this problem was helped by N. G. Heatley, a young
35
 biochemist also from Hopkins's laboratory in Cambridge, who had been prevented
by the outbreak of war from going to work in the Carlsberg laboratories in
Copenhagen.”
-The phrase "this problem" summarises the text in the first sentence and thus
provides the connection between the two sentences.

“Reports of original work, headed often by the names of many joint authors,
became too full of jargon to be understood even by trained scientists who were not
working in the particular field. This situation persists today, though strong
movements towards interdisciplinary research help to avoid total fragmentation of
scientific understanding.”
Again, the phrase "This situation" summarises the first sentence.

“This led many later Greek thinkers to regard musical theory as a branch of
mathematics (together with geometry, arithmetic, and astronomy it constituted
what eventually came to be called the quadrivium). This view, however, was not
universally accepted, the most influential of those who rejected it being Aristoxenus
of Tarentum (fourth century BC).”
Again "This view" summarises the information in the first sentence, the view
(opinion) that music was a branch of mathematics.

Hyponymy in Domain- specific Discourse

❑ Hyponymy is the most important relation in structuring and articulating semantic

space as well as in organizing the lexicon. Hyponymy is the “X is a type of/kind
of/sort of” relation (Lyons, 1977, p.292). In architecture and construction
engineering, house is a hyponym of the superordinate building if it is logically
acceptable that A house is a kind of building.

❑ Meronymy in Domain-specific Discourse

✓ The role of the semantic relation of meronymy (the part-whole relation) is
considered the second most important semantic relation. It is the semantic relation
between a lexical item denoting a part and that denoting the corresponding whole”.
36
 ✓ It is a part-whole relation. In The room is part of the house, the room (the meronym)
is part of the whole house. Simply put, when we refer to a house, we implicitly
understand that the house might have walls, a roof, a number of rooms or a door.

Collocations and Lexico-grammatical Features of Domain- Specific

Discourses
❑ Words are typically used in combinations or collocations (also referred to as
clusters, chunks, lexical phrases or lexical bundles). Collocations have been
defined after Firth (1957, p.179) as “the occurrence of two or more words within a
short space of each other in a text”,

ACTIVITY 3

a) You will be given a reseach articles. It will be uploaded to the

platform. You must identify the lexico-grammatical features used in it that
have been studied so far.
b) You should explain the elements you take into consideration in order to identify the
lexico-grammatical features.

GRAMMATICAL COHESION

Reference: pronouns, articles. Substitution of clause elements using so, not,

do/does/did, etc. Ellipsis of clause elements. Conjuncts (also called
linkers). Comparatives. Tense

❖ REFERENCE. It refers to the situation where the identity of an item can be

retrieved from either within or outside the text. The main reference patterns are
anaphoric, cataphoric, exophoric and homophoric reference.

❖ ANAPHORIC REFERENCE: where a word or phrase refers back to another word

or phrase used earlier in a text.
❖ CATAPHORIC REFERENCE: describes an item which refers forward to another
37
 word or phrase which is used later in the text. In this case, the reader knows the
item being referred to is yet to come in the text and reads forward to find the
meaning of “that”
❖ EXOPHORIC REFERENCE: looks outside the text to the situation in which the
text occurs for the identity of the item being referred to.
❖ HOMOPHORIC REFERENCE: where the identity of the item can be retrieved by
reference to cultural knowledge, in general, rather than the specific context of the
text.
❖ COLLOCATION: describes associations between vocabulary items which have a
tendency to co-occur, such as combinations of adjectives and nouns,

❖ CONJUNCTION: it refers to words, such as “and”, “however”, “finally” and “in

conclusion” to join phrases, clauses or sections of a text in such a way that they
express the logical-semantic relationship between them.

A text needs to do more than simply hang together. It also needs to make sense. In this
unit we will look at ways that this is achieved and the relation between this sense-making
quality (a text’s coherence) and its internal cohesion. This capacity of a text to make
sense is called coherence. It is a quality that the reader derives from the text; it is not
simply a function of its cohesion.
Cohesion is a surface feature of texts, independent of the reader. Coherence, on the
other hand, results from the interaction between the reader and the text.
The issue of cohesion is usually approached from two perspectives: the micro-level
and the macro-level. At the macro-level, coherence is enhanced if a) the reader can easily
discern what the text is about, b) the text is organized in a way that answers the reader’s
likely questions and c) the text is organized in a way that is familiar to the reader.

Linking adverbials

Linking adverbials can be divided into six “semantic categories”, which express the
following different relationships:
1. ENUMERATION (e.g. “first”, “second”) and addition (e.g. “also”). The latter marks

38
 the next unit of discourse as being additional.
2. SUMMATION, such as “to conclude”.
3. APPOSITION, which show the following text is an example (e.g. “for
example”) or reformulation (e.g. “that is”).
4. RESULT/INFERENCE (e.g. “therefore”), which show the following unit is a result, or
a logical or practical consequence. It also marks the c onclusions the reader is
expected to draw or connects claims to supporting facts.
5. CONTRAST/CONCESSION (e.g. “however”), which indicate alternatives. They add
that some highlight contrasting information, often leading to the main point the
writer wants to make, and others express reservations “about the idea in the
preceding clause”.
6. T RANSITION, for example “by the way”, which mean something is only loosely
connected.
❖ They perform important cohesive and connective functions by signaling
connections between units of units of discourse.
❖ They are signaling and cohesive devices in R.A
❖ They help RA authors construct and strengthen claims.

Rhetorical cohesion:
Syntactic parallelism

It implies using the same syntax in two or more different clauses to draw attention to a
comparison or contrast, for example:

In the sentence “The politicians were in a huff, the industrialists were in a rage, the
workers were in the mood for a fight”, the parallelism of “subject + be + prepositional
phrase” underlines the comparison between the three groups of people.

39
ACTIVITY 4

a) You will continue working on the text provided before in activity 3.

You must identify examples of grammatical cohesion in it.
b) You should explain the elements you take into consideration in order
to identify such examples.

NOMINAL GROUPS.
These grammatical resources name and describe people, places, things and events
and typically, but not always, realize the participants roles in a clause. Nominal groups
can also be part of a circumstance in the clause. The choices in nominal groups contribute
to the experiential meaning in a text. They also say a lot about the field of a text.
A nominal group consists of a main noun or “head” word and has the potential to be
expanded by adding information before the head word (pre-modification) and after it
(post-modification). For example, we could say my dog loved those bones or we could
say my dog loved those three smelly lamb bones from the butcher shop. In the
second example, the nominal group provides a more detailed description of the “bones”
because of the pre- and postmodifiers.

My dog loved those three smelly lamb bones from the butcher shop
premodifiers head postmodifier

We can use probe questions to examine the kind of information provided by each
element in the nominal group. We can also describe each element functionally. The tables
below provide a summary of the choices available or the potential of the nominal group
for naming and describing.
Probe Example Functional
Label
What? Bones (Head Word) Thing
Which one/ones or Those bones Deitic
whose?
How many? Those three bones Numerative
What like? Those three smelly bones Epithet

40
 What kind? Those three smelly lamb bones Classifier
More details after the Those three smelly lamb bones Qualifier
head from the butcher shop

Label Function Examples

Deitic Points to or specifies the thing this, his, my, John’s,
the, some, all, that
Numerative Gives numerical information about six, four, first, several,
many
quantity or order
Describes what the thing is like, green, tall, important,
dusty, fantastic, sharp,
Epithet aspects or qualities such as size,
old, smelly
colour, shape, etc; can be factual or
attitudinal
Tells what “kind” or “type” of thing; Computer technology;
fruit trees, native
Classifier indicates a sub-class
animals.
Further describes or defines with a The trees (in the
garden) were old. Water
Qualifier phrase or clause after the Thing.
the rose (that I bought
yesterday)

It is not always easy to identify the Thing in a nominal group, particularly when it names
a process or phenomenon (e.g. “devastation” or “concerns”). Nominal groups with highly
complex Qualifiers are also difficult to analyze.

