THEME SYSTEM OF SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL GRAMMAR IN STUDENTS' NARRATIVE TEXTS.
Theme System of Systemic Functional Grammar
in Students' Narrative Texts
A THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Master’s Degree
in English Education
Zuhe Safitra
1008851
ENGLISH EDUCATION
SCHOOL OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES
INDONESIA UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION
BANDUNG
2013
(2)
Halaman Hak Cipta
===========================================================
Theme System in Systemic
Functional Grammar in
Students’ Narrative Texts
Oleh Zuhe Safitra
S.S. Universitas Pasundan, 2006
Sebuah Tesis yang diajukan untuk memenuhi salah satu syarat memperoleh gelar Magister Pendidikan (M.Pd.) pada Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris
© Zuhe Safitra 2013 Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia
April 2013
Hak Cipta dilindungi undang-undang.
Skripsi ini tidak boleh diperbanyak seluruhya atau sebagian, dengan dicetak ulang, difoto kopi, atau cara lainnya tanpa ijin dari penulis.
(3)
APPROVAL SHEET
Theme System of Systemic Functional Grammar
in Students' Narrative Texts
By: Zuhe Safitra
1008851
Approved by Supervisor
Iwa Lukmana, M.A., Ph.D. NIP. 196611271993031002
(4)
DECLARATION
I hereby certify that this thesis entitled "Theme System of Systemic Functional Grammar in Students' Narrative Texts" is completely my own work. I am fully aware that I have quoted some statements and ideas from various sources. All quotations are properly acknowledged.
Bandung, Januari 2013
(5)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First of all, I am grateful to Allah SWT that this thesis entitled "Theme System of Systemic Functional Grammar in Students' Narrative Texts" has finally done.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Iwa Lukmana, M.A., Ph.D., for his expert, truthful and valuable guidance and encouragement extended to me. I take this opportunity to record a sincere thanks to my friends for their support and encouragement and to my beloved family for their unceasing support during the time I carried out the research. I also place on record, my sense gratitude to one and all who, directly or indirectly, have lent their helping hand in this study.
Last but not least, as this study still has many limitations and far from being perfect, therefore, any comments, suggestions and criticisms are very welcome.
Bandung,
Zuhe Safitra
(6)
ABSTRACT
This study aims to explore the realization of the Theme system in students' narrative texts in terms of types of Theme, choices of topical Theme and thematic progressions. The study also attempts to find out the implications of the Theme system on the flow of text. The study belongs to a non-experimental research design involving 15 narrative texts as the data of the study. There were three types of Theme used by the students, namely topical, textual and interpersonal Themes, in which the topical Theme was the most frequent Theme (65.12%) used. In terms of choices of topical Theme, there were ten categories realized in the texts, and of the ten, the nominal group was the most frequent category (35.57%) chosen by the students as their topical Theme. Derived from the realization of thematic progressions, there were three kinds of pattern used by the students, which are the thematic reiteration pattern, the zig-zag pattern and the multiple-Rheme Pattern. The thematic reiteration pattern was the most common pattern (60.57%) found in the texts. These findings suggest that the texts produced by the students were smoothly flowing, indicated by the frequent use of the thematic reiteration and zig-zag patterns. The use of the cohesion devices (i.e. ellipsis, reference, and conjunction) also made the flow of the text much clearer. It is recommended that Theme system be implemented in teaching English at high school level to improve students' reading and writing skills and to develop the depth of their writing.
(7)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
APPROVAL SHEET Error! Bookmark not defined.
DECLARATION Error! Bookmark not defined.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Error! Bookmark not defined.
ABSTRACT Error! Bookmark not defined.
TABLE OF CONTENTS v
LIST OF TABLES vii
LIST OF FIGURES viii
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.1. Rationale Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.2. Objectives Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.3. Significances Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.4. Operational Definition Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.5. Organization of the Paper Error! Bookmark not defined.
CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL FOUNDATION Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.1. Systemic Functional Linguistics Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.2. Systemic Functional Grammar Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.3. Theme System Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.4. Narrative Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.5. Conclusion Error! Bookmark not defined.
CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.1. Research Questions Error! Bookmark not defined.
(8)
3.3. Data Collection Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.4. Data Analysis Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.5. Conclusion Error! Bookmark not defined.
CHAPTER IV
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.1. The Realization of the Theme System in Students' Narrative Text Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.2. Implication of the Theme System on the Flow of the Texts Error! Bookmark not defined.
CHAPTER V
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Error! Bookmark not defined.
5.1. Conclusions Error! Bookmark not defined.
5.2. Recommendation Error! Bookmark not defined.
BIBLIOGRAPHY Error! Bookmark not defined.
(9)
LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1. Examples of Marked and Unmarked Theme in Declarative Clause
16
Table 2.2. Modal Adjunct 21
Table 2.3. Conjunctive Adjuncts 26
Table 2.4. Conjunctions 27
Table 2.5. Relatives 28
Table 2.6. Example of Narrative Text 36
Table 4.1. Trends in the Use of Themes in Students' Narrative Texts 54 Table 4.2. Trends in the Choice of Topical Theme in Students' Narrative
texts
56
(10)
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1. The Boundary of Theme 13
Figure 2.2. The Reiteration Pattern of Thematic Development 30 Figure 2.3. The Zig-Zag Pattern of Thematic Development 31 Figure 2.4. The Multiple-Rheme Pattern of Thematic Development 32
Figure 2.5. Solidarity Across Levels of Theme 34
Figure 4.1. Illustration of Thematic Reiteration 66
Figure 4.2. Realization of Thematic Reiteration 67
Figure 4.3. Illustration of Zig-Zag Pattern 69
Figure 4.4. The Realization of Zig-Zag Pattern 70
Figure 4.5. Illustration of Multiple-Rheme Pattern 72
(11)
1
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
This chapter covers the rationale of the study which motivated the researcher to conduct this study. This chapter also presents the objectives of the study, significances, an operational definition of terms and the organization of the paper.
1.1. Rationale
Teaching English commonly focuses on enhancing the four language skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing. As one of the language skills, writing plays a significant role in students' education period and it can be a great asset during their lives (Collerson, 1989: 1). Since writing plays a very crucial role in students’ education, "writing has always been formed as part of the syllabus (curriculum) in the teaching of English" (Harmer, 2004: 31), a fact which is also found in the language curriculum and syllabus in Indonesia (Ministry of National Education Regulation No. 23 Year 2006 on Graduate Competence Standard).
Hence, writing is one of the important skills to be acquired by students. Nevertheless, Emilia (2005) found that most students considered writing a difficult subject. It might be because they find difficulties in communicating their ideas using the written language. To write a good composition, students should pay attention to several aspects. One of them is the Theme of the clause. Focusing
(12)
2
on the Theme will be very useful in helping students to communicate their ideas successfully (Wang, 2007: 171). Theme helps the speaker/writer "to specify the place in the listener/reader network of meaning where the meaning is to be incorporated as relevant" (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2004: 19). Moreover, Theme is the element of clause structure which serves as "the point of departure of the message; it is with which the clause is concerned" (Halliday, 1994: 37). The Theme then becomes important because it provides the environment for the remainder of the message, which is known as the Rheme, in the Theme-Rheme organization (Halliday, 1994).
Recent research into Theme system analysis has been conducted by several researchers. It is shown in studies conducted by McCabe (1999) Forey (2002), Thompson (2005), Yang, Ramirez, & Harman (2007), Mustaffa (2007), Wang (2007), Wulandari (2009), Sofyan (2009)Li (2009), Jalilifar (2010), Rachmawati (2010) and Sugijarto (2011). Those studies are generally related to Systemic Functional Linguistics developed by Halliday (1994). They mostly investigated various texts seen from their thematic progressions. The study conducted by Sugijarto (2011), for instance, investigated the thematic progression in students' explanatory texts. In his study, Sugijarto found that students commonly apply Constant and Simple Linear Thematic Progression indicating students' texts consistency. Another study investigating thematic progression is the study conducted by Mustaffa (2007) which investigated texts written by undergraduate LEP (Limited English Proficiency) students. In her study, she found that the LEP students display average ability in their use of thematic progression. Wang (2007)
(13)
3
also conducted the study on Theme and Rheme organization. This study was concerned with its implication for teaching academic writing in tertiary education. The study on Theme-Rheme analysis is also established in the field of Translation as performed by Wulandari (2009) and Rachmawati (2010). They investigated thematic progression in translations of popular texts, and found that several thematic progressions are employed in the texts, giving an indication of
the readers’ comprehension of the text. These studies set out and described why and how certain thematic progressions occurred in the texts.
