STUDY ON SYNTACTIC AND LEXICAL DEVELOPMENT THROUGH MASTER’S THESES

Julio Cesar Gomez

DOI Number
https://doi.org/10.22190/JTESAP250212024G
First page
315
Last page
330

Abstract


This article explores the extent to which syntactic complexity and lexical diversity develop during the process of writing a master’s thesis in an English language teaching program. A total of 21 students belonging to this program were asked to share drafts of their theses. Using the Wilcoxon signed-ranked test analysis in measurements of syntactic complexity for the whole group, the results revealed that there was a statistically significant difference. The two measurements were the mean number of dependent clauses per T-unit and sentence syntax similarity. In the intergroup analysis, the B1 level subgroup had significant gains in the mean number of modifiers per noun phrase. Regarding lexical diversity, the measurement lexical diversity, type-token ratio and content word lemmas showed statistically significant difference for the whole group and for the B1 level subgroup. The findings further indicate that the development of writing in syntactic terms occurs in measurements that involve more complex clauses and noun phrases. Regarding lexical diversity, the range of content words increased compared to other measurements. These findings reveal the limited extent to which features of syntax and lexicon may change as a result of writing a complex academic text such as master’s thesis.


Keywords

writing development, ELT master’s thesis, teacher education, syntactic complexity, lexical diversity.

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.22190/JTESAP250212024G

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