INTERACTION IN ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAYS: THE CASE OF ENGAGEMENT

Hesamoddin Shahriari; Farzaneh Shadloo

doi:10.5817/DI2019-1-96

INTERACTION IN ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAYS: THE CASE OF ENGAGEMENT

Vol.12,No.1(2019)

Hesamoddin Shahriari Farzaneh Shadloo

https://doi.org/10.5817/DI2019-1-96

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Abstract

Given the importance of interaction in academic discourse, researchers have investigated the use of stance and engagement markers in written academic texts. However, few of these studies have analyzed engagement features in a genre such as the argumentative essay. Employing Hyland’s (2001) engagement framework, this paper examined the use of five engagement markers in a corpus of argumentative essays written by EFL learners across three levels of essay quality. All features of engagement were manually coded and normalized and a one-way ANOVA was subsequently run for analyzing the frequency counts. The findings showed a disassociation between the presence of engagement markers and the overall quality of EFL learners’ essays. The current study offers insight into the interactional nature of argumentative essays. We conclude with a discussion of some of the implications so that educators may provide EFL learners with more adequate support in order to write in a more persuasive way.

Keywords:
engagement markers; corpus study; EFL learners; argumentative essay; interaction

Author biographies

Hesamoddin Shahriari

Department of English, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Park Square, Mashhad, Iran

Hesamoddin Shahriari is Assistant Professor of applied linguistics at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad where he teaches undergraduate and graduate-level academic writing. His research interests include academic writing, learner corpora and formulaic language.

Farzaneh Shadloo

Department of English, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Park Square, Mashhad, Iran

Farzaneh Shadloo is a graduate student in TEFL/Applied Linguistics at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. Her research interests include corpus linguistics, academic writing, and learner English.

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