How Students Write: A Linguistic Analysis

by Laura Louise Aull

Overview

Broad generalizations about "people today" are a familiar feature of first-year student writing. How Students Write brings a fresh perspective to this perennial observation, using corpus linguistics techniques. This study analyzes sentence-level patterns in student writing to develop an understanding of how students present evidence, draw connections between ideas, relate to their readers, and, ultimately, learn to construct knowledge in their writing.

Drawing on both first-year and upper-level student writing, the book examines the discourse of students at different points in their education. It also distinguishes between argumentative and analytic essays to explore the way school genres and assignments shape students' choices.

In focusing on sentence-level features such as hedges ("perhaps") and boosters ("definitely"), this study shows how such rhetorical choices work together to open or close opportunities for thoughtful exchanges of ideas. Attention to these features can help instructors foster civil discourse, design effective assignments, and expose and question norms of higher education.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781603294539
Publisher:	Modern Language Association
Publication date:	04/01/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	220
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Laura Louise Aull is director of the English Department Writing Program and associate professor of English at the University of Michigan. She was awarded a National Academy of Education Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship for her recent work on linguistic analysis of civility in academic writing. She is the author of First-Year University Writing and articles addressing composition, applied linguistics, writing analytics, and writing assessment.

Table of Contents

List of Tables ix

List of Figures xi

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction: Discourse and Student Writing 1

Why Student Discourse Matters Now 4

Analyzing Student Discourse 5

Three Qualities Constituted in Student Discourse 6

Chapter Outline 8

1 What We Know (and Don't Know) about Student Writing 15

What We Know: Macrolevel Expectations for Student Writing 15

What We Don't Know: Microlevel Discourse Patterns in Student Writing 24

A Preview of Key Ideas 32

2 School Genres 39

Constructing Student Writing through Assignments 39

First-Year School Genres 40

Constructs in First-Year Writing 49

Upper-Level School Genres 51

Constructs in Upper-Level Writing 59

School Genres in Higher Education 59

3 Student Discourse in First-Year Genres 64

Assigning First-Year Writing 64

First-Year Writing Context 65

First-Year School Genres 66

First-Year Writing Analysis 69

Student Discourse in First-Year Genres 90

4 Student Discourse in Upper-Level Genres 95

Assigning Upper-Level Writing 95

Upper-Level Writing Context 96

Upper-Level School Genres 97

Upper-Level Writing Analysis 99

Student Discourse in Upper-Level Genres 118

5 A New View of Student Writing 121

Genre-Specific Student Discourse 122

Level-Specific Student Discourse 129

A New Taxonomy: Making a Written Contribution through Macro- and Microlevel Choices 139

Considering Patterned Discourse in Discussions about Discourse 139

Afterword: Applications for Instructors and Students 146

For Instructors 146

For Students 152

Appendix: Additional Corpus Analysis information 172

Additional Detail about Keyword Analysis 172

Tables with Additional Detail 174

Works Cited 189

Editorial Reviews

"This book fills a critical gap in our understanding of how undergraduates and early-career graduate students develop as academic writers and, crucially, why their writing evolves the way it does." —Dylan B. Dryer, University of Maine

From the Publisher