Research into Theme system was not only focused on the thematic progression, as described earlier, but several researchers also investigated the function of Theme in comparing two different languages as conducted by McCabe (1999) and Sofyan (2009). McCabe (1999) conducted a comparative study on Spanish and English history texts. This study explored whether or not thematic and rhematic choices can be linked to the context of situation and culture within which the texts were written, and thus give a clear reflection of the field, mode and tenor of the texts. In this study, she used historical texts as the source of the research. Sofyan (2009) also investigated comparison between two languages, using the Theme system of Systemic Functional Grammar. The topical Theme shift in factual English – Indonesian translation was explored, where the author found a topical Theme dominates the entire text being investigated.
It is found that the study of Theme analysis on students' narrative texts, particularly the texts written by senior high school students, has not been conducted, especially in Indonesia. Thus, this study intends to fill the gap with a
(14)
4
Theme system analysis on students' narrative texts. In this study, the Theme system of Systemic Functional Grammar is used as the instrument to analyze the texts written by senior high school students. This study investigates thematic elements of the texts written by the students through examining several aspects as suggested by Eggins (1994, 2004), namely choices of types of Themes, choices of topical Themes, and choices of thematic patterns.
There are several reasons why the Theme system is investigated in this study. First, the Theme system focuses on the first element of the clause describing what the text is about (Gerot and Wignell, 1994; Eggins, 2004; Thompson, 2004). This means that when students' texts are difficult to understand, "the problem often originates in the choice of Themes and the expression of Rhemes" (Butt et al., 2000: 151). Second, the Theme system has a crucial role in the readability and in the appearance of a text and, in general, plays a central role in our every day communication. It sets up an environment in which the message can be interpreted and understood clearly (Matthiessen & Halliday, 1997: 19 as cited in Jallilifar, 2010: 8). A discussion of textual meaning always includes a consideration of how text is organized and how the information is developed.
Since text has a significant position in educational contexts, it is therefore very interesting to study one of the genres of the texts. Concerning the genre of the texts, a narrative is examined in this study because of several reasons. Firstly, narrative is often considered as "the macro genre" (Knapp and Watkins, 2005: 221). It means that this genre can easily accommodate other genres and still remain dominant. Secondly, the narrative is the most commonly produced type of
(15)
5
story in an English program (Christie and Derewianka, 2008, 31-32). Thirdly, because of its social purpose –that a narrative is to entertain and amuse the readers- (Anderson and Anderson, 1997: 3; Gerot and Wignell, 1997: 204), high school students are particularly fond of this. The final reason is because the narrative text has been taught in the secondary high school since the implementation of KTSP (Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan, or School-based Curriculum) in 2006 (Susanti, et al., 2011: 1), therefore, it is a very interesting topic for investiagtion.
1.2. Objectives
Based on the rationale above, by analyzing the Theme system in students' narrative texts, this study aims to:
1. explore the application of the Theme system in students' narrative texts in terms of types of Theme, choices of topical Theme and thematic progressions. 2. find out the implication of the Theme system on the flow of texts.
1.3. Significances
Theoretically, this study is expected to provide a reference to understand the thematic analysis of students' narrative texts, and it will also provide input for other researchers to conduct research in the same field with a different focus.
In practice, this study is expected to provide insight into teaching the narrative genre, especially in applying choices of Theme types, choices of topical Theme and thematic progressions in the development of paragraphs. The results of this study will also demonstrate the consistency of students’ writing in terms of choice of topical Theme and the thematic progression.
