Syntactic Complexity and Writing Quality in Students' Technical Writing

Autor/inn/en	Lee, Joyce; Wu, Kam Yin; Lee, Eric Ping Chung
Titel	Syntactic Complexity and Writing Quality in Students' Technical Writing
Quelle	In: THAITESOL Journal, 35 (2022) 2, S.22-35 (14 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	2286-8909
Schlagwörter	Syntax; Writing Skills; Language Proficiency; Technical Writing; Phrase Structure; Nouns; Comparative Analysis; Engineering Education; Undergraduate Students; Writing Evaluation; Computer Software; Computational Linguistics; Language Usage; Semantics; English for Academic Purposes; Second Language Learning; Second Language Instruction; Form Classes (Languages); English for Science and Technology; Foreign Countries; Majors (Students); Writing Assignments; Hong Kong + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Writing skill; Schreibfertigkeit; Language skill; Language skills; Sprachkompetenz; Technical documentation; Technische Dokumentation; Phrasenstruktur; Ingenieurausbildung; Linguistics; Computerlinguistik; Sprachgebrauch; Semantik; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Fremdsprachenunterricht; Analytischer Sprachbau; Technisches Englisch; Ausland; Hongkong
Abstract	Syntactic complexity is a crucial aspect of linguistic proficiency and thus understanding and supporting such development in learners is a keen concern for language teachers. Research conducted has shown growing sophistication of noun phrase structures by writers of different abilities in academic writing (Biber & Gray, 2010; Liu & Li, 2016; Parkinson & Musgrave, 2014). In comparison, relatively less is known about the development of syntactic sophistication among student technical writers. Adopting a discipline-specific approach, this study compared the complexity of noun phrase structures in student texts of three performance levels from high, mid and low. The data taken from 45 technical reports of university engineering students were analyzed quantitatively using automatic syntactic analyzers and qualitatively by manual coding and text examination. The results show that noun phrase complexity is a differentiating factor for different performance levels with the stronger texts exemplifying more varied modifying structures and in greater numbers. Complex and lengthy structures, such as multiple use of prepositional phrases and combined use of other modifiers such as "-ed" or "-ing" clauses, are common in postmodification, whereas premodifying structures are simpler in structure and shorter. The study also explored the contribution of complex noun phrases to expression of meaning, showing that complex syntactic structures are commonly used to perform a diverse range of language functions essential to technical communication, such as explaining a scientific mechanism. The close connection between syntactic complexity and expression of meaning suggests that structures for pre-and postmodification should be learned as a meaning-making resource (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Thailand TESOL Organization. Language Institute Building, Thammasat University, 2 Prachan Road, Pranakhorn, Bangkok, Thailand 10200. e-mail: journal.thaitesol@gmail.com; Web site: https://www.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/thaitesoljournal/index
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01