Sentence Subjects
and
Angle on Field:
Mapping ideational meaning across
subject areas and years of study in a
corpus of assessed student writing
Sheena Gardner,
s.f.gardner@warwick.ac.uk
WDHE 2006
Paper Outline
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The Larger Research Project &
BAWE
Disciplinary Differences & Theme
Two Classifications of Grammatical
Subjects: Gosden and MacDonald
Issues and Applications to BAWE
A tentative framework for ISS
analysis
Larger Research Project
• An investigation of genres of assessed
student writing in higher education.
• Corpus of British Academic Written
English (BAWE)
• Characteristics of proficient student writing
• Comparisons across disciplines
• Comparisons across years
BAWE Corpus Grid
1
Arts & Humanities
Social Sciences
Life Sciences
Physical Sciences
2
3
4
Planned Corpus Size
8 assignments x 4 modules (=32)
from 4 years (32 x 4 = 128)
from 24 main disciplines (=3072),
+ 64 from 4 () disciplines (=256)
+ 172 “other” assignments
= total 3500 assignments
The current 24 (+ 4) disciplines
O-Brookes
Reading
Warwick
AH
English Studies
History of Art
Archaeology
Classics
Applied Linguistics
History
(Philosophy)
LS
Health & Social
Care
Plant Biosciences
Food Sciences
 Agriculture
Biological Science/
Biochemistry
Medicinal Science
(Psychology)
PS
Computing
Architecture
Cybernetics
Engineering
Physics, Chemistry
(Mathematics)
SS
Anthropology
Hospitality,
Leisure &
Tourism
Publishing
Studies
Law
Sociology
Business
(Economics)
2. Disciplinary Differences
Becher & Trowler (2001) –sociological –
• Sciences – established paradigm
• Social sciences – different methodologies
and frameworks
• Humanities – interpretations based on
personal insight
Disciplinary differences cont.
• Parry (1998)’s analysis of thesis structure:
• Sciences: report & explanation
• Social sciences: explanation & argument
• Humanities: argument with recount &
narrative
Disciplinary Differences: Linguistic
Analyses of Field (Ideational Meaning)
A. Theme (numerous SFL)
B. Sentence subjects (MacDonald, Gosden)
C. Initial Sentence Subjects (proposed
here)
Theme
• Numerous detailed studies of Theme show
its ability to characterise disciplines:
• E.g. North (2005), Hewings (2004),
Whittacker (1995), McCabe (2004),
Lewin, Fine & Young (2001), Halliday &
Martin (1993), Martin & Veel (1998),
Ravelli & Ellis (2004), Moore (2002).
Significance of Theme
• E.g. Coffin & Hewings (2004:157):
• “Theme is used to signal what a message
is about and
• the writer’s angle on that message, and
• to signpost the development of the text”
Macro-Theme: Martin (1992: 437)
• “Macro-theme: “sentence or group of sentences
which predicts a set of hyper-themes”
• Hyper-theme: “introductory sentence or group
of sentences which is established to predict a
particular pattern of interaction among strings,
chains and Theme selection”
– macro-Theme: text::
– hyper-Theme:: paragraph::
– Theme:: clause
Unmarked Topical Theme
• Subject in declarative sentences
• Marked themes are less frequent (e.g. McCabe,
Gosden)
From its formation in 1903, (H154)
• “From a discourse perspective, marked Theme
and unmarked Theme generally do different
work …marked Themes scaffolding phases/
stages of discourse (genre oriented), and
unmarked Themes sustaining the angle on
the field (field oriented) – two complementary
aspects of Fries’ method of development.”
(Martin sysfling list 8/18/03)
Angle on Field
• Unmarked topical theme ~ Subject
• “[topical, unmarked] Theme … provides
the text’s angle on its field”
(Martin 1993:244)
Cf ‘Schizophrenia’ and ‘the pursuit of an
acceptable definition of schizophrenia’
(PS55)
Why Grammatical Subject?