(16)
6
Professionally, this study will contribute to the teaching and learning practices involved in writing a narrative text. It is expected that this study will be beneficial for English teachers to evaluate their strategies in teaching narrative texts. Therefore, it might offer a new insight into teaching narrative texts in secondary school.
1.4. Operational Definition
1. Systemic functional grammar is one of the linguistics approaches that considers language as a social semiotic system (Halliday, 1994).
2. Theme is the element which serves as the starting point for the message: it is what the clause is going to be about (Halliday and Mathiessen, 2004).
3. Rheme is the part of the clause in which the theme is developed (Eggins, 2004).
4. Topical Theme is the first element in the clause that expresses some kind of 'representational' meaning (Butt et al., 2006; Halliday and Matthiessen, 2004). 5. Interpersonal Theme is identified when a constituent to which it is assigned a
Mood label and occurs at the beginning of a clause (Eggins, 2004).
6. Textual Themes almost always constitute the first part of the Theme (Martin, Matthiessen and Painter, 1997).
7. Thematic progression is the way in which the Theme of a clause may pick up, or repeat, a meaning from a preceding Theme or Rheme (Paltridge, 2000). 8. Narrative is a text that tells a story and, in doing so, entertains the audience
(17)
7
1.5. Organization of the Paper
This paper consists of five chapters. The first chapter presents the rationale of the study i.e. the reasons motivating the researcher to conduct the study. This chapter also discusses the objectives of the study, significances, operational definitions and the organization of the paper. The second chapter presents the theoretical foundation of the study. It discusses theories relating to the study. The third chapter explores the methodology used in the study: research questions, the design, data collection and data analysis. The fourth chapter presents the findings of the study and its discussion. The fifth chapter provides conclusions and recommendations. The conclusions section concludes the study and provides the answers for research questions. The recommendations section provides some recommendations for the readers of the paper and for English teachers in secondary education.
(18)
38
CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents the research questions, the design of the study, the data collection and data analysis. The research questions section presents the problems that are being investigated. The research design section elaborates on the paradigms and the design used in the study. The research design chosen enables the researcher to carry out the study effectively by describing the Theme system used in students' narrative texts. The data collection discusses the setting: where the study is being conducted and, the subjects of the study are and why they were chosen. It also outlines the procedures (techniques and types) of collecting the data. The part on data analysis describes the tools used to analyze the narrative texts in this study and presents the methods of analyzing the data.
1.1. Research Questions
This study aims to answer the research questions as formulated below. 1. How do the students apply the Theme system in their narrative texts?
a. What kinds of Themes are used in students' narrative texts?
b. What kinds of elements do students choose as their topical Theme in their narrative texts?
c. What kinds of thematic progressions are applied in students' narrative texts?
(19)
39
2. What is the implication of the Theme system used in students' narrative texts for the flow of the texts?
1.2. Research Design
The research design of this study is classified as non-experimental. This study only examined the texts written by the students, and did not test a teaching methodology. As stated by Marczyk et al. (2005: 147), non-experimental designs cannot rule out extraneous variables as the cause of what is being observed because they do not have control over the variables and the environments that they study. This study can also be categorized as qualitative research design because the study was carried out in a natural setting (Frankel & Wallen, 1990; McMillan, 1992; Cresswell, 1994; Adanza, 1995; Silverman, 2005; Alwasilah, 2008). This design was appropriate because the study focused on one particular instance of educational experience or practice (Freebody, 2003; in Emilia 2005: 74), and it used text analysis which is a powerful analytical tool and constitutes one of a variety of linguistic approaches that have been well developed in the area of education (Freebody, 2003 in Emilia 2005: 75).
1.3. Data Collection 3.3.1. Setting
The setting of the study was a state senior high school in Bandung. The site was chosen for its appropriateness and accessibility. The selected school has a reputation for being one of the high-ranking schools in Bandung. Furthermore, the school is also certified as a national standard school. With that in mind, the researcher believed that the students would be able to write the genre as required.
