THEMES AND THEMATIC PROGRESSION IN STATEMENT OF PURPOSES FOR PH d SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION TO THE u s UNIVERSITIES = PHÂN TÍCH đề NGỮ và DIỄN TIẾN đề NGỮ TRONG các bài LUẬN cá NHÂN XIN học BỔNG TIẾN sĩ vào các TRƯỜNG đại học HOA kỳ

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF LINGUISTICS & CULTURES OF ENGLISH-SPEAKING COUNTRIES GRADUATION PAPER THEMES AND THEMATIC PROGRESSION IN STATEMENT OF PURPOSES FOR PH.D SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION TO THE U.S UNIVERSITIES Supervisor: Nguyễn Thị Minh Tâm (Ph.D) Student: Lê Thu Trang Course: QH2017.F1.E1 HA NOI – 2021 ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA NGƠN NGỮ VÀ VĂN HỐ CÁC NƯỚC NĨI TIẾNG ANH KHĨA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP PHÂN TÍCH ĐỀ NGỮ VÀ DIỄN TIẾN ĐỀ NGỮ TRONG CÁC BÀI LUẬN CÁ NHÂN XIN HỌC BỔNG TIẾN SĨ VÀO CÁC TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC HOA KỲ Giáo viên hướng dẫn: Nguyễn Thị Minh Tâm (Ph.D) Sinh viên: Lê Thu Trang Khóa: QH2010.F1.E1 HÀ NỘI - 2021 I hereby state that I: Le Thu Trang – Class QH2017.F1.E1, being a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (B.A Honours Programme) accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Bachelor's Graduation Paper deposited in the library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper Signature Date ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This thesis becomes a reality with the kind support and help of many individuals I would like to extend my sincere thanks to all of them First and foremost, I want to offer this endeavor to Ms Nguyen Thi Minh Tam (Ph.D), my beloved supervisor She was my teacher for “Functional Grammar” course, which laid the foundation for my study Given my first encounter with research in Linguistics, she guided me through every step of conducting this paper with her highly selective and enlightening consultation sessions Moreover, her sense of humor and constant heartwarming encouragement really reduced my worry and boosted my spirit to handle the heavy workload I would also like to acknowledge the Website from which my corpus was taken Without the availability of such materials, this study would not have taken shape Besides, I am immensely grateful to other fellow classmates for their sharing and valuable clarification as well as explanation for my misgivings in the process of completing this thesis Finally, my thanks and appreciation also go to my family because they are always by my side and offer me the best physical and mental condition, which urged me to forge ahead despite setbacks i ABSTRACT This research aims at investigating the frequency of Themes and Thematic Progression (TP) patterns on three different disciplines (Natural Science, Social Science and Design Science) of Statement of Purposes for Ph.D application The data corpus consisting of 12 successfully accepted samples was analyzed using mainly qualitative method with the aid of quantitative one as well as McCabe’s (1999) model of thematic progression According to the results of this study, concerning Theme type, Topical Theme is the most frequently used one, followed by Textual and Interpersonal Theme With regards to the frequency of TP patterns, Simple Linear pattern is the most prevalent in the surveyed data, followed by Split Rheme, Constant, Derived Hypertheme and Split Theme respectively Such order of distribution is generally in line with the existing literature from different genres because the topic of Themes and TP patterns in Statement of Purposes for Ph.D application is under research The analysis reveals that the process of writing a SoP tends to serve the purpose of a particular discipline rather than putting too much emphasis on the text’s cohesion Such realization also indicates the distinguishing features of SoPs as a genre itself: though SoPs are pieces of academic writing, they are free-style products in terms of theme and thematic pattern choices Keywords: Themes, Thematic Progression, Statement of Purposes, Ph.D application, disciplines ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i