Identifying the “thing”

a) Abstract things.
Nominal groups generally name people, places and things, but they
can also be used to name abstract concepts and processes. For
example, employment, consideration, adaptation, and influences all
name abstract “Things” and it would be possible to pre- and post-modify
each of them.
One resource for allowing concepts and processes to be named is
nominalization. This is an important resource for creating abstract and
technical terms. Nominalization works by turning other parts of the
clause (verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and conjunctions) into nouns. For
41
 example, employ- employment; complex- complexity.

b) Orientation
In some nominal groups, for example, the top of the tree, it is difficult
to know whether “top” or “tree” is the Thing. In many of these nominal
groups (the size of the box, a cup of sugar, three teaspoons of salt) a
group of words (the top of) is embedded in the nominal group before the
Deitic. These orient the listener/reader to a particular “aspect”

c) Nominal group complexes.

You will sometimes find a combination of nominal groups (a nominal

group complex) taking on the same functional role as a single nominal
group.

Word complexes.

You will also find examples where a combination or complex of words

functions as the Numerative, Epithet or Classifier in a nominal group. Typically, these can
be joined by the conjunctions and, but, or.

For example:
Three or four white- tipped reef sharks.
N + N C C T

iii) Complexity in the Qualifier

Many difficulties stem from the degree of complexity or embedding in
the Qualifier.

42
ACTIVITY 5

a) We continue working on the research article we have been working

on identifying different lexico-grammatical resources.
b) Underline nominal phrases made up of at least three elements in the
texts.
c) Explain what elements you have taken into account to identify such nominal
phrases.

IMPERSONALITY IN SCIENTIFIC DISCOURSE

The language of science is considered to be objective and is consequently associated

with impersonality. In this course, we will see that the language of science is not as
objective as it seems to be. On the contrary, it is highly rhetorical, and manifests itself in
various resources for intervention on the part of the author. But these personal
interventions occur in the context of impersonal constructions.
What do we mean by “impersonal constructions”?
They are constructions in which the actors (or agents) are hidden by the grammar, that
is, they are not explicitly stated. They are constructions that conceal agency.
One such impersonal construction is:

Ergative verbs
Verbs such as “increase” are unusual verbs in everyday English, but they are very
common in academic language. Linguists often call them "ergative verbs" (Lock, 1996,
pp. 89-90) or they are referred to as having a "middle" voice as opposed to an "active" or
"passive" voice (Halliday, 1967a, pp. 38-46). See Collins COBUILD (1996) for more
information and practice.
You could say there were three possibilities:
✓ Active voice: The government increased taxes.
✓ Passive voice: Taxes were increased by the government.
✓ Middle voice: Taxes increased.
Here are some more pairs of sentences showing verbs used ergatively:
✓ The technician boiled the water. → The water boiled.
43
 ✓ The subject rang the bell. → The bell rang.
✓ The pilot flew the plane. → The plane flew
✓ The student broke the machine. → The machine broke
✓ The technician varies the volume. → The volume varies.
✓ The government closed the factory. → The factory closed.
✓ The tutor enrolled him on a two-year course. → He enrolled on a two-year course.
✓ These are some other verbs that are commonly used in this way:
accelerate, begin, bend, boil, break, broaden, bruise, build up, burn, burst, change,
close, combine, connect, cool, condense, crack, decrease, deflate, develop,
diminish, disperse, drop, dry, end, enrol, evaporate, expand, finish, float, flood,
fracture, freeze, grow, harden, ignite, improve, increase, industrialise, inflate, join,
lengthen, lock, loosen, lower, melt, mend, merge, move, multiply , open, plunge,
reload, reunite, revolve, rewind, rock, roll, run, scatter, separate, shake, shut, spil l,
spin, split, stand, start, stiffen, stop, strengthen, stretch, swing, tear, terminate,
tighten, toughen, transfer, turn, turn on, turn off, twist, vaporise, weaken, whiten

.
These verbs can be useful when you want to avoid mentioning the agent, blame, or
how to lose the agent altogether

✓ Acme Electronics has closed five factories in the last six months.
✓ Five Acme Electronic factories have been closed in the last six months.
✓ Five Acme Electronics factories have closed in the last six months.

All blame has now been removed,

How can you tell whether a verb is ergative?
✓ First you make a transitive sentence with the verb in question:
✓ Little Johnny broke the window
Then you add 'so' and a clause with the same verb used intransitively, with the object
of the original sentence now the subject of the new clause.
✓ Little Johnny broke the window, so the window broke.
If it makes sense and sounds natural, as it does here, then you have an ergative verb.
Now compare:

44
 ✓ Little Johnny threw the ball, so the ball threw.

A window can break, but a ball can't throw, so throw is not an ergative verb.

Ergative -en verbs from adjectives

There is series of ergative verbs made from adjectives with -en added, meaning to
make something more of that quality the adjective describes. These verbs fall into
certain categories:
✓ Dimensions and shape - lengthen, shorten, straighten etc
✓ Light and colour - brighten, darken, whiten etc
✓ Density and composition - harden, soften, thicken etc
✓ Others - freshen, ripen, sweeten etc

Examples:
✓ The annual rate of inflation increased to 1.7% in July, from 1.4% in June,
in line with economists' expectations.
✓ Inflation was highest in Greece, at 5.5%, and lowest in Ireland, at -1.2%.
Core inflation also increased to 1% from 0.9%, reflecting the impact of VAT
increases in Greece, Spain, Portugal and Finland.
(From the Daily Telegraph)
✓ The cost of living in the U.S. unexpectedly decreased in April for the first
time in more than a year, reinforcing forecasts that the Federal Reserve will
keep interest rates near zero for much of 2010.
(From Bloomberg Business Week)
✓ The government increased inflation.
✓ The government increased.
✓ Inflation was increased (by the government).
✓ Inflation increased.

45
 ACTIVITY 6. Let´s work with ergative verbs
a) Identify the ergative verbs in the following text

Water, in its different forms, cycles continuously through the lithosphere,

hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere. Water evaporates into the
atmosphere from the land and the sea. Plants and animals use and reuse
water and release water vapor into the air. Once in the air, water vapor
circulates and cools and can condense to form clouds and precipitation,
which fall back to earth. At one time or another, all of the water molecules on
earth have been in an ocean, a river, a plant, an animal, a cloud, a raindrop,
a snowflake, or a glacier.

b) Fill in the blanks in the second sentence in each group, keeping the same
meaning as the first sentence.

1-Humans accelerated tropical deforestation markedly during the 1980s.

Tropical deforestation ___________________ markedly during the 1980s.

2-The 34 per cent overall increase in Wimbledon was a clear indication that people

were broadening their interest in tennis.

The 34 per cent overall increase in Wimbledon was a clear indication that tennis
__________________ ___________________ its interest.

3-Sport offers spontaneity which, when journalists combine it with more sophisticated
technology, allows a viewer to watch a game from many different angles.

Sport offers spontaneity which, when it ________ with more sophisticated technology,

46
 allows a viewer to watch a game from many different angles.

4- A trust is where a man legally transfers land to another, with an understanding that
the transferee will hold it for the benefit of the former.

A trust is where land legally ________ from one man to another, with an
understanding that the transferee will hold it for the benefit of the former.

5-Similarly, the muscles will not grow in length unless they are attached to tendons
and bones so that as the body lengthens the bones, it stretches them.

Similarly, the muscles will not grow in length unless they are attached to tendons and
bones so that as the bones ______________, they ______________.

6-The crystallization of enzymes occurs by a method called electrophoresis in which

scientists separate molecules according to their size and their electric charge.

The crystallization of enzymes occurs by a method called electrophoresis which

_______________ molecules according to their size and their electric charge.

7-The body multiplies the cells multiply by dividing them and this usually requires cell
growth, the cells doubling in size before dividing in two.

