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Sub-headings and assignment types across the disciplines in student written assignments

Investigating structural and functional properties of titles, sub-headings, and assignment types across disciplines in higher education. Examining the BAWE corpus to understand how headings predict text themes and functions. Analysis includes ideational, textual, and interpersonal aspects of headings.

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Sub-headings and assignment types across the disciplines in student written assignments

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  1. Sub-headings and assignment types acrossthe disciplines in student writtenassignments Sheena Gardner and Jasper Holmes University of Warwick The 18th Euro-International Systemic Functional Linguistics Conference 20-22 July, 2006Universita' di Trieste(Gorizia Site)

  2. An Investigation of Genres of Assessed Writing in British Higher Education RES-000-23-0800 Gardner and Holmes 2006

  3. 1. The BAWE corpus (http://go.warwick.ac.uk/bawe) British Academic Written English • (projected) holdings: • 3,500 student assignments • from 28 departments • at three universities (Oxford Brookes, Reading, Warwick) • tagged for: • title and title page • table of contents • abstract or summary • section headings • figures and diagrams • lists (simple, bulleted, ordered) • quotations • bibliography • appendices • <p> and <s> units Gardner and Holmes 2006

  4. 2. Structural and functional properties of assignments "Once texts develop to [a] level of internal complexity, titles, subtitles, headings and subheadings are commonly deployed to keep track of the composition structure .." (Martin, 1992:443) Gardner and Holmes 2006

  5. 2a. Metafunctions of headings • (sub-)titles and (sub-)headings function as macro-themes that predict text (Ravelli 2004): • ideationally • textually • interpersonally Gardner and Holmes 2006

  6. ideational: • The heading functions to predict the field of the section that follows. <p n="dept">Engineering business management</p> <div level="2"><p rend="bold">3.1 Organisation Culture</p> <div level="2"><p rend="bold">3.2 Organisation Structure</p> <div level="2"><p rend="bold">3.3 Hiring the right people</p> <div level="2"><p rend="bold">3.4 Clarity of vision</p> <div level="2"><p rend="bold">3.5 Respect & Trust</p> Gardner and Holmes 2006

  7. textual: The heading predicts the function and organization of the section that follows. <p n="dept">Biology</p> <div level="2"><p rend="underline">Introduction</p> <div level="2"><p rend="underline">Experiment</p> <div level="2"><p rend="underline">Method</p> <div level="2"><p rend="underline">Results</p> <div level="2"><p rend="underline">Comments</p> <div level="2"><p rend="underline">Conclusion</p> Gardner and Holmes 2006

  8. interpersonal: The heading functions as a repetition of the tutor’s initiation to which the student responds in the section that follows (Hamp-Lyons 1988). <p n="dept">Economics</p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">Question 2a)</p> <p n="dept">History</p> <titlePart type="main" rend="underline">What, if anything, does Oscar Wilde’s Portrait of Dorian Gray Owe to Cesare Lombroso?</titlePart> Gardner and Holmes 2006

  9. 2b. Assignment structure • simple: no parts • complex: structurally related parts • compound: independent parts Gardner and Holmes 2006

  10. simple assignments 0022a – simple essay: <sourceDesc> <p n="essayID">0022a</p> <p n="dept">Psychology</p> <p n="assignment type">essay</p> </sourceDesc> <titlePart type="main" rend="bold/underline">Imagine you are designing a curriculum for primary school science classes. Consider how research in cognitive development could help you decide which concepts are taught when.</titlePart> <p>The structure of education has been shaped by many cognitive psychologists over the past... Gardner and Holmes 2006

  11. 0003b – simple ethnography: <sourceDesc> <p n="essayID">0003b</p> <p n="dept">Sociology</p> <p n="assignment type">ethnography</p> </sourceDesc> <titlePart type="main" rend="bold">An urban ethnography of two bookshops in Leamington Spa, November 2004. </titlePart> <titlePart>By xxx, History and Sociology. Tutor: zzz.</titlePart> <p>On Friday afternoon, the 26th of November, I conducted my ethnographic observation in an urban setting in the centre of Leamington. My first... <p type="wc">Word count: 1443. </p> Gardner and Holmes 2006