ABSTRACT ii LISTS OF TABLES, FIGURES AND ABBREVIATIONS v PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale of the Study 2 Research Aims and Objectives Significance Scope of Research Design of the Study CHAPTER I THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Systemic Functional Linguistics and the Metafunctions 1.2 Theme - Rheme System 1.3 Thematic Progression 10 1.4 Statement of Purposes as a genre 13 1.5 Review of Previous Studies 14 CHAPTER 17 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 17 2.1 Data Corpus 17 2.2 Research Methods 17 2.3 Data Collection and Sampling 17 2.4 Analytical Framework 21 2.5 Data Analysis Procedure 23 CHAPTER III 25 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 25 iii 3.1 Findings 25 3.2 Discussion: Answers to Research question 34 PART 3: CONCLUSION 41 Summary of the study 41 Implications 42 Limitations and Suggestions for Further Studies 42 REFERENCES 44 APPENDIX 51 iv LISTS OF TABLES, FIGURES AND ABBREVIATIONS LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1: Three Metafunctions of language Table 1.2: Types of Topical Themes Table 1.3: Types of Interpersonal Themes Table 1.4: Types of Textual Themes Table 1.5: Generic element framework 14 Table 2.1: Sorting SoPs according to disciplines 17 Table 2.2: SoPs’ sorting criteria according to types 19 Table 2.3: Chosen SoPs in Natural Science category 20 Table 2.4: Chosen SoPs in Social Science category 20 Table 2.5: Chosen SoPs in Design Science category 21 Table 3.1: Proportions of three types of themes 25 Table 3.2: Proportions of three conjunctions ‘and,but,so’ 26 Table 3.3: Proportions of three types of themes according to disciplines 27 Table 3.4: Proportions of Interpersonal and Textual theme types according to elements 28 Table 3.5: Proportions of five TP types in the corpus Table 3.6: Proportions of five TP patterns according to disciplines 29 30 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1: The system network of Theme selection and Theme range Figure 1.2: Example of multiple Theme Figure 2.1: Analytical framework of TP patterns 20 Figure 3.1: TP pattern of TP pattern of SoP no.24 (T-Units 64-67) 31 v Figure 3.2: TP pattern of SoP no.21 (T- Units13-18) 31 Figure 3.3: TP pattern of SoP no.3 (T-Units 30-32) 32 Figure 3.4: TP pattern of SoP no.33 (T-Units 10-12) 32 Figure 3.5: TP pattern of SoP no.19 (T-Units 25-27) 33 Figure 3.6: TP pattern of SoPs no.17 (T-Units 51-53) 34 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS SoP Statement of Purposes TP: Thematic Progression SLP: Simple Linear Pattern CP: Constant Pattern SRP: Split Rheme Pattern STP: Split Theme Pattern DHP: Derived Hypertheme Pattern vi PART 1: INTRODUCTION Rationale of the Study Statement of Purposes (SoP) or the graduate school application letter (Ding, 2007), is considered an important academic promotional document required by in graduate application process in most English-speaking universities (Luo, 2020) SoPs are important as they enable applicants to stand out compared to their competitors (Luo, 2020) SoPs introduce applicants’ interests and experience to the admissions committee and provide insights that “may not be covered in the other areas of the application” (Lee et al., 2008, p 170) From a genre perspective, SoPs are considered a highly complex academic genre (Chen, 2017) since they are not used for within-group communication, but “a means of establishing a (credible) claim to a scholarly identity” (Hyland, 2012, p 72) to gain acceptance to their prospective discourse communities As a result, SoPs challenge the newcomers because they “have read few, and written even fewer, documents of this kind” (Brown, 2004, p 243), “have no adequate knowledge of the context” (Ding, 2007, p 387) In SoP writing, non-native applicants face more difficulties and stand fewer chances for the next-round selection (Max, Gelfand, Brooks, Beckerly & Segal, 2010) Their mistakes of word choice, sentence structure and organization are easily detected since most of the decision makers or ‘gatekeepers’ are native speakers (Crimson, 2004) Even