Rhetorical Strategies in Student Persuasive Writing: Differences between Native and Non-Native English Speakers.

Persuasive/argumentative writing is an important and difficult mode of discourse for student writers. It is particularly problematic for non-native speakers, who often bring both linguistic and rhetorical deficits to the task of persuasion in English. This study analyzed 60 persuasive texts by university freshman composition students, half of whom were native speakers and half of whom were non-native speakers of English for 33 quantitative, topical structure, and rhetorical variables. The results showed clear differences between the essays of native and non-native speakers. These results and their implications for second language composition instruction are discussed.

[1]  Arthur N. Applebee.  The Writing Report Card: Writing Achievement in American Schools. , 1986 .

[2]  Stephen P. Witte,et al.  Topical Structure and Revision: An Exploratory Study. , 1983 .

[3]  Dana R. Ferris.  The design of an automatic analysis program for L2 text research: Necessity and feasibility , 1993 .

[4]  Ulla Connor,et al.  Second Language Writing: The teaching of topical structure analysis as a revision strategy for ESL writers , 1990 .

[5]  Liz Hamp-Lyons.  Assessing Second Language Writing in Academic Contexts , 1991 .

[6]  Melvin R. Andrade.  Writing Across Languages: Analysis of L2 Text. Ulla Connor and Robert B. Kaplan (Eds.) , 1990 .

[7]  Ulla Connor,et al.  Reading and writing descriptive and persuasive texts. , 1991 .

[8]  U Connor.  LINGUISTIC/RHETORICAL MEASURES FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENT PERSUASIVE WRITING , 1990 .

[9]  Marion Crowhurst,et al.  Interrelationships Between Reading and Writing Persuasive Discourse , 1991, Research in the Teaching of English.

[10]  A. Purves,et al.  Writing Across Languages and Cultures: Issues in Contrastive Rhetoric , 1988 .

[11]  P. Carrell,et al.  Schema Theory and ESL Reading Pedagogy. , 1983 .

[12]  Joy M. Reid,et al.  Teaching ESL writing , 1993 .

[13]  J. W. Asher,et al.  Composition Research: Empirical Designs , 1988 .

[14]  S. Toulmin.  The uses of argument , 1960 .

[15]  J. Hays.  The Impact of Friendly and Hostile Audiences on the Argumentative Writing of High School and College Students. , 1988 .

[16]  Ch. Perelman.  The realm of rhetoric , 1982 .

[17]  Ann M. Johns,et al.  Second Language Writing: L1 composition theories: implications for developing theories of L2 composition , 1990 .

[18]  Sybil B. Carlson,et al.  SURVEY OF ACADEMIC WRITING TASKS REQUIRED OF GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE FOREIGN STUDENTS , 1983 .

[19]  Ulla Connor,et al.  Understanding persuasive essay writing: Linguistic/rhetorical approach , 1985 .

[20]  R. Glaser.  Advances in Instructional Psychology , 1978 .