Lexical Verbs in Malaysian University English Test Argumentative Essays: A Corpus-based Structural Analysis

Argumentative writing is regarded as an essential form of written discourse in Malaysia, specifically in Malaysian University English Test (MUET). Accordingly, there are numerous studies on argumentative essays which demonstrate the increased interest in linguistic features. Conversely, limited stud...

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Main Authors: Anita Kanestion, Manvender Kaur Sarjit Singh, Sarimah Shamsudin, Hishamuddin Isam, Naginder Kaur, Gurmit Pertap Singh
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: EconJournals 2016-10-01
Series:International Review of Management and Marketing
Subjects:
Online Access:https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/irmm/issue/32103/355738?publisher=http-www-cag-edu-tr-ilhan-ozturk
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author Anita Kanestion
Manvender Kaur Sarjit Singh
Sarimah Shamsudin
Hishamuddin Isam
Naginder Kaur
Gurmit Pertap Singh
author_facet Anita Kanestion
Manvender Kaur Sarjit Singh
Sarimah Shamsudin
Hishamuddin Isam
Naginder Kaur
Gurmit Pertap Singh
author_sort Anita Kanestion
collection DOAJ
description Argumentative writing is regarded as an essential form of written discourse in Malaysia, specifically in Malaysian University English Test (MUET). Accordingly, there are numerous studies on argumentative essays which demonstrate the increased interest in linguistic features. Conversely, limited studies have been conducted on the written discourse of the MUET argumentative essay at pre-university level. For this purpose, using a compiled representative learner corpus, a preliminary study is conducted to investigate the linguistic features; lexical verbs used in Band 5 and Band 3 argumentative essays produced by students of a pre-university college in Malaysia. Subsequently, the lexical verbs utilized in the respective essays were compared. As a descriptive analysis and corpus-based study, the use of lexical verb forms was examined via a computer-assisted corpus analysis, for short (CACA), reflecting the learners’ knowledge of applying this linguistic constituent into their written essays. Albeit, this analysis revealed that both Band 5 and Band 3 essays employed four types of lexical verbs, namely past tense (VVD), -‘ing’ form (VVG), past participle (VVN) and –s form (VVZ), it was apparent that the lexical verb form of past tense (VVD) was underused by both groups (11 and 20 occurrences respectively). Surprisingly, both groups had avoided the base form of lexical verb (VVO) in their essays. Thus, the findings of this study might render some pedagogical implications for both teachers and learners, especially in writing argumentative essays, and ideas for future research.
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spelling doaj.art-c8d72457f4024addb5c69603e96113272023-02-15T16:21:34ZengEconJournalsInternational Review of Management and Marketing2146-44052016-10-016813171032Lexical Verbs in Malaysian University English Test Argumentative Essays: A Corpus-based Structural AnalysisAnita KanestionManvender Kaur Sarjit SinghSarimah ShamsudinHishamuddin IsamNaginder KaurGurmit Pertap SinghArgumentative writing is regarded as an essential form of written discourse in Malaysia, specifically in Malaysian University English Test (MUET). Accordingly, there are numerous studies on argumentative essays which demonstrate the increased interest in linguistic features. Conversely, limited studies have been conducted on the written discourse of the MUET argumentative essay at pre-university level. For this purpose, using a compiled representative learner corpus, a preliminary study is conducted to investigate the linguistic features; lexical verbs used in Band 5 and Band 3 argumentative essays produced by students of a pre-university college in Malaysia. Subsequently, the lexical verbs utilized in the respective essays were compared. As a descriptive analysis and corpus-based study, the use of lexical verb forms was examined via a computer-assisted corpus analysis, for short (CACA), reflecting the learners’ knowledge of applying this linguistic constituent into their written essays. Albeit, this analysis revealed that both Band 5 and Band 3 essays employed four types of lexical verbs, namely past tense (VVD), -‘ing’ form (VVG), past participle (VVN) and –s form (VVZ), it was apparent that the lexical verb form of past tense (VVD) was underused by both groups (11 and 20 occurrences respectively). Surprisingly, both groups had avoided the base form of lexical verb (VVO) in their essays. Thus, the findings of this study might render some pedagogical implications for both teachers and learners, especially in writing argumentative essays, and ideas for future research.https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/irmm/issue/32103/355738?publisher=http-www-cag-edu-tr-ilhan-ozturklexical verbs malaysian university english test argumentative essay part-of-speech tagging computer-assisted corpus analysis
spellingShingle Anita Kanestion
Manvender Kaur Sarjit Singh
Sarimah Shamsudin
Hishamuddin Isam
Naginder Kaur
Gurmit Pertap Singh
Lexical Verbs in Malaysian University English Test Argumentative Essays: A Corpus-based Structural Analysis
International Review of Management and Marketing
lexical verbs
malaysian university english test
argumentative essay
part-of-speech tagging
computer-assisted corpus analysis
title Lexical Verbs in Malaysian University English Test Argumentative Essays: A Corpus-based Structural Analysis
title_full Lexical Verbs in Malaysian University English Test Argumentative Essays: A Corpus-based Structural Analysis
title_fullStr Lexical Verbs in Malaysian University English Test Argumentative Essays: A Corpus-based Structural Analysis
title_full_unstemmed Lexical Verbs in Malaysian University English Test Argumentative Essays: A Corpus-based Structural Analysis
title_short Lexical Verbs in Malaysian University English Test Argumentative Essays: A Corpus-based Structural Analysis
title_sort lexical verbs in malaysian university english test argumentative essays a corpus based structural analysis
topic lexical verbs
malaysian university english test
argumentative essay
part-of-speech tagging
computer-assisted corpus analysis
url https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/irmm/issue/32103/355738?publisher=http-www-cag-edu-tr-ilhan-ozturk
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