Sentence subjects and Angle on Field: Mapping ideational meaning across
subject areas and years of study in a corpus of assessed student writing
Writing Development in Higher Education Conference
Open University, May 11th-12th 2006
Theme: Writing within and across disciplines
Sheena Gardner, CELTE, University of Warwick
Systemic functional linguistics has shed light on the importance of unmarked
topical theme in providing the angle on the field of a text (Martin 1993:224).
Building on these and related insights (e.g. macro-theme), the paper explores the
extent to which an analysis of initial sentence subjects in student assessed writing
allows us to map differences across disciplines and across years of university
study. Such a mapping allows us to see how knowledge is construed in different
disciplines and years. Where do students write in terms of ‘facts’, ‘issues’,
‘problems’, ‘theories’, or ‘research’? Where do they write about individuals,
groups, or nations? For instance, from our data, the angle on field is different if
students write about “the behaviour of people with schizophrenia”,
“schizophrenia”, “definitions of schizophrenia” or “the pursuit of an acceptable
definition of schizophrenia” (PS55).
Previous research on sentence subjects has shown distinctive characteristics of
writing in English, History, Psychology (MacDonald 1994) and Sciences (Gosden
1993). Analysis of topical Themes has also shown differences between arts and
science students in the same module or between physical and human geography
texts (Hewings and North 2004). This paper attempts to integrate these and
similar insights into a broader map to encompass a wider range of subject areas.
1.
The Research Project and BAWE:
'An investigation of genres of assessed writing in British Higher Education' is
a Warwick-Oxford Brookes–Reading project (2004-7, ESRC RES-000-23-0800)
that includes collection of 3,500 student assignments in the development of a
corpus
of
British
Academic
Written
English
(BAWE)
www.warwick.ac.uk/go/BAWE
2.
Disciplinary Differences and Theme
“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” (Coffin & Hewings
2004:157)
“[topical, unmarked] Theme … provides the text’s angle on its field” (Martin
1993:244)
s.f.gardner@warwick.ac.uk
WDHE 2006
1
3. Classifications of Sentence Subject by Susan Peck MacDonald (SPM) and Hugh
Gosden (HG), produced with Systemic Coder (version 4.68, O’Donnell 2005)
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
Gosden 1993:63
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4. Applications to BAWE data
File
Name
disc/yr
student
First Sentences and Sentence Subjects (Source: BAWE Pilot Corpus)
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
1
BS01
BS2BE
2
BS02
BS2BE
3
BS04
BS2BE
4
BS05
BS2BE
5
BS08
BS2BE
6
BS09
BS3
7
BS10
BS3
8
BS03
BS3BE
9
EN01
EN1
10
EN08
EN1
11
EN14
EN1
12
EN43
EN1
13
EN51
EN1
14
EN16
EN2
15
EN22
EN2
16
EN26
EN2
17
EN38
EN2
18
EN39
EN2
19
EN40
EN3
20
EN13
EN3
21
EN28
EN3
Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a particularly high-profile bacterium in modern times,
not least as a result of its ability to inflict considerable damage on large …
As obligate intracellular parasites, viruses have no metabolic activity outside their
host cells.
Examination of the subcellular distribution of molecules is an important tool in cell
biology.
In all eukaryotic cells there is a requirement for packing of genomic DNA such that it
is accessible when required during replication, and able to fit into the nucleus.
The obligately marine Synechococcus group of cyanobacteria play host to their
own obligate occupant, the cyanophage.
The development of the vertebrate limb is a widely focussed area of research where
recent breakthroughs have given us the leads we need to continue exploring into ..
The Caenorhabditis elegans organism exhibits typical rotational holoblastic
cleavage.
Human Adenovirus type 5 (Ad 5) and Herpes Simplex Virus type 1 (HSV1) are
both members of Class I virus families as dictated by the presence in both of a ..
ENGLISH
Prince Arthur is more commonly known in English folklore as King Arthur
Pendragon, however Edmund Spenser modifies the figure slightly to use him in ..
Before answering this question, I will clarify two points.
The Canterbury Tales is possibly the most realistic depiction of medieval life in
English literature.