Cells ________________ by dividing and this usually requires cell growth, the cells
doubling in size before dividing in two.

8-The government increased road tax in June.

Road tax ___________________ in June.

47
ACTIVITY 7

a) Read the following articles:

Elaine Tarone, Susan Gillette, Sharon Dwyer & Vincent Icke. (1998). On the use of
the passive and active voice in astrophysics journal papers: With extensions to
other languages and other fields. English for Specific Purposes 17, 113-132.

Banks, D. (2017) The extent to which the passive voice is used in the scientific journal
article, 1985–2015. Functional Linguist. 4, 12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40554-
017-0045-5
b) Compare the information between both articles. Find out the common points
and the differences regarding the use of the passive voice in scientific
discourse

THE USE OF THE PASSIVE AND THE ACTIVE VOICE IN THE REGISTER OF EST

 Another reason for use of the passive voice is that this convention allows ideas to
be presented as not tied to a particular individual. An example exemplifying this is:
“The enumeration of Staphylococcus aureus has long been established”.
 This use of impersonal language is aligned with the value system of objectivity
(actions and findings are not tied to a particular person) and replicability (anyone
doing these actions will theoretically obtain the same results). Students are widely
urged to use the passive voice in science and technology, but knowing when, why
and in what parts of the laboratory report to use the passive or the active voice is
important.
 These include, most importantly, enabling authors to assert their own findings.
USUAL ASSUMPTION: the passive voice predominates in scientific and technical
English.
Traditional teaching of the passive: transformational one- syntactic. It does not take
into account pragmatic or semantic considerations.
48
 Functions in a context where students are being taught how to read and write on
science and technology.
▪ To emphasize a phenomenon or a process instead of the scientist.
▪ To make a sentence more impersonal.
▪ To vary the structure of successive sentences for interest.
▪ To conform to the style other writers use.

ACTIVE VERBS WITH INANIMATE SUBJECTS IN SCIENTIFIC PROSE

❑ The use of active verbs with inanimate subjects (e.g. A thermometer measures
temperatures) is a prevalent phenomenon in scientific prose only when the verb is
an inherent aspect or function of that subject. The instrumental subject is invested
with the power to act in a human way, i.e. it is anthropomorphized.
Results of Master’s study (Master, 1991): inanimate subjects with active verbs are
most prevalent than inanimate subjects with passive verbs, especially when the
subject is abstract.
Subjects can be characterized into three major groups:
1. Animate: animals, countries, cities, and any organization or group that could be
construed as consisting of animate entities.
2. Inanimate: atomic particles, substances, equipment, vehicles, buildings, heavenly
bodies,
Abstract: concepts, processes, methods, diseases, behaviours, measurements,
programs, predictions, all manifestations of the nonconcrete
❖ They are another resource for alternative ways of encoding reality.
❖ Concept of ergativity: the syntactic parallelism that exists between the goal of a
transitive verb and the subject of an intransitive verb. Compare: “The stone moved”
and “John moved the stone”
An ergative verb has two patterns:
• One allows to encode reality from the perspective of the causer or instigator of the
action. The other from the perspective of that which is affected by the action.They
refer to processes that occur frequently in the language of science (e.g. change,
vary, condense, freeze, vaporize.
49
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PASSIVE VOICE AND ERGATIVE VERBS.

❑ Agentless passives have an underlying agent, and it is possible to ask the

questions “who by” or “what by” even when the agent is not explicit, These
questions are not possible when the construction is intransitive.
❑ Compare: “The technician can vary the volume”
“The volume often varies”
The agentless use implies a removal of causality or agency that renders this
construction more impersonal than passive structures.

INANIMATE SUBJECTS IN ACADEMIC WRITING

➢ Use of active verbs with inanimate subjects pervasive in academic prose:
(1) Analysis, article, book, chapter, chart, data, evidence, example, experiment, figure,
finding, graph, investigation, observation, page, paper, paragraph, research, result,
section, study, table, work.
➢ Even communication and mental verbs used with inanimate subjects,
provide, show, find, explain and suggest being particular common.
➢ Almost no 1st person references in modern research articles; rather,
agentless passives and inanimate subjects common (inanimate subjects in
Introductions and Discussions sections; agentless passives in Methods
sections).
➢ Frequent occurrence of reporting verbs in academic prose; (2) address,
analyze, argue, claim, conclude, confirm, consider, define, demonstrate,
describe, discuss, examine, exhibit, explain, explore, find, illustrate,
indicate, investigate, offer, present, produce, propose, provide, raise, report
(on), reveal, show, state, study, suggest, support, yield.
Master (1991), Biber et al. (1999), Warner (2009), Biber and Conrad (2009)

The passive in academic writing

➢ Passive often considered characteristic of academic texts, allowing writers
to avoid using 1st person pronouns.
➢ Recent study on the English passive based on ARCHER: use of passive

50
 has remained relatively stable
➢ More importantly, two other constructions have emerged, even “less
agentive” than the passive, featuring nouns expressing abstract sources or
textual categories as subjects:
(3) fact-construction: The results of this experiment strongly support the
hypothesis that .. (MICUSP)
(4) paper-construction: This paper will analyze the organizational structure
of art historical discourse… (MICUSP)
➢ Both preferred reporting structures in abstracts and research articles in
Humanities and Social Sciences
Wanner (2009), Dorgeloh & Wanner (2003, 2009), Lorés Sanz (2008)

Use of subject-placeholders
➢ “It” sentences as used e.g. in extraposition
a) It is interesting to note here, however, that while the average fell below
at around 4 doubled-hedged expressions, only a couple of
teachers’choices fell in range of this numbers (MICUSP)
b) However, it had been observed, in my previous project that the vowel
quality does not necessarily change significantly between stressed and
unstressed syllables in certain words (MICUSP)
➢ There-sentences (Ward, Birner & Huddleston, 2002)
a) As existentials, consisting of there and a form of be:
Still, there are many factors to be examined (CALE)

b) As presentationals, there followed by some other verb, e.g. exist or

remain:
Even if there exists a verb form hamburgered that has been recorded,
it does not play a significant role as it has not proved to be productive.
(CALE)

Use of reporting verbs in several structural variants

Reporting verbs used in active voice

51
 a) With 1st person subject (I, We)
Following Kufner (1971), I will only investigate, on differences between
languages ( CALE)
Having done that, we will discuss our findings with respect to the initially
formulated hypothesis and SLA theories. (CALE)
b) With 3rd person subjects e.g. he, she, they,author/s, proper names
Some researchers, however, such as Lefevre (1998), Singler (1988),
Mühlhauser (1997) have argued that adult cognition plays a role in
Creole…
c) With 3rd person impersonal subject (one, you)
To understand why this failure occurred,one must consider two factors: the
experimental design and the nature of the sole participant in the experiment
(MICUSP)
d) With non-agentive subject (realised as a full NP or anaphoric pronoun)
The descriptive part of the analysis of the discussion section discusses the
action, or lack there of, in the portrait. It also examines artistic elements…
(MICUSP)
e) Reporting verbs used in passive voice
- With subject placeholder
It has been claimed that we need a greater balance between theoretical
abstractions and detailed linguisitc descriptions of actual language
occurrence (CALE)
- With other subjects (clausal, NP or Pronominal)
Indeed, the importance of hedging has been demonstrated with increasing
frequency over the last 20 years or so (MICUSP)
- With additional “by phrase”
I have already mentioned above that the theory has for example been
supported by Randolph Quirk (CALE)

Use of subject-placeholders: Qualitative differences

➢ It-sentences in MICUSP: It BE ADJ to/that

a) It is also important to point out here that I considered only a rather
52
 narrow set of verbs to be weak and therefore hedges.
b) It is clear that, despite a few exceptions and variations, the pattern
holds to a relatively high degree.
➢ It -sentences in CALE: It BE/modal +VED that
a) It can be observed that the other neologisms which only consist of one
syllable have an insertion of a linking vowel.
b) It has been shown that the German word über can be translated in
various ways.
c) It has to be mentioned that there could be more or less hapaxes in
each corpus.
➢ Existentials in MICUSP

Impersonality in scientific discourse: the active voice.