  12. complex assignments 0006a - complex, textual: <sourceDesc> <p n="essayID">0006a</p> <p n="dept">Biology</p> <p n="assignment type">report</p> </sourceDesc> <titlePart type="main" rend="bold">Experiment 15: Aspects of bacterial genetics: Conjugation and Recombination</titlePart> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">Aim / Abstract </p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">Introduction </p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">Method </p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">Results </p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">Discussion </p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">Conclusion </p> <div type="appendix"><p rend="bold">Appendix </p> Gardner and Holmes 2006

  13. 0006c - complex, ideational/textual: <sourceDesc> <p n="essayID">0006c</p> <p n="dept">Biology</p> <p n="assignment type">essay</p> </sourceDesc> <titlePart type="main" rend="bold">Endosymbiotic Theory</titlePart> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">Abstract</p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">Introduction</p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">History of Endosymbiotic Theory</p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">Factors in favour of mitochondrial and chloroplast endosymbiosis</p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">Summary</p> <p type="wc">Word count: 2700</p> <div type="bib"><p rend="bold">REFERENCE</p> Gardner and Holmes 2006

  14. 3035a - complex, ideational: <sourceDesc> <p n="essayID">3035a</p> <p n="dept">Health and social care</p> <p n="assignment type">research proposals</p> </sourceDesc> <div level="1"><p rend="bold/underline">Research Proposal: Randomized Control Trial</p> <div level="2"><p rend="bold">Explanatory research question:</p> <div level="2"><p rend="bold">Null hypothesis:</p> <div level="2"><p rend="bold">Alternate hypothesis:</p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold/underline">Study design</p> <div level="2"><p rend="bold">Participants:</p> <div level="2"><p rend="bold">Interventions:</p> <div level="2"><p rend="bold">Data collection:</p> <div level="2"><p rend="bold">Reliability and validity:</p> <div level="2"><p rend="bold">Data analysis:</p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold/underline">Ethical issues</p> <div type="bib"><p rend="bold/underline">References</p> Gardner and Holmes 2006

  15. 0023c - complex, interpersonal/ideational: <sourceDesc> <p n="essayID">0023c</p> <p n="dept">Engineering</p> <p n="assignment type">report</p> </sourceDesc> <titlePart>ES21V INTERMEDIATE TECHNOLOGY AND FIELD COURSE</titlePart> <titlePart>Assignment 1</titlePart> <titlePart type="main" rend="italic">Micro-hydro report</titlePart> <titlePart>000</titlePart> <titlePart>Second Year EDAT Undergraduate</titlePart> <titlePart>I002</titlePart> <div level="1"><p rend="underline">Background</p> <div level="1"><p rend="underline">What is the state of play of the stream?</p> <div level="1"><p rend="underline">What’s the estimation of the pipe?</p> <div level="1"><p rend="underline">What about ROCs?</p> <div level="1"><p rend="underline">Is connection to the grid an option?</p> <div level="1"><p rend="underline">How about a new turbine?</p> <div level="1"><p rend="underline">Which pipe and how is it best to route it?</p> <div level="1"><p rend="underline">Would a grant be possible?</p> <div level="1"><p rend="underline">What is the likely longevity of the scheme?</p> <div level="1"><p rend="underline">Conclusions</p> <div type="bib"><p rend="underline">References</p> Gardner and Holmes 2006

  16. compound assignments • parts are +/- independent: • unordered • not cohesive • embedded • whole "functions as a unity with respect to its environment" (Halliday and Hasan 1976) • embedding: • parallel or complementary parts ([[a][a][a]] / [[a][b][c]]) • simple or complex embedding ([[b][b][b]] / [[a1][b][b][a3]]) • self sufficient • parallel • (Hoey 2001) Gardner and Holmes 2006

  17. 3042f – parallel, simple: <sourceDesc> <p n="essayID">3042f</p> <p n="dept">Hospitality, leisure and tourism management</p> <p n="assignment type">analytical bibliographies</p> </sourceDesc> <titlePart>TOURISM IMPACT ANALYSIS, U57266.</titlePart> <titlePart>Module leader: zzz</titlePart> <titlePart>COURSEWORK ELEMENT ONE </titlePart> <titlePart type="main" rend="bold/italic">Analytical bibliographies </titlePart> <titlePart>xxx</titlePart> <titlePart>000</titlePart> <titlePart>March 2005</titlePart> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">Jones, D L, Jurowski, C & Uysal, M (2000), "Host community residents’ attitudes: a comparison of environmental viewpoints", Tourism and Hospitality Research, 2 (2): 129-156.</p> <div level="2"><p rend="bold">Notes</p> <div level="2"><p rend="bold">Comment & Analysis</p> <div level="2"><p rend="bold">Evidence to support argument </p> <div level="2"><p rend="bold">Key links</p> /cont Gardner and Holmes 2006

