the content of my dissertation

[nancy0911]

Hello,
I'm the post graduate student major in English writing in China. Now, it is the time for me to decide the content of my dissertation. I choose the issue relating to text analysis. I want to study the current situation of Chinese college students' text features on cohesion and coherence. However, it is an old topic and it is very hard for me to find a good direction. What should I do? Can you give me some suggestions? Thanks very much!

Best wishes

Sincerely yours,
Nancy

[Tdol]

What sort of texts will you be using?

[nancy0911]

I decide to choose students' compositions of four levels, that are the junior, senior, college fresh man and the fourth year students'. The coverage of time is about ten years. I want to do a diachronical research about the developmental features of Chinese students' English text. However, I still haven't found a suitable aspect to do the research. Someone suggests me to study the features of their sentence using, that is to study how their sentences develop from the simple to the most complex. Now, I feel very confused. Can you give me some suggestions? Any idea will by highly appreciated!

Yours'
Nancy

[Tdol]

Can you get genuinely diachronic data?

[nancy0911]

Yes, my teacher are preparing to hold a composition competition for the middle school as well as college students in Beijing on May 13. I will take part in this activity and do the evaluation work. After that, I will be available to enough first hand data.

[Tdol]

Are they all answering the same question regardless of level?

[bianca]

Hi

Some ideas:

First off, remember that reading comprehension is a multifaceted process (ranging from simple recall to interpretations of text, analyses of concepts, and applications in new contexts. Also, consider some factors that affect comprehension.)

Secondly:

1. examine how text's organization affects reading comprehension of students (i.e., identifying main topics, significant supporting information, and relations between a text's main topics).


2. A difficult one: you may want to examine the role of coherence and cohesion in text comprehension, compare the results with human judgement.

3. or: what is needed to produce a cohesive/coherent text, and why? Here come my ideas:


A text has texture and this is what distinguishes it from something that is not a text… The texture is provided by the cohesive relation through the use of cohesive ties, which bind a text together.


Bear in mind that formal cohesion is hardly sufficient to guarantee identification as a text. Underlying semantic relations - or semantic roles, filled by constituents of a sentence - rather than particular cohesive markers actually have the cohesive power. Also cohesion is dependent on register, i.e. appropriateness depends on the context of situation.

bianca

[nancy0911]

Hi,
Thanks very much for your pressours ideas. I have decided to study the students' sentence complexity in writing. I want to choose the students in senior high middle school and in college because their compositions at my hand are under the same title. However, the trouble for me is that I am not sure about the theories which can effectively support my dissertation. I have decided on Norm Chomsky's genetive grammar, Halliday's systemic functional grammar, the researches about interlanguage and syntax. Are they enough? Can someone provide other necessary theories? Can someone suggest some valuable books for me?

[nancy0911]

Hi,
Thanks very much for your pressures ideas. I have decided to study the students' sentence complexity in writing. I want to choose the students in senior high middle school and in college because their compositions at my hand are under the same title. However, the trouble for me is that I am not sure about the theories which can effectively support my dissertation. I have decided on Norm Chomsky's genetive grammar, Halliday's systemic functional grammar, the researches about interlanguage and syntax. Are they enough? Can someone provide other necessary theories? Can someone suggest some valuable books for me?