Ordinary people play an essential role in the thematic, structural and practical
formulation of the Mystery Plays.
Against the background of the grandest and most highly revered literary masterpieces
of Homer and Virgil, Edmund Spenser attempted to write the first English Epic.
In her 1974 essay An Open and Simple Eye, Barbara Lupini quotes a letter from the
painter Vincent Van Gogh in which he stated ‘I think a painter is happy’, …
William Blake rarely writes in his own person and the voice he creates in works such
as Songs of Innocence and Experience is interesting as its nature and function …
Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience were written for children, and feature
many children as the poems’ protagonists.
In his poem In Memoriam, Tennyson uses memory in a variety of ways in his
exploration of the personal grieving process.
Does Maud have a moral?
“If the writing of Sylvia Plath seems violent and hysterical,..” As this quote suggests,
Sylvia Plath's analysis of madness in The Bell Jar is inextricably linked ..
This essay is written with one viewpoint in mind, in order to elaborate upon the
author's chosen reading.
In a 1932 study of D H Lawrence, AnaÏs Nin declares that '[Lawrence's novels are]
the first time that a man has so wholly and completely expressed woman accurately'.
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HISTORY
22
HI92
HI1
23
HI52
HI1HO
24
HI53
HI1HO
25
HI54
HI1HO
26
HI56
HI1HO
27
HI40
HI2HO
28
HI41
HI2HO
29
HI42
HI2HO
30
HI44
HI2HO
31
HI46
HI2HO
32
HI33
HI3HO
33
HI34
HI3HO
34
HI35
HI3HO
35
HI36
HI3HO
36
HI38
HI3HO
37
PH05
PH1OL
38
PH06
PH1OL
39
PH07
PH2OL
40
PH01
PH3OL
41
PH02
PH3OL
44
PH03
PH3OL
45
PH04
PH3OL
The epithet of “Order and Progress” as emblazoned on the flag of the first
Brazilian Republic represented the fundamental ideals of its founders.
"The Allies are pressing on you to break your will." In the wake of WWII, the
priority was to rebuild Europe and attempt to stave off a post-war economic crisis.
The Cold War grew out of a complicated interaction of international developments
following the end of the Second World War, and the subsequent vacuum of power ..
From its formation in 1903, the Russian Bolshevik Party took just fourteen years to
become the ruling party of the largest country in the world.
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution is described by MacFarquhar as, 'the
most complex political event in the entire history of the Chinese Communist Party.'
'The ostensible object of the Spanish conquest in the New World was the propagation
of the faith. This was the sole motive ….' This papal bull gave the Spanish monarchy
The soit-disant "Age of Absolutism" is usually taken to run from the Peace of
Westphalia in 1648, to the French Revolution in 1789.
The Dutch Republic was something of an anomaly in seventeenth century Europe. At
a time when most European monarchs were forging ...
Until the last few decades, the accepted view amongst historians of Mexico was that
the seventeenth century was indeed one of crisis and depression.
'The lights are going out all over Europe. They will not be lit again in our lifetime.' Sir
Edward Grey was one of the few who foresaw the tragedy that awaited Europe ..
The British emerged from the First World War determined to reclaim their pre-1914
position of paramountcy.
The South African war between the British and the Boers ended on 31 May 1902
with the Treaty of Vereeniging
Max Weber first published The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism in two
essays in 1904-5, possibly in response to Werner Sombart’s explanation of the ..
Mohandas Gandhi played a crucial and prominent role in India’s struggle for
independence, from his assumption of the leadership of the Congress in 1919, …
John Robert Seeley published The Expansion of England in 1883. The text was taken
from a series of lectures which he had delivered to undergraduates over the two ..
PHILOSOPHY
Time is a subject that has intrigued most philosophers, from antiquity to modern
times.
Qualia will be taken to mean the “ . . . subjective qualities of conscious experience.” ,
such as the way chocolate tastes, the way turquoise looks, the way it feels to put ..
A large part of the aim of Kant’s ‘Critique of Pure Reason’ is to establish the
conditions that enable us to have experience.
A central Fregan introduction into the philosophy of thought and language is the
distinction between sense and reference.