• Conflates with unmarked topical theme in
academic writing so gives angle on field
• Appears less ‘technical’ than Theme for
non SFL linguists (and RAs)
• Empirical findings in terms of disciplinary
differences
AND levels of study
particular--shakespeare
phenomenal-classes
PHENOMENALCLASSES-T YPE
group---estate-holders
attribute--emotional-responsibility
SPM
reason-the-evidence
epistemological-classes
EPIST EMOLOGICALCLASSES-T YPE
research--sroufe-1999
ism-the-new-historicism
audience---we
discourse-participant--we
participant
subject
PART ICIPANT T YPE
participant-viewpoint-our-data
interactive-participant--smith-1987
d-event-process-conclusion
macro-entity-essay
discourse
DISCOURSET YPE
micro-entity-figure
interactive-entity--previous-studies
empty-d-theme-it-can-be-argued-that
HG
sentence
hypothesized-viewpoint-probable-cause
SUBJECT REMAINDER
hypothesized-objectified
HYPOT HESIZEDOBJECT IFIED-T YPE
objectivized-viewpoint-significant-difference
hypothesized-entity-models-approaches
empty-ho-theme-it-is-clear-that
mental-process-analysis-idea
real-world
REALWORLD-T YPE
entity-system-framework
rw-event-process-preparation
empty-rw-theme-it-was-found-that
remainder
MacDonald’s analysis of Sentence
Subjects
Class
Psychology
History
Literature
Phenomenal
1: Particulars
2: Groups
0.1
27.0
6.0
44.0
30.0
10.0
3: Attributes
11.0
26.0
44.0
4: Reasons
49.0
15.0
7.0
5: Research
6: Isms
7: Audience
12.0
0.1
1.0
6.0
0.0
3.0
5.0
0.2
4.0
Epistemic
Levels of Study
• 1st year undergraduates in Geography use
more unmarked topical Themes (Subjects)
identifying people, places, things or
abstract qualities, and thus their writing
sounds more descriptive, whereas 3rd year
students adopt a more critical stance and
make more references to the literature.
Hewings (2004:140-2)
Empirical applications to BAWE
1. Does student writing in English, History
and Psychology exhibit features similar to
those described by SPM for professional
writers?
2. Does student writing in Sciences exhibit
features similar to those described by
Gosden for professional writers?
BAWE data
Student assignments:
• 5 English (EN) essays,
• 5 History (HI) essay,
• 5 ‘Intro to Psychology’ essays,
• 5 ‘Psychology Practicals’ essays,
• 5 Biology (BS) essays.
• All chosen by module, by highest marks
and where possible by same student
English and History
• SPM found 75-85% Subjects in English
and History from Phenomenal classes
• Student writing similar (e.g. Prince Arthur)
• SPM found History favoured Groups
• Student writing not similar – reflects SPM’s
data on New England colonial migration
and inheritance patterns.
Psychology
• SPM found over 60% Subjects from
epistemic classes
• Student writing similar e.g. the pursuit of
an acceptable definition of schizophrenia
• C.f. other studies of student writing Witte &
Cherry (1986), Hewings (2004)
Sciences
• Gosden found a predominance of real
world subjects (77%) and within this real
world entities (56%)
• BAWE data shows similar findings
Participant
Domain
Discourse Domain
Hypothesized and Objectified Domain
Phenomenal Domain
Interactive
Participant
Barbara Lupini
EN2
Anais Nin EN3
Max Weber HI3
John Robert Seeley
HI3
Dion, Berscheid
and Walster (1972)
PS1
Interactive
Discourse Entity
Recent literature
reviews and metaanalyses PS1
The work of Jean
Piaget (1896-1980)
PS1
Research into … PS1
Hypothesized Entity
The soit-disant “Age of Absolutism” HI2
Time PH1
Qualia PH1
Memory PS1
The history of psy. Research PS1
Psychology PS1
The psychology .. PS2
The Right Shift theory of Annett (e.g.