  18. 3042f – parallel, simple -cont-: <div level="1"><p rend="bold">Dyer, P, Aberdeen, L & Schuler, S (2003), "Tourism impacts on an Australian indigenous community: a Djabugay case study", Tourism Management, 24 (1): 83-95.</p> <div level="2"><p rend="bold">Notes</p> <div level="2"><p rend="bold">Comment & Analysis</p> <div level="2"><p rend="bold">Evidence to support argument</p> <div level="2"><p rend="bold">Key links</p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">Sheldon, P J & Abenoja, T (2001), "Resident attitudes in a mature destination: the case of Waikiki", Tourism Management, 22: 435-443.</p> <div level="2"><p rend="bold">Notes</p> <div level="2"><p rend="bold">Comment & Analysis</p> <div level="2"><p rend="bold">Evidence to support argument</p> <div level="2"><p rend="bold">Key links</p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">Lynch, P A (1999), "Host attitudes towards guests in the homestay sector", Tourism and Hospitality Research, 1 (2): 119-144.</p> <div level="2"><p rend="bold">Notes</p> <div level="2"><p rend="bold">Comment & Analysis</p> <div level="2"><p rend="bold">Evidence to support argument</p> <div level="2"><p rend="bold">Key links</p> Gardner and Holmes 2006

  19. 6066g – complementary, simple: <sourceDesc> <p n="essayID">6066g</p> <p n="dept">Classics</p> <p n="assignment type">essay + review</p> </sourceDesc> <titlePart type="main" rend="underline">In the Iliad, is being a good hero <titlePart rend="underline">By xxx</titlePart> <p>Although there are many heroes in the Iliad who are rulers <div type="bib"><p rend="underline">Bibliography</p> <titlePart type="main" rend="underline">In the Iliad, is being a good hero <titlePart rend="underline">Literary Criticism:</titlePart> <titlePart rend="underline">By xxx</titlePart> <p>"So they spoke in tears to their dear son. But all their <div type="bib"><p rend="underline">Bibliography</p> Gardner and Holmes 2006

  20. 6010a – complementary, complex: <sourceDesc> <p n="essayID">6010a</p> <p n="dept">Linguistics</p> <p n="assignment type">assignment</p> </sourceDesc> <titlePart type="main" rend="bold"> Assignment 2. </titlePart> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">Task 1. An exercise in multimodal discourse analysis.</p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">Task 2. An interview concerning an area of contested language use.</p> <div level="2"><p rend="underline">Introduction</p> <div level="2"><p rend="underline">Experiment </p> <div level="2"><p rend="underline">Method</p> <div level="2"><p rend="underline">Results </p> <div level="2"><p rend="underline">Comments</p> <div level="2"><p rend="underline">Conclusion </p> <div level="1"><p rend="underline">Conclusion to tasks 1 and 2.</p> <p type="wc">1097 words</p> <div type="appendix"><p rend="bold">Appendix 1</p> <div type="appendix"><p rend="bold">Appendix 2</p> <div type="bib"><p rend="bold">References</p> Gardner and Holmes 2006

  21. 6045a – parallel, simple: <sourceDesc> <p n="essayID">6045a</p> <p n="dept">Linguistics</p> <p n="assignment type">essay</p> </sourceDesc> <titlePart type="main" rend="bold/underline">Chimpanzees can use signs, but do they have language?</titlePart> <titlePart type="main" rend="bold/underline"> Children’s reading and writing has to be learnt in contrast to speech.</titlePart> <titlePart type="main" rend="bold/underline"> Does understanding the organisation of language in the brain contribute to the study of language?</titlePart> <div type="bib"><p rend="bold">BIBLIOGRAPHY</p> Gardner and Holmes 2006

  22. 6033g – complementary, simple: <sourceDesc> <p n="essayID">6033g</p> <p n="dept">Archaeology</p> <p n="assignment type">skeletal report</p> </sourceDesc> <titlePart type="main" rend="bold">Skeletal Report</titlePart> <titlePart>Name of assessor: </titlePart> <titlePart>Skeleton number: (500) 20</titlePart> <titlePart>Context: Hulton Abbey 00273</titlePart> <div type="ToC"><p></p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold/underline">1) Description of Preservation:</p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold/underline">2) Sex Estimate:</p> <div level="2"><p rend="underline">Skull:</p> <div level="2"><p rend="underline">Pelvis:</p> <div level="2"><p rend="underline">Metrical Data:</p> /cont Gardner and Holmes 2006

