Abstract
This paper presents a case study of the use of a narrative discourse model (Labov and Waletzky 1967) to provide a more objective assessment of two ESL compositions. The model allows a clause by clause analysis to demonstrate the discourse function of each clause within the narratives. A comparative analysis which describes the overall narrative structures of the two stories is also presented. The evaluation of the narrative quality of the essays using the model as a guide seems to be consistent with the impressionistic marks awarded by the ESL teacher. Research has shown that the quality of a text is enhanced by grammatical patterns within the sentence as well as patterns of discourse organisation beyond the sentence. Various studies also suggest that the conventional ESL writing class, which emphasises mainly intra-sentential skills may not address the students' lack of organisational skills in a piece of discourse (Mohan and Loh 1985, Clayton and Klainin 1994). Thus, insights from discourse analysis research can provide the writing teacher with ideas for a more discourse oriented approach in the classroom.
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