Why is the active voice most frequent in the language of science?

 The active voice is most frequent because of two main reasons
a) The fact that a verb is active does not imply that it is personal. It may be active,
but still “hide” the real agents or instigators of action. Or, simply, the real agents
are not in the structure. Also, the fact that a verb is active does not imply that it has
a passive counterpart. It may be active only, as “be” or “have”.
b) The impersonality of active forms occurs through different grammatical
constructions that are alternatives to the typical agentive, active construction.

.Examples of the resources mentioned above

 Ergative constructions and verbs with inanimate subject.
Ergative constructions.
Dairy producers raised the price of dairy products.
Prices rose.
John opened the door.
The door opened.
Active verbs with inanimate subjects.
The thermometer measures temperatures.
The doctor measures temperature with the thermometer.

53
 The table shows the results of the study
The researcher shows the results of the study in a table.

Modality
Science is about facts. But when scientists talk about facts, they may be certain
about the truth of what they express, or they may be uncertain, as the scientists may
be talking about what they are studying, that is, about knowledge in progress. Certainty
and uncertainty are expressed in the grammar of the language.
In fact, whenever we speak, we express simultaneous meanings: we say
something, but at the same time, we indicate how certain we are, that is, how we are
positioned in relation to the truth of what we are saying. This positioning in front of the
truth of a statement is called epistemic modality, mainly associated with modal
auxiliaries.
Speakers and writers can take a stand in relation to both statements and questions
(modalisation) and offers and commands (modulation). For example:
Speakers and writers can take a stand in relation to both statements and questions
(modalisation) and offers and commands (modulation). For example:
✓ Modals can be expressed by a Modal Finite, Mood Adjunct or by using
interpersonal metaphor. Modal Finites (Halliday, 1994)
✓ Modal Finites (Halliday, 1994)

Modality

Modulation (commands/offers) Modalization (statements and

questions)
Expressing degrees of Expressing degrees of
i. Obligation i. Probability
ii. Inclination/readiness ii. usuality

Droga (2002)

 Mood Adjunct (Halliday, 1994)

54
 Type Example

Probability Probably, possibly, certainly, perhaps, maybe

Usuality Usually, sometimes, always, never, seldom, rarely, ever.

Readiness Willingly, readily, gladly, certainly, easily.

Obligation Definitely, absolutely, possibly, at all costs, by all means.

Time Yet, still, already, once, soon, just.

Typicality Occasionally, generally, regularly, mainly, for the most part.

Obviousness Of course, surely, obviously, clearly

Intensity Just, simply, merely, only, even, actually, really, in fact

Degree Quite, almost, nearly, scarcely, hardly, absolutely, totally,

utterly, entirely, completely.

TENSE IN THE LANGUAGE OF SCIENCE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO TEXT

MACROSTRUCTURE

The tenses used in the research article are both present and past. The perfect tense is
found with specific functions, and the continuous aspect is rare.
Tense in the language of science, particularly in the research article, has different
distribution in the different sections.
The three tenses of verb that occupy the range of use in EST are:
- The present simple

55
 - The simple past
- The present perfect
➢ The present simple: it is used in the following cases (Sager et al, 1980)
a) The expression of the scientific laws and the general truth.
b) The expression of processes and repeated actions.
Water freezes at 0°.

The present tense is found:

a) At the beginning of the Introduction section, to make a generalization about the
topic.
b) At the end of the Introduction section to state the aim of the study
c) In the Method section, to describe materials and places.
d) In the Results section, to refer to a table or a figure in the text.
e) In the Discussion section, in modalized expressions or to interpret results.
The past tense is found:
a) In the Introduction, to cite other studies on the same topic
b) In the Method section, to describe experiments.
c) In the Results, to describe results.

The present perfect is found:

a) In the literature review, when referring to groups of researchers studying the same
topics.

ACTIVITY 8
You will work on the following research article:
L. Tang, S. Gu, Y. Gong, B. Li, H. Lu, Q. Li, R. Zhang, X. Gao, Z. Wu, J. Zhang, Y. Zhang,
L. Li, Clinical significance of the correlation between changes in the major intestinal
bacteria species and COVID-19 severity, Engineering (2020), doi:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eng.2020.05.013

a) In groups of no more than three people you must identify the resources used in

56
 the research article to convey impersonality in scientific discourse.
b) You must also pay attention to the sections of the article where these resources
are most used.

Compulsory reading

Books:
McCarthy, M. (2011). Discourse Analysis for Language Teachers.Cambridge University
Press. The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK.
Paltridge, B. (2012). Discourse Analysis: An Introduction. Bloombury Academic.
London.

Research articles:

Martinez, I. (2001). Impersonality in the research article as revealed by analysis of the

transitivity structure. Elsevier Science Ltd.

,
Peacock M. (2014) Modals in the construction of research articles: A cross-disciplinary
perspective. Ibérica 27 (2014): 143-164 ISSN: 1139-7241 / e-ISSN: 2340-2784

Durán, Pilar & Rubio, Ana Luz (2015). Language Proficiency Level and Intake of Nominal
Group Use in Scientific English: A Web Classroom Empirical Study. International
Journal of English Linguistics; Vol. 5, No. 2; 2015 ISSN 1923-869X E-ISSN 1923-
8703. Canadian Center of Science and Education

Participation in forum
Topic:
a) 1st week. Nominal group
Read the following article and summarize the main points in the information provided
about the nominal group.
Language Proficiency Level and Intake of Nominal Group Use in Scientific English: A
Web Classroom Empirical Study Durán, P & Rubio, A (2015)

57
 b) 2nd week. The “ing” form
Read the following article and provide information in relation to the difficulties the
interpretation of this form presents to students and how it is possible to overcome
this problem

La forma –ing en inglés: interferencias en la lectocomprensión. Gago, M. Cecilia

Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento

58
 UNIT 3
GENRE APPROACH TO EST

A systemic functional approach to the language of science. Nominalization and

grammatical metaphor. High lexical density. Register variation. EST as a register
variation. Genre approaches to EST. EST in the academia. Science disciplines in
academic contexts. The structure of the research articles. Move step analysis and the
CARS model. Research Space: Knowledge claims and author’s voice in academic
science discourse: hedges, boosters, self-mention. Understanding disciplinary specificity
in authorial voice and reader engagement. Use of personal pronouns. Citation and self-
citation.

INTRODUCTION
In this unit we will analyze texts from a genre approach, focusing our attention mainly in
the research article. We will analyze the CARS Model for the Introduction section of the
research article as well as the other sections of it. In that framework, we will also
concentrate in the authors’ voice in their research documents

OBJECTIVES

- To reflect on the way authors express their claims in research articles.

- To identify the author’s voice in the research article
- To analyze the different sections of a research article recognizing the lexico-
grammatical resources that let them identify the mentioned sections.

CONTENTS

In the Systemic Functional framework, the focus is “the language of science” seen
as a functional variety or “register”. One crucial aspect in the evolution of scientific
discourse is the need to construct technical taxonomies.
59
 • Recognizable resources of scientific discourse are nominalizations, high
lexical density, nominal style and grammatical metaphor.

Nominalisation in scientific discourse

This is another important textual resource. Nominalization refers to the process of

turning words that are not normally nouns into nouns. This is another form of what Halliday
(1994) refers to as grammatical metaphor.
Nominalization is an important resource for creating abstract and technical terms and
for condensing information in texts. It is one of the major differences between spoken and
written language.
The more abstract nature of written language is the result of nominalization.