(20)
40
The other reason for selecting this school was for its accessibility. Having known the English teacher at this school, the researcher expected to gain access much more easily. Therefore, this advantage may "increase the feasibility of the study" (Emilia, 2005: 75).
The participants of the study were the 11th grade students in senior high school. The students were chosen as respondents because they have learned about this genre, and were thus expected to be able to write in the genre well. Additionally, they were deliberately chosen because they had particular features or characteristics which enabled detailed exploration and understanding of the topic that the researcher wished to explore (Ritchie and Lewis, 2003:78). The participants of the study were divided into three groups: high achievers, middle achievers, and low achievers. The classification of the students into three categories was derived from their writing scores provided by the English teacher. 3.3.2. Data Collection Procedures
The data of the study were students' narrative texts. Narrative was chosen because it is often considered to be "the macro genre" (Knapp and Watkins, 2005: 221) which means that this genre can easily accommodate other types of genres and still remain dominant. In this study, 15 narrative texts were chosen as the data of the study. They were chosen because they met the criteria of a narrative text as suggested by Derewianka (2004).
In collecting the data, the researcher took the following steps:
1. The eleventh grade students of a senior high school were purposively chosen as the respondents of the study because they had studied the narrative genre.
(21)
41
2. The students were then asked to write a narrative text of their own interest. 3. Next, they submitted the texts to the teacher to show that the study was
carried out in a natural setting as suggested in the features of qualitative research (McMillan, 1992; Cresswell, 1994; Silverman, 2005).
1.4. Data Analysis
The data obtained were analyzed using Systemic Functional Grammar proposed by Halliday (1994) which provides a powerful analytical tool and constitutes one of a variety of linguistic approaches that have been well developed in the area of education (Freebody, 2003: 185, as cited in Emilia, 2005: 75). SFG was used to show how meanings were conveyed through the clause system. The focus of the analysis is on the textual metafunction represented by the Theme system. This study aims to reveal how the students apply the Theme system in their narrative texts in terms of kinds of Themes, the choice of topical Theme and kinds of thematic progression applied in the texts (see Eggins, 1994; 2004).
After collecting the data from the teacher, the researcher conducted the following steps in analyzing the data.
1. Every text was broken down into clauses because the analysis of Theme system is based on clause analysis.
2. Every clause was analyzed and constructed in Theme-Rheme relation. The Theme and Rheme were then placed in Theme-Rheme columns respectively. 3. Each Theme was then identified based on its type: topical, textual, or
(22)
42
4. Subsequently, the topical Theme was identified for its markedness since only the unmarked topical Theme could be used to identify the thematic progression applied in the text.
5. After being analyzed, all the Themes that occurred were calculated for their frequency of occurrence presented as a percentage.
6. The next step was analyzing the choices of topical Theme. The identified topical Themes were then examined for their categories. The categories chosen were calculated for their frequency and presented in a table.
7. The step after this involved analyzing the thematic progressions. They were determined based on the relationship between the unmarked topical Theme and the previous Themes or Rhemes. Each thematic progression identified was labeled based on its type. The thematic progression in this study refers to the method of development as suggested by Eggins (1994; 2004). The frequency of occurrence then was presented in a table.
8. The final step was drawing out the flow of text by interpreting the identified Themes, choices of topical Themes and realization of thematic progressions. 1.5. Conclusion
This chapter has discussed the methodology used in the study. The discussion covers the research questions, research design, data collection and data analysis. This chapter provides the guidelines for analyzing the data as presented in chapter IV.
(23)
82
CHAPTER V
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This chapter presents the conclusions and recommendations of the study. The conclusions section wraps up the study and summarizes the final findings. The recommendations section presents the recommendations proposed regarding the teaching of the narrative genre in secondary school as well as suggestions to other researchers who are interested in thematic analysis.
1.1. Conclusions
The study aims at answering the research questions as stated in the third chapter. The first research question concerned the realization of the Theme system of Systemic Functional Grammar in terms of choice of type, choice of topical Theme and choice of thematic progression in narrative texts composed by high school students.
