This study examines how post-process theories are being defined, negotiated, and enacted in composition classrooms. While recognizing that most composition instruction remains shaped by modern and process oriented theories, this research asks how post-process considerations might be currently informing teaching practices in some classrooms.

This thesis follows two international freshman students in an English composition class at California State University, San Bernardino. The results indicate that the students generally experienced feeling challenged and overwhelmed about the unfamiliar topic, but detailed assignment guidelines played a key role for students to progress in understanding the assignment.

This project presents qualitative investigations into the relation of science systems to education systems, and suggests post modern constructs as models of systemic change, with application toward reading and writing literacy for the college-level adult learning.

‘A critical review of language errors in the writing of distance education students’ examines linguistic competence and investigates the language errors made by a heterogeneous group of 100 entry-level distance education university students with a view to improving their academic writing skills. The research follows a process of error identification and statistical analysis, and reviews intervention strategies based on the findings. Despite the continuing debates on the value of error correction, especially in relation to ‘World Englishes’, language accuracy remains a key factor in determining academic success. This is of particular concern in the South African multi-lingual context and in the light of the under-performance of South African students as evidenced in international comparative studies. The implications of the bimodal pattern of distribution in the review findings are discussed and pedagogically appropriate approaches and intervention strategies are suggested. / English Studies / M.A. (TESOL (Teaching English to speakers of other languages))

This thesis reports on the findings of a study to validate an assessment scale for writing in an Open Distance Learning (ODL) context by first-year students in their responses to English literary texts. The study involved the interrogation of an existing scale, adapted from Jacobs et al. (1981), which was being used for the Foundations in English Literary Studies (ENG1501) module at the University of South Africa. Despite the credibility of the original scale, the modified version had been used in language- and literature-based courses in the English Studies Department since 1998 and had not been updated or empirically tested in the context of the target group. Thus, the gap that this current study addressed was the need for a valid rating scale that takes into account the complexities of literature teaching and ODL in the current South African university environment. This thesis includes a review of the debate on validity and the validation of rating scales both internationally and in South Africa, the ODL environment, and the assessment of assignments based on literary texts, particularly in the multicultural South African context. The methodology included research of both a quantitative and a qualitative nature. The outcome was an empirically-validated scale that should contribute to the quest for accuracy in assessing academic writing and meet the formative and summative assessment needs of the target group / English Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (English)

This thesis follows five second language (L2) students in an introductory composition class at California State University, San Bernardino. The study investigates their perceptions and responses to grammatical coded feedback provided by their writing instructor. The results showed that students wanted, expected, appreciated and understood the coded feedback that was given to them.

This study uses the framework of systemic functional grammar to conduct the stylistic investigation of extracts from two texts of literary criticism written by F.R. Leavis and Paul de Man. The aims of the study are: i) to identify the characteristic features of the type of text known as professional literary criticism, and interpret the ideological significance of the textual features thus identified; ii) to identify the characteristic features of two specific registers of literary criticism, liberal humanist criticism and deconstruction, and interpret the relationship between linguistic and ideological variation -as exemplified in the texts which are analysed- and power. The features which make systemic functional grammar a powerful tool in stylistic analysis are identified, and a review of the applications of systemic grammar to text analysis is presented. A model of the relationship between text and context is presented, and its key terms and their relationship (discourse, ideology, genre, register, language) are discussed. The analysis of extracts from literary critical texts is conducted according to the three main features of the context of situation as identified in systemic grammar: field (subject matter of the discourse), tenor (participants in the discourse) and mode (medium of the discourse). Finally, the study considers the implications and applications of the conclusions drawn, particularly those that relate to the academic institution within which literary critical texts are produced and read. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (Linguistics)

In this study an attempt was made to explore the challenges with regard to publications experienced by academic women at three selected Historically Black Universities (HBUs). Although based predominantly within a feminist qualitative metholodogical framework, both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used in this study. Based on the findings of the study, the recommendations illustrated participants' responses. Some of the recommendations illustrated participants' expressed need of staff development with a specific focus on training in publication skills / mentoring and support networks / assistance and support for their publishing venture at both institutional and departmental level and the development of strategies that would assist academic women in 'juggling' their personal and academic roles.

Diese Arbeit untersucht die Konstruktion von Autoridentitäten am Beispiel eines Korpus aus 25 deutschen und 25 US-amerikanischen wissenschaftlichen Artikeln aus dem Fach Soziologie, die in den beiden führenden Fachzeitschriften der Länder veröffentlicht wurden. Am Gebrauch der ersten Pronomen der Person in Kombination mit den ihnen zugeordneten Verben wird nachgezeichnet und verglichen, welche Rollen sich die deutschen und US-amerikanischen Autoren in ihren Texten zuschreiben. Dabei werden sowohl quantitativ als auch qualitativ weitreichende Unterschiede deutlich, die auf grundlegend unterschiedliche Konventionen, wie in den beiden Wissenschaftskulturen wissenschaftliche glaubwürdige Autorenidentitäten konstruiert werden, hindeuten. Weitergehend wird an einer Fallstudie gezeigt, dass diese Konventionen zwar nachweisbar, aber dennoch nicht notwendigerweise bindend sind, da erfahrene Autoren dennoch in der Lage sind, eine glaubwürdige Autorenidentität zu konstruieren, auch wenn sie umfassend gegen diese Konventionen verstoßen. Dies wird anhand einer Fallstudie belegt. Weitergehend werden die Ergebnisse im Rahmen des Impression Managements in einem sozialpsychologischen Kontext betrachtet und abschließend in ihrem Nutzen für die Schreibdidaktik diskutiert.

Cette recherche constitue une première étape dans l’élaboration d’un dictionnaire de collocations du lexique scientifique transdisciplinaire (LST), conçu pour aider des étudiants ou des chercheurs dans la rédaction de discours scientifiques ou universitaires, quel que soit leur domaine d’études. Elle a permis de concevoir deux modèles originaux d’articles de dictionnaire donnant accès aux collocations de termes nominaux et verbaux caractéristiques du LST. Les modèles d’articles sont ensuite appliqués à la description d’un échantillon de termes nominaux : analyse, caractéristique, figure, hypothèse, rapport et résultat; et verbaux : décrire et étudier. Les articles conçus dans ce mémoire offrent un accès convivial aux collocations du LST en situation de rédaction. Ils ont l’avantage de proposer une organisation cohérente de ce lexique sur les plans syntaxique et sémantique. En outre, ils permettent de présenter les termes du LST dans des contextes variés, ce qui peut contribuer au développement de la compétence lexicale. / This research is the first step in the development of a collocations dictionary of “lexique scientifique transdisciplinaire” (LST), which is similar to the academic vocabulary, a collocations dictionary conceived to help students or researchers in scientific or academic writing, regardless of their field. In this research, we first developed two original models of dictionary articles which provide access to collocations of nouns and verbs characteristic of LST. Secondly, the models are used to describe a sample of nominal terms: analyse, caractéristique, figure, hypothèse, rapport, and résultat; and verbal terms: décrire, and étudier. The models developed in this thesis offer a convenient access to LST collocations in writing context. The advantage of these models is to propose a coherent organization of the lexicon in syntactic and semantic terms. In addition, they are made to present the LST terms in different contexts, which may contribute to the development of lexical competence.