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An Investigation into the Textual Meaning in Academic IELTS Sample Essays

Received: 16 December 2021    Accepted: 5 January 2022    Published: 12 January 2022
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Abstract

The textual meaning, which is embodied in the structure of a clause as a message, is one of three types of meaning that all natural languages possess. Textual meaning relates to the construction of text, the organization of ideas in a coherent text. The research is intended to identify the textual meaning manifested in Academic IELTS sample essays with band scores of 7 - 7.5 in the light of Functional Grammar. The linguistic components realizing the textual meaning include cohesion and thematic structure. A descriptive method accompanied by qualitative and quantitative approaches is used to give a detailed description of the textual meaning in relation to the IELTS band descriptors. 90 sample essays with band scores of 7.0-7.5 from published books and official IELTS websites are selected as data for text analysis. The findings reveal that cohesive devices are properly used and information is logically arranged in different thematic patterns in the sample essays. It is noticeable that the prevailing types of Themes deployed in the essays are multiple Themes, demonstrating high levels of English proficiency of IELTS writers in constituting a message. It is hoped that the findings of this research will provide insights into salient thematic patterns of Academic IELTS sample essays and appropriate use of cohesive devices, whereby IELTS test-takers can make good use of appropriate strategies in order to produce concise and coherent pieces of writing.

Published in International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 10, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijll.20221001.13
Page(s) 16-26
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Academic IELTS Essays, Textual Meaning, Cohesion, Theme, Thematic Patterns

References
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[4] Coffin, C. (2004). Arguing about the world is or how the world should be: The role of argument in IELTS’ tests. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 3 (3), 229-246.
[5] Cotton, F., & Wilson, K. (2008). An investigation of examiner rating of coherence and cohesion in the IELTS Academic Writing Task 2. IELTS Research Reports, 12. Retrieved 15 Dec. 2011 from: http://www.ielts.org/pdf/Vol12_Report6.pdf, IELTS Australia Pty Ltd, Canberra and British Council, London.
[6] Durrant, P. & N. Schmitt. (2010). Adult Learners’ Retention of Collocations from Exposure. Second Language Research. 26 (2), 163-188.
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[8] Eggins, S. (1994). An Introduction to Systemic Functional Linguistics. London: Printer Publishers, Ltd.
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[10] Emilia, E. (2010). Teaching writing: Developing Critical Learners. Bandung: Rizqy Press.
[11] Emilia, E. (2014). Introducing Functional Grammar. Bandung: Pustaka Jaya.
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[22] Mayor, B. et al. (2007). A Linguistic Analysis of Chinese and Greek L1 Scripts for IELTS Academic Writing Task 2. L. Taylor & P. Falvey (Eds.), IELTS collected papers: Research in Speaking and Writing Assessment, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 250–315.
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  • APA Style

    Nguyen Thi Trung, Nguyen Thi Quynh Hoa. (2022). An Investigation into the Textual Meaning in Academic IELTS Sample Essays. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 10(1), 16-26. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20221001.13

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    ACS Style

    Nguyen Thi Trung; Nguyen Thi Quynh Hoa. An Investigation into the Textual Meaning in Academic IELTS Sample Essays. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2022, 10(1), 16-26. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20221001.13

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    AMA Style

    Nguyen Thi Trung, Nguyen Thi Quynh Hoa. An Investigation into the Textual Meaning in Academic IELTS Sample Essays. Int J Lang Linguist. 2022;10(1):16-26. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20221001.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijll.20221001.13,
      author = {Nguyen Thi Trung and Nguyen Thi Quynh Hoa},
      title = {An Investigation into the Textual Meaning in Academic IELTS Sample Essays},
      journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
      volume = {10},
      number = {1},
      pages = {16-26},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20221001.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20221001.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20221001.13},
      abstract = {The textual meaning, which is embodied in the structure of a clause as a message, is one of three types of meaning that all natural languages possess. Textual meaning relates to the construction of text, the organization of ideas in a coherent text. The research is intended to identify the textual meaning manifested in Academic IELTS sample essays with band scores of 7 - 7.5 in the light of Functional Grammar. The linguistic components realizing the textual meaning include cohesion and thematic structure. A descriptive method accompanied by qualitative and quantitative approaches is used to give a detailed description of the textual meaning in relation to the IELTS band descriptors. 90 sample essays with band scores of 7.0-7.5 from published books and official IELTS websites are selected as data for text analysis. The findings reveal that cohesive devices are properly used and information is logically arranged in different thematic patterns in the sample essays. It is noticeable that the prevailing types of Themes deployed in the essays are multiple Themes, demonstrating high levels of English proficiency of IELTS writers in constituting a message. It is hoped that the findings of this research will provide insights into salient thematic patterns of Academic IELTS sample essays and appropriate use of cohesive devices, whereby IELTS test-takers can make good use of appropriate strategies in order to produce concise and coherent pieces of writing.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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    Y1  - 2022/01/12
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    T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
    JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
    JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
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    AB  - The textual meaning, which is embodied in the structure of a clause as a message, is one of three types of meaning that all natural languages possess. Textual meaning relates to the construction of text, the organization of ideas in a coherent text. The research is intended to identify the textual meaning manifested in Academic IELTS sample essays with band scores of 7 - 7.5 in the light of Functional Grammar. The linguistic components realizing the textual meaning include cohesion and thematic structure. A descriptive method accompanied by qualitative and quantitative approaches is used to give a detailed description of the textual meaning in relation to the IELTS band descriptors. 90 sample essays with band scores of 7.0-7.5 from published books and official IELTS websites are selected as data for text analysis. The findings reveal that cohesive devices are properly used and information is logically arranged in different thematic patterns in the sample essays. It is noticeable that the prevailing types of Themes deployed in the essays are multiple Themes, demonstrating high levels of English proficiency of IELTS writers in constituting a message. It is hoped that the findings of this research will provide insights into salient thematic patterns of Academic IELTS sample essays and appropriate use of cohesive devices, whereby IELTS test-takers can make good use of appropriate strategies in order to produce concise and coherent pieces of writing.
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Author Information
  • Department of Foreign Languages, Quang Nam University, Tam Ky, Vietnam

  • Faculty of English, University of Foreign Language Studies, Danang, Vietnam

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