when non-native applicants employ correct grammatical structures, it might be considered as ‘awkward’ choices owing to writers’ unfamiliarity with the English language and its culture Furthermore, they are expected from targeted audiences with a SoP “more shaped by local cultural values and national academic traditions than is the case with more technical writing” (Swales & Feak, 1994, p 229) Besides above-mentioned difficulties, there remains one fact that some U.S universities limit the word count of a SoP as Crimson (2004) stated in his book titled “50 Successful Harvard Application Essays: what worked for them can help you get into the college of your choice”, in which the word limit is specifically suggested as “500 words” (p 3) This means the overall organization mainly shown through text cohesion and coherence plays an essential role in writing a SoP A familiar vigor grasped me the first time I read about Princeton's graduate program on microelectronics I instantly realized what my next destination is This special vigorous feeling can be traced back to my high school days Bored with the unchallenging contents taught in class, I was by chance introduced to Subject Olympiad, the competition of intelligence Though it seemed rather like a dream for a first-year high school student, this goal constantly urged me to contest with the most outstanding students around Through a chain of screening tests, I finally became one of the five-member team to attend the 28th International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) on behalf of China On the airplane, our director said, "IPhO is a kind of experience, not a career But this particular experience may explore one's potential to complete any career in the future." Impressed and inspired by that spirit, I earned a gold medal in Sudbury, Canada, ranking first among my teammates Several days later when I stood in front of the Niagara Falls, I experienced the peacefulness of seeing one dream come true It was then that I decided to dedicate my life to scientific research The same aspiration also contributed to my choice of electrical engineering in Tsinghua University, whose EE department was reputedly the best in China Needless to say, all my fellow schoolmates are excellent students Again I experienced the vitality of competing with them, and the joy of learning from them Tsinghua provides its students with remarkable theoretical lectures and empirical training, which makes me feel just like a fish in water I soon adjusted to the pronounced academic atmosphere here My solid foundation in physics and mathematics also added to a particular interest in theoretical research work All of my academic records are ample proof of my dedication to studying: straight "A" in physics courses, highest scores in many difficult courses of my major etc I demonstrated my academic potential in raising my class rank from third in my freshman year, to second as a sophomore, and finally first in my junior year My total ranking over the past three years is 2nd in 58 Every year I also won top scholarships in Tsinghua Experienced tutors often say that a high-score-only student is seldom a fulfilled one, and that success highly depends on one's personality in which the ability of working well in a group is the most important I have always enjoyed popularity and trust in class and was elected class monitor in my sophomore year In addition, I led my undergraduate years in a colorful way: 79 playing badminton in a school sports meeting, publishing poems in school journals, winning the second prize in the Tsinghua University's Contest of Traditional Chinese Culture Knowledge, etc These extracurricular achievements surely diversified my talents and contributed to my confidence My internship in the Beijing Radio Instrument Factory and my research work in the Institute of Microelectronics of Tsinghua University also helped to focus my objective These experiences formed a window through which I glanced at the frontier of science and technology My major, microelectronics, is quite a sophisticated subject It has led the