Philippine E-Journals

An Analysis of the Topical Structure of Paragraphs Written by Filipino Students

Daisy O. Almaden

Discipline: Linguistics

 

Abstract:

This study investigates the topical progression in paragraphs written by Filipino ESL students. Data consists of 60 paragraphs lifted from the definition essays that were part of the students’ portfolios. The paragraphs were analyzed using Lautamatti’s topical structure analysis (TSA), which examines the internal topical structure by looking at the repetition of key words and phrases and provides insights into the internal coherence in paragraphs. It was found that parallel progression was most frequently used in the paragraphs, followed by extended and sequential progressions. The extended sequential progression was least used.