ACTIVITY 1

Read the following article:

Holtz, M (2009). Nominalisation in scientific discourse. A corpus-based study of
abstracts and research articles .Department of Linguistic and Literary Studies
English Linguistics echnische Universität Darmstadt

a) Read the abstract, introduction, state of the art, first paragraph of the section Corpus
processing and section Analysis and Results of the article.
b) Make notes on the following topics based on the information provided by the article.
➢ Scientific discourse
➢ Research article
➢ Definition of abstract and main characteristics.
➢ Systemic Functional Linguistics.
➢ Nominalization, definition, characteristics and examples of it.

60
 ACTIVITY 2

Read the meanings on the left of the table below and match them with an appropriate
abstract term (nominalization) from the following text. Note how they condense the
meaning into a single noun.

Text
This period of great social change led to a more abstract manipulation of form.
Edwards’ iconic assemblages reflect an acute tension between paint, collage and
found object. In “Playground”, these objects lose their original identity and become
abstract representations of a struggle for recognition. The random brushstrokes of
colour have a strong sense of immateriality.

Meaning Abstract term

A collection or group of things
A determined effort under difficulty
A strained state or relationship
The quality or condition associated
with being a specified person or thing.
An instance of making something
different
A length or portion of time.
A symbolic portrayal
The handling or treatment of materials
by altering or moving elements or
aspects
Having no real importance or
relevance

Traditional semantic structures:

Processes are realized by verbs, entities by nouns, and attributes by adjective. This is
61
the congruent realization

e. g. We walked in the evening along the river Henley.

Compare:

e. g. Our evening walk along the river took us to Henley: grammatical metaphor
What is a grammatical metaphor?
This is a feature of much written English and of spoken English in professional
registers where experiences are realized following the patterns below:

a) process realized as thing

b) circumstance realized as thing
c) attribute realized as thing

NOMINALIZATION IN SCIENTIFIC DISCOURSE. A CORPUS-BASED STUDY OF

ABSTRACTS AND RESEARCH ARTICLES. HOLTZ (2009)

❑ THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF THE RESEARCH: Systemic Functional

Linguistics (Halliday,2004b, Halliday and Martin, 1993) and Register Analysis (e.g.
Biber, 1988, 1995, Conrad and Biber, 2001).
❑ Research articles (RAs): seen as the most prominent discourse in science and
Abstracts are very important part of research articles. They represent the main
thoughts of the research article.
Most distinctive feature: THEIR INFORMATION DENSITY

❑ Corpus of 94 abstracts and RAs from several scientific journals in English from the
disciplines: computer science, linguistics, biology and mechanical engineering
comprising over 420,000 words.
❑ Nominalisations derived from nouns (child/childhood) do not play an important role
in scientific discourse. Only nominalisations derived from verbs and adjectives are
considered.
❑ RESULTS:

62
 ➢ Nominalisation is a significantly more frequent linguistic phenomenon in abstracts
than in RAs.
➢ Linguistics shows the highest nominalisation type, whereas mechanical
engineering has the lowest ratio.
➢ There are five nominalisation types which occur throughout all corpora and
domains: addition, analysis, distribution, information and solution.
➢ The five most frequent instances of nominalisations in the corpus of abstracts are:
analysis, aproximation, structure and length.
➢ Dead grammatical metaphors: temperature, addition.
➢ The most frequent suffix for nominalising is –sion/tion, which nominalises verbs
(processes), followed by – ity, which is used for adjective nominalisation= more
frequent in abstracts than in RAs
➢ -ment nominalisations (e.g. experiment, agreement, alignment, attachment) play
an important role in the domain of linguistics, while –ure nominalisations occur
frequently in mechanical engineering (e.g. pressure, temperature, moisture)

As we have already stated, nominalisation works by turning words that are not
normally nouns (verbs, conjunctions, adjectives, and adverbs) into nouns. The following
table shows a number of ways that nominalisation can be formed.

From verb to noun

Many verbs are commonly changed into nouns
a) by adding suffixes to the verb form:
verify verification; identify identity; arrange arrangement
b) by using the gerund form -ing: her acting, an old saying
Some verbs are used as nouns without any change eg. cause, visit, struggle
From conjunction to noun
Nouns can also be used to express relationships typically realised by
conjunctions, eg:
a) The customer left || because the food was cold.
The customer’s reason for leaving was the cold soup.

63
 b) He began painting portraits || and then moved on to landscapes.
The latter part of his career focussed on landscapes.

From adjective to noun

Adjectives can also be nominalised and turned into a noun form. For example:
expensive expense; unstable instability; tense tension.
From clause to nominal group
Nominal groups containing nominalisations are often used to condense
meanings that
would otherwise be spread across a number of clauses. For example:
a) I am going to develop my ideas in a logical way || because that helps me
structure
my essay.
The logical development of ideas contributes to the structure of an essay
Droga (2002)

As a textual resource, nominalization functions in two ways. Firstly, it increases the

lexical density of the clause by condensing meaning into nominal groups. Secondly, it
allows us to organize texts in terms of abstract ideas, reasons, causes etc. (i.e
rhetorically).

Nominalization and lexical density.

Texts which use a lot of nominalization often appear very dense and can be difficult to
read. This is because nominalization changes the distribution of information in a clause.
The main change is that the number of content words in a clause increase. This is referred
to as an increase in lexical density.

HOW TO UNPACK A NOMINALIZATION

Example
❖ Nominalization in text
Insulin independence and normoglycemia have also been achieved with

64
 islet tranplants.
❖ Unpacked version:
Patients are now independent of insulin and have normoglycemia. This has
been achieved because the doctors transplanted islets.

DISCOURSE AND GENRE

Approach to genre analysis:
based on Swales’ (1981, 1990) analyses of the discourse structure of RESEARCH
ARTICLES.

➢ WHAT IS A GENRE?
Genres are ways in which people “get things done” through their use of spoken
and written discourse. They have a common function and purpose (or set of
functions and purposes). Genres may be performed by a particular person aimed
at a particular audience. They change through time (changes in technology-
changes in values underlying the use of the particular genre). They vary in terms
of their typicality.

THE SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT OF GENRES

An important stage is the examination of the social and cultural context in which the
genre is used:
Factors to be considered:
❖ The setting of the text.
❖ The focus and perspective of the text.
❖ The purpose/s of the text.
❖ The intended audience for the text, their role and purpose in reading the text.
❖ The relationship between writers and readers of the text.
❖ Expectations, conventions and requirements for the text.
❖ The background knowledge, values and understandings it is assumed the writer
shares with their readers, including what is important to the reader and what is not.
❖ The relationship the text has with other texts.

DEFINING GENRE
65
 • A GENRE is a staged, goal-oriented, purposeful activity in which speakers engage
as members of our culture” (Martin’s 1984)
• Social: we participate in genres with other people
• Goal-oriented: we use genres to get things done.
• Stages: it usually takes us a few steps to reach our goals.

A working definition of genre (Swales, 1990)

A genre is a class of communicative event. The principal criterial feature that turns a
collection of communicative events into a genre is some shared set of communicative
purposes. Instances of genres vary in their prototypicality. The rationale behind a genre
establishes constraints on allowable contributions in terms of their content, positioning
and form. A discourse community’s nomenclature for genres is an important source of
insight

USING A GENRE-BASED APPROACH.