1999) PS2
Russell’s theory of .. PH3
The liar paradox PH3
The development of the vertebrate limb
BS3
Approaches to the study of eminence PS3
Entity
Prince Arthur EN1
Edmund Spenser EN1
Tennyson EN2
William Blake EN2
Edward Grey HI2
Mohandas Gandhi HI3
Micro Discourse
EntityTwo parts to
this question PS3
Participant
Viewpoint
Objectivized Viewpoint
Numerous factors PS3
Macro Discourse
Entity
This essay EN3
Discourse
Participant
I EN1
(We EN1)
Discourse Process
[the conclusion]
Hypothesized Viewpoint
The accepted view amongst historians ..
HI2
The priority HI1
A large part of the aim of Kant’s .. PH2
A central Fregan introduction into PH3
Its status as a special case of .. PH3
The pursuit of an acceptable definition
PS1
The Canterbury Tales EN1
Blake’s Songs .. EN2
Maud EN2
The epithet of “Order and Progress” HI1
This papal bull HI2
Ordinary people EN1
The British HI3
The Bolshevik Party HI1
Psychologists PS1
The Dutch Republic HI2
The o. m. s. group of cyanobacteria BS2
Viruses BS2
E.. coli O157:H7 BS2
The C.. e… organism BS3
H. Adenovirus . and Herpes. Virus . BS3
Music PS1
Hand preference PS2
Stimulus-response compatibility PS2
The Necker cube PS2
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder PS3
A requirement for packing of . DNA BS2
Event
The Cold War HI1
The .. Revolution HI1
The SA war HI3
Material Process
Examination of ..distribution ..BS2
The prevalence of eye-witness testimony PS1
Mental Process
Plath’s analysis of madness EN3
The construction of an expectancy-based model of melodic
complexity PS3
Different years of study
• English: possible progression from Entities in the
Real World Domain (individuals and semiotic
entities)
to Interactive Participants (e.g. Nin, Lupini)
• History: possible progression from Real World
Domain (individuals, semiotic entities and
groups) to Hypothesised Entities in HI2 (?)
to Interactive Participants HI3 (Weber, Seeley).
• Philosophy from ‘Abstract Concepts’ time,
qualia, memory in PH1 to specific viewpoints
Kant’s … Frege’s … in PH2 to Theories theory,
paradox in PH3
Analysis of Sentence Subjects in
BAWE shows:
• Differences in how knowledge is construed, not
the ontological status of ‘genes’ or ‘e-coli’,
across disciplines & years
• Differences in linguistic choices writers make,
not their ‘level of thinking’ per se
• Cf ‘The thesis I wish to argue is that Prince
Arthur ….’
Issues in SPM & HG Analyses
• Disciplinary specificity of the classifications
• When does a ‘real world’ author become
an ‘interactive participant’ [Gosden]
• Level of contextual understanding needed
for sciences in particular was high
• Differences in analysis: e.g. our data
would be Participant Viewpoint (Gosden)
and Reasons (SPM)
• VERY labour intensive for 3500 texts
5. ISS Proposal
• Analysis of Initial Sentence Subjects only
• Aim to describe large numbers of texts
and disciplines across 4 years
• Aim to provide a snapshot of differences in
angle on field across the years and across
the disciplines
ISS Classification
• Draws on Australian work on academic
language, particularly on published
scientific writing, and academic language
across the disciplines
Esp. Wignell (1998) and
Martin & Veel (1998), Halliday & Martin
(1993), Ravelli & Ellis (2004)
ANGLES on field: academic domain
(fabricated examples)
<--------------------------Abstraction ----------------------------->
T
E
C
H
N
I
C
A
L
I
T
Y
Everyday
language
Phenomena
Perspectives /
Viewpoints /
Phenomena
Scholarly /
MetaPhenomena
Perspectives
on Scholarly /
MetaPhenomena
Discourse
Phenomena
The Great Wall
of China
the importance
of the Great
Wall of China
The history of
the Great Wall
of China
Competing
histories of the
GWC
this essay
Possible
schitzophrenia
Grey’s theory
of
schizophrenia
Approaches to
the study of
schizophrenia
Figure 3
Post traumatic
stress disorder
Schizoprenia
Technical
language
escherichia coli
O157
Phenomena
Groups of
Conscious
Individuals
Ordinary people EN1
The British HI3
Political
Entities
The Bolshevik Party HI1
The Dutch Republic HI2
Conscious
Individuals
Prince Arthur EN1
Edmund Spenser EN1
Tennyson EN2
William Blake EN2
Edward Grey HI2
Mohandas Gandhi HI3
Semiotic
Entities
The Canterbury Tales
EN1
Blake’s Songs .. EN2
Maud EN2
This papal bull HI2
Perspectives/
Viewpoints on
Phenomena
The prevalence of
eye-witness
testimony PS1
A large part of the
aim of Kant’s ..