  23. 6033g – complementary, simple -cont-: <div level="1"><p rend="bold/underline">Age Estimate:</p> <div level="2"><p rend="underline">Skull:</p> <div level="2"><p rend="underline">Dentition:</p> <div level="2"><p rend="underline">Rib Ageing:</p> <div level="2"><p rend="underline">Pelvis:</p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold/underline">Stature Estimate: </p> <div level="2"><p rend="underline">Ulna: </p> <div level="2"><p rend="underline">Radius:</p> <div level="2"><p rend="underline">Femur: </p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold/underline">Summary:</p> <titlePart type="main" rend="bold/underline">Diary:</titlePart> <div level="1"><p rend="bold/underline">Practical session 1:</p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold/underline">Practical session 2:</p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold/underline">Practical session 3:</p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold/underline">Practical session 4:</p> Gardner and Holmes 2006

  24. 3. Characterising student writing • By marking up headings on all 3000+ assignments, we will be able to check emic assignment types against how the assignments are partitioned (simple, complex, compound) and how the sections function for the whole corpus. • We will also be able to describe these types across the disciplines. Gardner and Holmes 2006

  25. Psychology ‘Essays’ and Biochemistry Lab Reports <sourceDesc> <p n="essayID">0007b</p> <p n="dept">Biochemistry</p> <p n="assignment type">report</p> </sourceDesc> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">Introduction</p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">Method</p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">Results</p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">Discussion</p> Gardner and Holmes 2006

  26. Engineering Lab Reports <sourceDesc> <p n="essayID">0021a</p> <p n="dept">Engineering</p> <p n="assignment type">report</p> </sourceDesc> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">3.0 Introduction</p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">4.0 Theory</p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">5.0 Apparatus and Methods</p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">6.0 Observations and Results</p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">7.0 Analysis and Discussion</p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">8.0 Conclusions</p> Gardner and Holmes 2006

  27. Sociology and Politics <sourceDesc> <p n="essayID">0021a</p> <p n="dept">Politics</p> <p n="assignment type">essay</p> </sourceDesc> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">Introduction</p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">Defining the Terms</p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">Thatcher - Instigating Change</p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">Blair - Advancing the Trend?</p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">The Importance of Context</p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">Cabinet Revival?</p> <div level="1"><p rend="bold">Conclusion</p> Gardner and Holmes 2006

  28. Medical case histories (Nesi and Gardner 2006) <sourceDesc> <p n="essayID">0047c</p> <p n="dept">Medicine</p> <p n="assignment type">essay</p> </sourceDesc> <div level="1">Referral information</p> <div level="1">History</p> <div level="1">Analysis of history</p> <div level="1">Physical examination and mental state examination</p> <div level="1">Analysis of history and examination</p> <div level="1">Formulation of the patient's problem(s)</p> <div level="1">Management</p> <div level="1">Outcome</p> <div level="1">Evidence based care and issues for research</p> <div level="1">Commentary</p> <div level="1">Impact on your learning</p> Gardner and Holmes 2006

  29. Halliday, M.A.K. and R. Hasan. 1976. Cohesion in English. London: Longman. Hamp-Lyons, L. 1988. "The product before: Task-related influences on the writer." In P. C. Robinson (ed.) Academic Writing: Process and Product. ELT Docs. 129. Modern English. Hoey, M. 2001. Textual interaction: an introduction to written discourse analysis. London: Routledge. Martin, J.R. 1992. English text: system and structure. Amsterdam: Benjamins. Nesi, H. and S. Gardner 2006. Nesi, H. & S. Gardner (forthcoming Sept 2006) "Variation in disciplinary culture: University tutors’ views on assessed writing tasks."In:Kiely, R., Clibbon, G., Rea-Dickins, P. & Woodfield, H. (eds)Language, Culture and Identity in Applied Linguistics. London: Equinox Publishing. Ravelli, L. 2004. In L. Ravelli and R. Ellis (eds) pp. 131-152. Analysing Academic Writing: Contextualized Frameworks. London: Continuum. References: Sheena Gardner and Jasper Holmes. University of Warwick j.w.holmes@warwick.ac.uk s.f.gardner@warwick.ac.uk

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