The cultural purpose of a particular text determines: its structure, its organization, its
steps and their sequencing. This approach begins with the analysis of representative
examples of a text genre. this analysis will focus on:
- the macrostructures of the text- how, for example, it is organized into obligatory and
optional elements and how these are ordered.
- the texture of the text, that is, the way that the text is made cohesive through, for
example, the use of linking devices.
- the lower-level features of grammar and vocabulary that encode the register of the
text, that is, its field, tenor and mode.
• A genre approach to science disciplines in academic contexts focus on
prototypicality and variation as well as on factors that favour variation: the
nature of the discipline and its practices and discourse community.
• The most frequently published text is the research article, confirming its
prominent status in academic professional communication (Swales, 1990). Some
conclusions can be drawn from the analysis of texts. Discourse in science and
technology fields evolves alongside the disciplinary knowledge and acquires
individuality when the needs and practices of the respective communities require
66
 particular forms of communication. There is a clear relationship between, on the
one hand, the disciplines and their professional/academic communities (including
writers, editors, reviewers, audience) and, on the other hand, the communities and
the (written) forms of communication their disciplinary practice promote. (Paltridge,
2006). More consistent and regulated forms depend on the maturity of the
discipline and coagulation of its community.
A theory of specialized knowledge needs to combine a theory of specialized texts
with specialized contexts (Van Dijk, 2003). For ESAP the context is a “research
space”, whose elements include: the community and the relationships among its
members (including the issue of membership), the discipline, its specialized
(generic) discourse built in science field:
Knowledge claims are expressed and proved in hard sciences in published
academic texts. They are expressed in different ways in different disciplines and
this modulation leads to disciplinary specificity of discourse.
• The interpersonal function has a writer and reader-oriented components.
Writer oriented components (elements of personal expression):
• Hedges and attitude markers
• Boosters (Intensifiers)
• Self-mention.
Reader oriented components (elements of reader engagement)
• Directives. (They realize both textual acts, instructing the reader to consult the
reference material or parts of the text, and cognitive acts, instructing the reader
how to interpret some facts or information. Eg: cognitive acts may be realized by
structures of the type “it is+adjective+cognitive verb”
Example: “It is difficult to foresee a significant improvement in the levels of
poverty in Liberia while the fighting continues”

WHAT ARE HEDGES AND BOOSTERS?

(Hyland, 1998)

They are communicative strategies for increasing or reducing the force of the
67
statement. They not only carry the writer’s confidence in the truth of a proposition, but
also an attitude to the audience. They also represent a major contribution to the social
negotiation of knowledge and writers’ efforts to persuade readers of the correctness of
their claims, helping them to gain community acceptance for their work as a contribution
to disciplinary scholarship and knowledge.
➢ Academics negotiate the status of their knowledge claims with their peers through
the medium of research articles, and success is at least dependent on their use of
appropriate rhetorical and interactive elements.
➢ Hyland (1994) states that “effective academic writing actually depends on
interactional elements which supplement, propositional information in the text, and
alert readers to the writer’s opinion, i.e. what marks a good article is the author’s
ability to supply the reader with a tentative analysis of the c ollected data, thus
leaving the door open for alternative interpretations”

HEDGES
❖ In academic writing they convey a cautious approach to the material or research
results being presented, which in turn helps academics gain acceptance of their
work (Hyland, 2000) The ability to use hedges is of great importance for all
academic writers, including second language learners of English. With the use of
them writers reduce the personal responsability involved in making a statement,
since it is impossible to be one hundred per cent scientifically sure of something
They are used to show doubt and indicate that information is presented as opinion
rather than accredited fact, or to convey deference, humility and respect for
colleagues’ views (Myers, 1989; Hyland, 1996b, 1998)

BOOSTERS
Boosters such as clear, obviously and of course, allow writers to express conviction and
assert a proposition with confidence, representing a strong claim about a state of affairs.
Affectively they also mark involvement and solidarity with an audience, stressing shared
information, group membership and a direct engagement with readers.

- Examples: will/ the fact that/ show that/ it is clear/clearly/ actually/ indeed/
always/ obvious(ly)/ of course/ evident/ should definitely/ certain/ certainly/

68
 undoubtedly/ quite simple/demonstrate/ substantially/definite/definitely

Compare the effect that the following sentences could have if the hedge suggests was
replaced by alternative wordings:
• A) The spelling itself suggests a rushed and frantic response.
• B) The spelling itself obviously shows a rushed and frantic response (booster)
The spelling itself is due to/is the result of a rushed and frantic response
• Salager-Meyer found that the discussion and comment sections of medical journal
articles are the most heavily hedged sections.

Taxonomy of hedges:

- Shields: e.g. all modal verbs expressing possibility; semi-auxiliaries like: to

appear, to seem, probability adverbs like: probably, likely.
- Approximators, e.g. of quantity, degree, frequency and time, approximately,
roughly, often.
- Expressions such as “I believe”, “to our knowledge”, etc. which express the
author’s personal doubt and direct involvement.
- Emotionally charged intensifiers, such as: extremely interesting, particularly
encouraging, unexpectedly.
- Compound hedges, i.e., the juxtaposition of several hedges, e.g. It may suggest
that…, it seems reasonable to assume…, etc

GENRE-BASED APPROACH.
The cultural purpose of a particular text determines its structure, its organization, its
steps and their sequencing. This approach begins with the analysis of representative
examples of a text genre. This analysis will focus on:
• The macrostructures of the text- how, for example, it is organized into
obligatory and optional elements and how these are ordered.
• The texture of the text, that is, the way that the text is made cohesive
through, for example, the use of linking devices.
• The lower-level features of grammar and vocabulary that encode the
register of the text, that is, its field, tenor and mode.

69
 A genre-based approach is particularly well-suited for text types that are both fairly
formulaic and whose mastery confers social advantages on the user.
By relating texts to their contexts including their social purposes and by raising
awareness as to the meaning-making potential of register features, genre teachers hope
to empower their learners- to give them access to the means of text production that are
valued in the target culture.
A genre approach to science disciplines in academic contexts focus on prototypicality
and variation as well as on factors that favour variation: the nature of the discipline and
its practices and discourse community.
The most frequently published text is the research article, confirming its prominent
status in academic professional communication (Swales, 1990). Some conclusions can
be drawn from the analysis of texts:
❖ Discourse in science and technology fields evolves alongside the
disciplinary knowledge and acquires individuality when the needs and practices of
the respective communities require particular forms of communication.
❖ There is a clear relationship between, on the one hand, the disciplines and
their professional/academic communities (including writers, editors, reviewers,
audience) and, on the other hand, the communities and the (written) forms of
communication (Paltridge, 2006)their disciplinary practice promote.
❖ More consistent and regulated forms depend on the maturity of the
discipline and coagulation of its community.

Specialized discourse is seen as a variation of choice due to particular purposes,

subject matter, audience, disciplinary practices. A theory of specialized discourse can
develop within a theory of specialized knowledge. A theory of specialized knowledge
needs to combine a theory of specialized texts with specialized contexts (Van Dijk, 2003).
For ESAP the context is a “research space”, whose elements include: the community and
the relationships among its members (including the issue of membership), the discipline,
its specialized (generic) discourse built in science fields?
✓ Knowledge claims are expressed and proved in hard sciences in published
academic texts.
✓ Knowledge claims are expressed in different ways in different disciplines
and this modulation leads to disciplinary specificity of discourse.

70
 ✓ The purpose is to see whether the author and the audience as members of
disciplinary community interact in science academic texts and whether this
“dialogue” influences the linguistic, functional and rhetorical features of the texts
analyzed.

The interpersonal function has a writer and reader-oriented components.

a) Writer oriented components (elements of personal expression):
• Hedges and attitude markers
• Boosters (Intensifiers)
• Self-mention.
b) Reader oriented components (elements of reader engagement)
• Directives. (They realize both textual acts, instructing the
reader to consult the reference material or parts of the text, and
cognitive acts, instructing the reader how to interpret some facts or
information. Eg: cognitive acts may be realized by structures of the
type “it is+adjective+cognitive verb”

• Knowledge reference.

Traditional views considered the academic discourse of science as being impersonal

and objective, the use of modulators revealed a “vocal” authorial presence. They indicate
that they articulate the interpersonal function, most sensitive to disciplinary
variation. Texts display reader- oriented features, writer-oriented features, modification
of claims and citation and self-citation patterns that clearly linked to disciplinary
practices, disciplinary community aspirations. They are all grounds for observing
disciplinary variation in the discourse of science and technology. The reader engagement
strategy is observed in the use of directives. They realized both textual acts, instructing
the reader to consult the reference material or parts of the text, and cognitive acts
instructing the reader how to interpret some facts or information. For example, cognitive
acts may be realized by structures of the type “it is + cognitive verb”.