revolution of science and technology for the past 50 years, and will continue its substantial influence on the IT industry in the future Any initiating achievement in this field demand sturdy theoretical basis and profound insight of experimental phenomena And that is why Princeton's research areas about novel semiconductor devices and materials attract me greatly In this stage of my life, I have many ambitions, the first step of which is to carry on my study until the doctorate level, and then to research work in the acme of technology Attending Princeton is surely a dream for distinguished students all over the world, especially the ones who love physics The intense competition for this opportunity is a new challenge for me and I face it with strong confidence I believe that, given the chance, an education from Princeton will provide me with invaluable experiences for my long-term goal of becoming a first-rate researcher in the new millennium APPENDIX 2: THEMATIC PROGRESSION PATTERNS OF THE WRITING CORPUS Natural Science Chapter 80 Chapter 16 81 Chapter 24 82 Chapter 25 83 Social Science Chapter 17 84 Chapter 18 85 Chapter 19 86 Chapter 32 87 Design Science Chapter 12 Chapter 21 88 Chapter 23 Chapter 33 89 APPENDIX 3: THEME DISTRIBUTION OF THE WRITING CORPUS Discipline Number Topical % Interpersonal % Textual % SUM Natural 38 69.10 10.90 11 20 55 Science 16 53 69.74 6.57 18 23.68 76 24 68 79.07 8.13 11 12.79 86 25 43 70.50 14.75 14.75 61 Social 17 62 66.66 7.54 24 25.80 93 Science 18 53 72.60 9.60 13 17.80 73 19 54 68.35 11.40 16 20.25 79 32 35 83.33 4.77 11.90 42 Design 12 22 73.33 6.67 20 30 Science 21 26 86.67 10 30 23 49 87.50 5.35 7.15 56 33 37 82.22 4.40 13.33 45 90 APPENDIX 4: INTERPERSONAL AND TEXTUAL THEME DISTRIBUTION BY ELEMENTS IN THE WRITING CORPUS Discipline Element Interpersonal % Textual % SUM Natural 7.40 14.28 Science 14.81 15 30.61 19 29.62 14 28.57 22 7.40 14.28 11 40.74 12.24 17 Social 1 10.34 Science 32 20 34.48 28 16 16 27.58 20 12 12.06 10 32 13.79 16 Design 1 10 17.65 Science 10 11.76 3 50 41.18 12 10 11.76 20 17.64 (The percentage of each theme is calculated based on the comparison with the total number of its theme type on each discipline) APPENDIX 5: THE DISTRIBUTION OF TEXTUAL THEME: CONJUNCTIVE ADJUNCT ‘AND, BUT, SO’ ON SOPS OF DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES Discipline And % But % So % SUM % Natural 20 40.82 18.36 12.24 35 71.42 17 29.31 10 17.24 5.17 30 51.72 Science Social Science 91 Design 29.41 23.53 0 52.94 Science (The percentage of conjunctive adjunct is calculated based on the comparison with the total number of Textual theme type on each discipline) APPENDIX 6: THE DISTRIBUTION OF INTERPERSONAL THEME: SOME TYPICAL COMMENT ADJUNCTS IN THE DATA CORPUS Discipline I realize I believe I hope I know I feel I understand I think Natural 2 1 3 0 1 1 0 7 2 11.67 3.33 11.67 8.33 3.33 3.33 Science Social Science Design Science SUM Percentage 8.33 APPENDIX 7: THE DISTRIBUTION OF THEMATIC PROGRESSION OF THE WRITING CORPUS Discipline Number CP % SLP % DHP % STP % SRP % SUM Natural 23.52 10 58.82 5.88 0 11.76 17 Science 16 16.67 58.33 0 0 25 24 9.10 72.72 0 0 18.18 11 25 16.67 83.33 0 0 0 Natural 17 0 40 20 0 40 Science 18 33.33 50 16.6 0 0 12 19 17.65 35.30 0 0 47.05 17 32 37.50 50 0 12.50 92 Design 12 0 83.33 0 0 16.67 Science 21 11.11 77.78 0 0 11.11 23 9.10 81.80 0 0 9.10 33 45.45 27.27 0 0 27.27 11 Sum 22 Mean 1.8 17.41 69 5.75 60.7 0.25 93 0 24 11 118 18.33 9.83 ... FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION The following part reports and discusses this study results The sequence is the findings of Theme and TP being introduced first, followed by the specific distributions... analysis procedure Chapter 3: Findings and Discussion presents findings and discussion in accordance with the research questions Part 3: Conclusion provides the summary and limitations of the study... Implications The findings of this study on Thematic Progression in Statement of Purposes for Ph. D application to top universities in the U. S may be of some assistance to scholarship applicants on their