PH2
A central Fregan
introduction into
the philosophy of
thought and
language PH3
The epithet of
“Order and
Scholarly /
MetaPhenomena
Perspectives
on Scholarly /
MetaPhenomena
Discourse
Pheno
mena
Psychologists
PS1
We EN1
Barbara Lupini
EN2
Anais Nin EN3
Max Weber HI3
John Robert
Seeley HI3
I EN1
The Right Shift
theory of Annett
(e.g. 1999) PS2
The work of Jean
Piaget (18961980) PS1
Russell’s Theory
of Descriptions.
PH3
The liar paradox
PH3
The history of
psychological
research PS1
Recent
literature
reviews and
meta-analyses
PS1
Two
parts to
this
question
PS3
This
essay
EN3
Cognitive
Entities
Memory PS1
Plath’s
analysis of
madness EN3
Material
entities
The
development
of the
vertebrate limb
BS3
Entities
with
duration
The Cold War
HI1
The ..
Revolution
HI1
The SA war
HI3
The accepted view
amongst historians ..
HI2
The priority HI1
Its status as a special
case of logical
consequence.. PH3
The soit-disant “Age
of Absolutism” HI2
Research into … PS1
The construction of
an expectancy-based
model of melodic
complexity PS3
Examination of the
subcellular
distribution of
molecules..BS2
The pursuit of
an acceptable
definition of
schizophrenia
PS1
Approaches to
the study of
eminence PS3
Abstract
entities
Time PH1
Qualia PH1
Music PS1
Psycholo
gical
Entities
Hand preference PS2
Stimulus-response
compatibility PS2
Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder PS3
Scientific Escherichia coli
entities
O157:H7 BS2
The C.. e organism
BS3
H. Adenovirus . and
Herpes. Virus . BS3
Groups
The o. m. s. group of
of
cyanobacteria BS2
Scientific Viruses BS2
Entities
Psychology
PS1
A requirement for
packing of
genomic DNA
BS2
Characterising Disciplinary
Differences
English, History and Philosophy can be
characterised as progressing from year 13 in Abstractness (from left to right)
Psychology can be characterised as
progressing in Abstractness (from right to
left) or at least spreading across all levels
of abstraction
Biological sciences construes phenomena in
technical terms
Mapping Business and Economics
Conscious Sam IB1
Individual
s
We EC1 I EC2
We EC1 I EC2
We EC1 I EC2
Groups of
Cons.Inds
The traditional
accountants IB2
Semiotic
Entities
An important
problem faced
by financial
economists IB4
Political/
Economic
/ Social
Entities
A transnational
company EC1
The yield curve EC2
CRT Technologies
IB1
House prices EC2
South Korea’s
economy over the
past half century EC3
World mergers and
acquisitions IB 2
The Law of
One Price IB4
An event
studyIB4
Agency
theoryIB4
Collusion EC2
Weak form
efficiency IB4
An analysis table
as shown above
IB1
Final Comments
• Demonstrated the potential of Initial
Sentence Subject Analysis to capture
disciplinary differences and differences
across years of study in a corpus of
student writing
• More work needed to establish categories
through reactances in the grammar (e.g.
participant roles & grammatical metaphor)