The practice of citations is also clearly related to disciplinary practice.

71
 ✓ The interplay of hedging and boosting devices reveals an authorial voice
whose presence, though often challenged by the need to be objective and
impersonal presentation of data, is pervasive in texts. Use of specific features to
express tentativeness, fuzziness, certainty and strength.
✓ What a close inspection of texts, within well -defined theoretical frameworks
for analysis can do, is generate quality insights into discourse resources, on the
one hand, and contextual and disciplinary factors, on the other hand, which
generate (disciplinary) variation in language use.

PERSONAL PRONOUNS IN SCIENTIFIC DISCOURSE.

ACTIVITY 3
a) What do you know about personal pronouns?
b) Why do you think it is important to study them in the context of the language
of science? Which personal pronouns do you expect to find?
c) Can you predict differences in the behavior of pronouns in the language of
science as compared to everyday language?
d) Do you expect to find the same prononuns used in both the research article
and the popular science article?

Personal pronouns convey special meanings. Their meanings have to do with the
participants involved in the communication. Remember that the research article is written
for peers who are experts in the field, and the popular science article is written for wider
audiences, not necessarily of experts.
Categories: first person, second person, third person and indefinite pronouns.
FIRST PERSON PLURAL PRONOUNS (We, us, let us, our)
• Occur far more frequently as the major communicative
purpose of journal article writers is to present their own research
claims and findings.
• It can have either inclusive or exclusive semantic reference.
• An inclusive includes both speaker-writer and hearer-reader.
• An exclusive one excludes hearer-reader
72
 • Researchers use inclusive “we” and “us” to invite readers into
their arguments and presuppose reader´s knowledge.
• We also find occurrences of “we” which do not refer to either
writers themselves or either writers or readers (this is what we
call…). In the latter the writers are referring to a technical term which
should be familiar to researchers in the discipline.

- WE mean ‘people in the discipline as a whole’.

- US –Let’s us: may be perceived by writers as an
effective device to invite readers to cooperate in the discourse
and to seek agreement from readers. May be used to refer to
writers themselves with the function of explaining that what they
want to do next.
• OUR as a possessive frequently co-occurs with words like
technique, approach, method, definition, system, study to
highlight what is proposed by writers and emphasize the writer’s
unique contributions.

SECOND PERSON PRONOUNS (You-Your)

• It occurs rarely. It should be regarded as the most interactive

form among personal pronouns, since it explicitly acknowledges
the presence of the reader.
• It could sound offensive or detached since it separates
readers, as a different group, from the writer. Especially, the
expected readers of a scientific article are the writer’s peer
researchers in the same discipline.
• YOU has another semantic reference which is similar to the
indefinite pronoun ONE. In other words, it refers to people in
general, instead of a particular person or group. It refers to any
researcher in the discipline (even the writer)
• YOU could be both interactive and inclusive.

73
 • The hidden YOU of the imperative are usually used in
materials and method sections with verbs of supposition or
attention, like assume, suppose, note, observe or consider. An
imperative brings attention to the statement that follows usually an
action, but occurrences are rare.

THE THIRD PERSON SINGULAR/PLURAL PRONOUNS (He, him, his, she, and her)
• They are usually used to refer to other researchers in the discipline. Writers
usually cite the names of other researchers for the first time, then they use the
corresponding pronoun. It usually follows an integral citation.

THE INDEFINITE PRONOUNS (one, ones, one’s)

• One, one’s show two discoursal purposes:
1- To refer to any researcher in general and to stress a shared interest,
aim or knowledge.
2- To refer to writers or both writers and readers and giving an opinion
or an action statement.
• One instead of we or I can make the opinion less personal and suggest that
the opinion is widely held or the action would be taken by any researcher in a given
situation (try to replace it by we).

THE FIRST PERSON SINGULAR

• There is high proportion of personal pronouns in the soft articles.
• Self-mention can help construct an intelligent, credible and engaging
colleague by presenting an authorial self firmly established in the norms of the
discipline and reflecting an appropriate degree of confidence and authority.
• The first person assists authors to demarcate their own work from that of
others, to distinguish who they are and what they have to say.
• Self-mention seems to help bind the writer and the reader together as co-
participants in an ongoing debate.
• It may also be used to manage the reader’s awareness of the writer’s role.

74
 CITATIONS

They play a key role in academic writing. They show how a new piece of research
arises out of and is grounded in the current state of disciplinary knowledge.

Formal distinctions for in-text citations (Swales, 1990)

Non-integral (outside the sentence, no explicit grammatical role in the sentence)
• Sentences are typically made up of interlocking bundles as words are
mentally “primed” for use with other words through our experience of them in
frequent associations (Hoey, 2005)

Integral: Explicit grammatical role in the sentence of author or work.

• Subject
More recently, Nattinger and DeCarrico (1992) have emphasized the
importance of frequent multi-word combinations as a way of assisting
communication by making language more predictable to the hearer.
• Agent
The findings support studies by Cortes (2004) and Biber (2006) which show
considerable variations in the frequency of forms…
• Genitive noun phrase
A framework for analyzing the bundles found in this corpus was developed
from Biber’s (Biber, 2006; Biber et al., 2004) classification.

• Other structures
This pervasiveness has, in fact, led writers such as Sinclair (1991) and Hoey
(2005) to propose radical new theories of language to replace our traditional
conceptions of grammar. As Sinclair (1991, p. 108) observes

75
ACTIVITY 4

This is an online activity. Surf this website to analyze the CARS model for the
INTRODUCTION SECTION of the research article.

http://sana.aalto.fi/awe/style/reporting/sections/intros/cars/digital/1x.html

a) Using a mindmap, summarize the main ideas.

b) Upload it to the virtual platform in a date to arrange.

ACTIVITY 5

a) You will watch the video by Ken Hyland about Genre, Community and Identity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxdmAtlkCoI
<iframe width="560" height="315"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GxdmAtlkCoI" frameborder="0"
allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-
picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
b) Using a mindmap, summarize the main ideas.

76
 c) Upload it to the virtual platform in a date to be arranged

HOW CAN LEARNING ABOUT THE STRUCTURE OF RESEARCH

ARTICLES HELP INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

Many non-native speaking researchers want to have their research published in

scholarly journals. However, many of them have difficulty getting their work published
in English.
• One of the problematic areas (as pointed out by Flowerdew (2001), is the
structure of the article.
• It is important to understand the complete rhetorical structure of the
research article:
Knowledge of the structure of research articles will empower
international students and help them integrate better into the academic
world.

IDENTIFICATION OF THE MOVES AND STEPS IN THE ARTICLES BASED ON THE

FUNCTION OR CONTENT OF THE TEXT.

A typical abstract: most of the abstracts have four or five moves.

<Presenting the research>

This paper discusses findings from an extensive project examining gender, language
and computer-mediated communication (CMC) in the context of undergraduate
psychology courses.

<Describing the methodology>

The contributions of 197 introductory psychology students (148 females, 49 males)
participating in asynchronous CMC as part of their course were collated and coded for
their language content using a qualitative content analysis procedure in Atlas.ti 4.2.
Nearly 700 postings were characterized according to g ender on the basis of seven
77
categories relating to language and communication style – attenuated, authoritative,
traditional male and female language features, mixed language, positive socioemotional
and negative socioemotional. Gender interactions were analyzed in terms of positive and
negative socioemotional content, focusing on explicit markers of agreement and
disagreement.

<Summarizing the findings>

Gender-related patterns in language use and interaction style were found. Females
were more likely than males to make attenuated contributions and express agreement,
whereas males were more likely than females to make authoritative contributions and
express disagreement.

<Discussing the research>

These results are discussed in terms of the implications for the increasing use of CMC
in education.

The author tries to summarize the article in as few words as possible.

