Instruction in thematic choice produced positive effects on Chinese college students' use of topical Themes, interpersonal Themes, unmarked Themes, and conjunctive adjuncts in academic English writing¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r1 · q2
Currency · newest study 2016 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? After 10 weeks of thematic-choice instruction, the experimental group made better thematic choices (more topical and textual Themes, fewer interpersonal Themes) while the control group did not exhibit significant changes. → Wei 2016

Evidence¶

Wei 2016¶

Wei, J. (2016). Effects of Instruction on Chinese College Students’ Thematic Choice in Academic Writing. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(14). https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1102949

q2 · i? · causal · r1

Quasi-experimental study with an experimental group (CE, n=30) receiving 10-week thematic-choice instruction and a control group (CC, n=30) receiving regular essay-writing lessons; 120 pre/post essays analyzed. The conclusion reports the CE group "make better thematic choices after the instruction" while CC "did not exhibit significant changes".

"Research results show that CE group make better thematic choices after the instru ction as they used more topical and textual Themes, and less interpersonal Themes after the instruction while C C group did not exhibit significant changes."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• After instruction, the experimental group used more conjunctions and fewer conjunctive adjuncts in Theme position, moving toward native-speaker-like patterns — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• After instruction, the experimental group used more temporal conjunctive adjuncts and fewer additive and adversative conjunctive adjuncts — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• After instruction, the experimental group used proportionally fewer marked Themes and more unmarked Themes, while the control group showed no change in marked/unmarked proportions — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• After instruction, the experimental group used proportionally fewer mood-marking Themes and more modal adjuncts, and both groups used fewer interpersonal Themes overall — related
• After instruction, the experimental group used fewer temporal and spatial marked Themes and more manner and cause marked Themes — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• After Theme Theory instruction, students used a broader variety of theme types, especially textual, multiple and clausal themes — related