Russell’s Theory of Descriptions arises from a problem in the Extension Theory of
Judgement, which itself derives from Russell’s Theory of Reference.
For a proper analysis of logical truth, its status as a special case of logical
consequence should be kept in mind.
The liar paradox has been around since the times of the Ancient Greeks: in its
original form it consisted of Epimenides (a Cretan) saying "All Cretans are liars".
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WDHE 06 page 4
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PSYCHOLOGY
46
PS55
PS1LI
47
PS57
PS1LI
48
PS58
PS1LI
49
PS59
PS1LI
50
PS75
PS1LI
51
PS61
PS1LI2
52
PS62
PS1LI2
53
PS63
PS1LI2
54
PS64
PS1LI2
55
PS66
PS1LI2
56
PS68
PS2LI
57
PS69
PS2LI
58
PS71
PS2LI
59
PS73
PS2LI
60
PS74
PS2LI
61
PS11
PS3
62
PS12
PS3
63
PS13
PS3
64
PS56
PS3LI
65
PS67
PS3LI
The pursuit of an acceptable definition of schizophrenia has tested researchers and
clinicians since the classifications proposed by Kraepelin (1896) and Bleuler (1913).
Memory is a topic of study with which psychologists have grappled experimentally
for over a century – perhaps the most well-known early studies being those of …
The history of psychological research into obedience to authority is arguably one
of the most controversial - but also paradoxical – areas of interest which psychology ..
The work of Jean Piaget (1896-1980) has informed the developmental psychology
paradigm for many years.
Since its earliest origins, psychology and psychologists have been concerned with the
processes of learning and memory.
Recent literature reviews and meta-analyses have exposed serious anomalies in the
interpretation and replication of Goldberg’s (1968) findings regarding gender bias ..
Dion, Berscheid and Walster (1972) – ‘What is beautiful is good’ – revealed the
nature of the halo effect of physical attractiveness.
Research into the relationship between locus of control orientation (internal
versus external) and levels of stress has found differing results.
Music has become an integral and ubiquitous component of modern life, and as such
its affect on task performance should justifiably be considered.
The prevalence of eyewitness testimony in the establishment of criminal guilt
necessitates its reliability as a discriminatory tool.
Stimulus-response compatibility has substantial applied implications in the domain
of engineering psychology and human factors.
People have often looked to religion as a source of support in times of personal crisis.
The psychology and behaviour of the rail passenger is a novel area of
psychological research, despite current interest in the promotion of rail travel as ..
Hand preference, and the Right Shift theory of Annett (e.g. 1999) have been
implicated as predictors of schizophrenia risk.
The Necker cube has been used as an experimental stimulus in a variety of
procedures, including the assessment of perceptual rigidity
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a rare psychopathology for two reasons,
firstly it has a specific aetiology, an external event is necessary for diagnosis, ..
Numerous factors influence whether or not someone develops serious illnesses, this
essay focuses on personality types that predispose or protect individuals from ...
There are two parts to this question, firstly when phyologenetically and
ontogenetically does self-consciousness appear?
The construction of an Expectancy-based Model (EBM) of melodic complexity in
music was described, including the ten principles on which it was based.
Firstly, approaches to the study of eminence will be considered, addressing the
potential contribution offered by each of these methodologies to any relatively …
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5. A tentative framework for Initial Sentence Subjects as a Snapshot of Angle
on Field (please do not quote without permission, thanks)
ANGLES on field: academic domain (fabricated examples)
<--------------------------Abstraction ----------------------------->
Phenomena Perspectives/ Scholarly /
Viewpoints MetaPhenomena
on
Phenomena
T
Everyday The Great
language Wall of
China
E
the
The history
importance of of the Great
the Great
Wall of
Wall of China China
Perspectives/ Discourse
Viewpoints Phenomena
on Scholarly
Phenomena
Competing
histories of
the Great
Wall of
China
this essay
C
H
N
I
C
A
L
I
Post
traumatic
stress
disorder
Schizoprenia Possible
Grey’s theory Approaches Figure 3
schitzophrenia of
to the study
schizophrenia of
schizophrenia
Technical escherichia
language coli O157
T
Y
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