Move structure of the INTRODUCTION SECTION of the main article

All the introductions have:

<Establishing a territory move>

(i.e. reviewing existing studies and establishing what is already known about the topic)
The most common strategies or steps that authors use to establish territory are:
a) Summarizing existing studies
b) Drawing inferences from previous studies.
By reviewing previous research, researchers…
• Specify what contributions others have made to the topic.
• Acknowledge who has made each specific contribution by citing the
researcher and publication in the body of the RA and in the References
section.
• Position themselves to the findings of others, showing degrees of
agreement or disagreement.

78
<Establishing a niche move>
(i.e. indicating a gap in previous studies, stating what has not been done in the field) .
Sometimes the authors present a justification as to why the gap has to be filled.

<Present the present work>

(i.e. announcing what the current study is about)
- In this step the authors present their own study, what they are aiming to do
or what it is about.

<Occupying the niche>

a) By announcing principal findings.

b) By indicating the structure of the paper.

Now identify the niche occupation in the course text.

Move structure of the METHODS SECTION of the main article

• The Methods section of the RA seems to be under-researched. Thus the
findings presented below can be of importance to novice writers in writing their
papers.
• Reads like a checklist
• Disciplinary variation
• Chronological order
• Shared knowledge assumed (Swales, 1990)

▪ The description of the data collection procedure

This is more common than the description of the data analysis procedure. In
describing the data collection procedure the authors almost always describe the
sample (e.g. the participants of the study) and the research instruments such as
the questionnaire, interview or tests used in the study. They also often describe
the actual steps in data collection as for the second move.

▪ Describing data analysis procedure.

79
 The most common strategy used by the authors to realize this move is
Recounting data analysis procedure (describing how the data was dealt with
after being collected).
▪ Choice of Verb Tense

The actions described in the Method section are expressed in the past tense. The
choice of tense is meaningful. The Method section is written in the past tense because it
describes the specific actions that the researchers carried out to perform their study.
However, you may find the present tense used to describe materials or the study site.

ACTIVITY 6
Let’s corroborate the above assertions by looking at the last RA
analyzed.

Move structure of the RESULTS SECTION of the main article

▪ The Results section is also one of the sections of the article that have been
little researched.

<Preparing for the presentation of the results section>

<Restating data collection and analysis procedure>

To examine whether L1 reading attitude and L2 proficiency contribute to L2
reading attitude, multiple regression analyses were adopted …

<Reporting specific/individual results>

Correlations between two independent variables (L1 attitude variables and L2
proficiency) were all non-significant, and those between corresponding L1 and L2
reading attitude variables were all statistically significant …

<Commenting on specific results>

<Interpreting results>
This preliminary correlation analysis suggested that (a) L1 and L2 reading attitudes
are related,
(b) L2 proficiency may not always relate to L2 reading attitude, …

80
Move structure of the DISCUSSION SECTION of the main article

Structure of Discussion Section

A) General introduction
Cycle for each Research question:
1- Restatement of results.
2- Comparison with other results: agreement.
3- Comparison with other results: disagreement.
4- Interpretation of results.
5- (Background information)
6- (Further questions)
B) General conclusion

ACTIVITY 7

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W--C4AzvwiU
Prof. Swales on Genre & English for Academic Purposes

Participation in forum
Topic:
a) Read the following article:
Pho, P. (2008). How can Learning about the Structure of Research Articles Help
International Students. ISANA 19th International Educational Association,
(págs. 1-11). Melbourne, Australia.

b) Comment on the main points of the article.

c) Is there any part of the article which has called your attention or interested you?

81
 Compulsory reading

Hyland, K. (1998). Boosting, hedging and the negotiation of academic knowledge. TEXT
18 (3) pp. 349-382

Salager-Meyer, F. (2001). Hedges and Textual Communicative function in medical

English written discourse. English for Specific Purposes13 (2), 149-170.

Swales, J. (1990). Genre analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings. Glasgow:
Cambridge University Press.

Swales, J. (2004). Research Genres: Explorations and Applications. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.

82
 ACTIVITY SCHEDULE
DATE DIDACTIC PURPOSES ACTIVITY DIDACTIC EXPECTED
UNIT RESOURCES RESULTS
*Reflect on the Powerpoin ts Students
nature of EST, 2 (two) will be able to:
presentations
recognizing the group
Group Identify the
main differences it works with
variants of
presents with discussion work
1st face-to- Units 1 language of
general language and debate
Videos use, focusing
*Identify the
face and 2 Summary of on EST as an
variants of
expert’s ideas object of
meeting language of use,
using a mind map. study.
focusing on EST
Any apps students
(Date to be as an object of know: Recognise
study. EST features
determined)
*Recognise EST
Mindmap maker Identify
features
features of text
*Identify features
MindMeister at lexical,
of text at lexical,
syntactic and
syntactic and
Mindmap rhetorical
rhetorical levels.
levels.
*Identify the Students
variants of Powerpoin t- will be able to:
language of use, 2 (two) presentation Identify the
2nd face-to- focusing on EST group works
characteristics
as an object of with
Group lexico-
face Units 2 study. discussion
work grammatical
*Recognise EST and debate
meeting and 3 resources in
features
Videos the different
*Identify features
of text at lexical, summarise the sections of the
(Date to be research
syntactic and expert’s ideas
determined) artices.
rhetorical using a mind
*To reflect on the way map. Any apps Recognise the
authors express their students know: different
claims in research some sections of the
articles. research
possibilities are:
*To identify the author’s article through
voice in the research the
article Mindmap maker identification of
*To analyze the the lexico-
different sections of a MindMeister grammatical
research article choices that
recognizing the lexico- Mindmup contribute to
grammatical resources the function of
that let them identify the - each of them.
mentioned sections.
levels.

83
 End-of-
course Students will identify the lexico-grammatical resources as well as the
exam schematic structure of a research article. They will be required to provide
(Date to be theory.
determined)

84
INSTRUCTIONS
·
1st meeting Class activities Virtual activities

Class from 9 a.m. to 6

p.m. with a break every 2 (two) group works with 2 (two) group activities
2.30 hours approximately.
discussions and debates. explained in the
Students should attend
the classes with the module.
module and having read
the articles and done the
activities assigned before
the class

2nd meeting Class activities Virtual activities

Class from 9 to 6 p.m

with a break every 2.30 2 (two) group works with 2 (two) group activities
hours approximately
discussions and debates. explained in the
Students should attend
the classes with the Module Module.
and having read the articles
and the activities assigned
before the class done

3rd meeting End-of-course exam

Correct identification of the lexico-grammatical resources

as well as the sections of the research article.
Evaluation criteria
Support the identification with sound theoretical
background.

WORK ON THE PLATFORM

Described in the Module

85
 FORUM
During five weeks they should
participate in the forum contributing
with their opinions about the topics that
will set for discussion. Relevant topics
will arise during the class and deserve
further discussion
(Individual work)

86
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RESEARCH ARTICLES

1- S. Wang, Near-Zero Air Pollutant Emission Technologies and Applications for Clean Coal -
Fired Power, Engineering (2020), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eng.2019.10.018
2- Y. Feng, M. Deng, S. Song, S. Chen, Q. Zhang, J.M. Shreeve, Construction of an Unusual
Two-Dimensional Layered Structure for Fused-Ring Energetic Materials with High Energy
and Good Stability, Engineering (2020), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eng.2020.01.013
3- L. Tang, S. Gu, Y. Gong, B. Li, H. Lu, Q. Li, R. Zhang, X. Gao, Z. Wu, J. Zhang, Y. Zhang,
L. Li, Clinical significance of the correlation between changes in the major intestinal
bacteria species and COVID-19 severity, Engineering (2020), doi:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eng.2020.05.013
4- W. Liang, J. Li, X. Xu, S. Zhang, Y. Zhao, A High-Resolution Earth’s Gravity Field Model
SGG-UGM-2 from GOCE, GRACE, Satellite Altimetry, and EGM2008, Engineering
(2020), doi: https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.eng.2020.05.008

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