Based on the findings, several conclusions can be drawn from the study. Derived from the types of Theme, it is found that there are three types of Theme employed by the students in their narrative texts, namely the topical, interpersonal and textual Themes. Among the three, the topical Theme is the most frequent Theme used by the students in composing their narrative text. It occurs 65.12% indicating students' attention to the first element of the clause (Butt et al., 2000: 152). It also shows their awareness of what element should be put in the first position. This phenomenon reflects their ability to signpost where the information
(24)
83
comes from and where it leads to. This means students must learn to use the
topical Theme, and through this, learn to use “the topic sentence of a paragraph to
anchor the paragraph to the introduction of the text” (Butt et al., 2000: 151). The second type of Theme found in the text is the Textual Theme. The textual Theme occurs 33.88% and consists of two elements, continuity and conjunctive adjunct. The least common type of Theme found is the interpersonal Theme. It occurs only 0.99% indicating students infrequently use modulation and modulization.
Derived from the choice of topical Theme, there are 10 categories employed by the students as their topical Theme. They are the nominal group, personal pronoun, adverbial group, ellipsis, referential item, relative pronoun, prepositional phrase, existential, verb group and WH-Question. The nominal group and personal pronoun are the most common categories used by students as their topical Theme. This probably the case because the nature of narrative text is that it often involves a specific individual participant with a defined identity (Derewianka, 2004: 42). The frequently used adverbial group also shows the students' ability to fulfill one of the characteristics of narrative text, in that it is often marked by linking words to do with time (Derewianka, 2004: 42).
Based on the thematic progressions applied by the students, it can be concluded that there are three types of pattern used by the students in their narrative texts: the thematic reiteration pattern, the zig-zag pattern and the multiple-Theme pattern. The frequent use of thematic reiteration indicates the students' ability to keep the text focused by restating the Theme in subsequent clauses. The students also show their ability to improve the cohesion of the text by
(25)
84
applying the zig-zag pattern. The students are also able to combine the thematic reiteration pattern with the zig-zag pattern which results in a multiple-Theme pattern. This pattern is the underlying organizing principle for a text, with both zig-zag and theme reiteration strategies being used for elaborating on each of the main thematic points (Eggins, 2004: 326).
The study shows that students usually emphasize a thematic point by employing the thematic reiteration and the zig-zag pattern. These patterns are the most frequent patterns found in the texts. Students can thus apply this pattern to their own writing to improve its flow. Therefore, English teachers need to teach their students to write a narrative text using the thematic pattern to develop the
text’s cohesion, because the quality of writing can be dramatically improved if attention is paid to thematic progression (Butt et al., 2000: 152).
The second research question is about the implications of the use of the Theme system on the flow of the text. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that the texts produced by the students flow smoothly, improving reader comprehension. This is indicated from the frequent use of the thematic reiteration and the zig-zag pattern. Through these patterns the students construct a cumulative sense of text development and keep their narrative focused. Furthermore, by applying the cohesion devices such as ellipsis, reference, conjunction and lexical organization, it improves the clarity and the flow of the text.
To sum up, when students successfully explore the Theme system of Systemic Functional Grammar, they will be able to develop a cohesive and
(26)
85
coherent text. It implicates in their information flow of text which is going smoothly. The Theme system students enable to organize their own writing effectively, and it may prove a useful tool when students need to write longer texts such as essays and reports. Students should be conscious that if they want to convey information effectively and successfully and write a cohesive composition, they ought to focus on the Theme system because it is crucial, and has an immediate impact on writing (Ebrahimi and Khedri, 2012).
1.2. Recommendation
There are several proposed recommendations concerning the teaching of narrative texts in secondary school and research into the field of thematic analysis. In teaching narrative texts we have found that the Theme system can be used as a tool to improve students’ writing skills. The teacher can apply the topical Theme to draw students’ attention to the first element in the clause, and the use of the textual Theme should be considered as it is a device that can consolidate cohesion. Furthermore, by applying various thematic progressions, writing depth can also be improved. Thematic progression is an effective way to bring the issues being discussed into focus, and develop the flow of the text.
It is also recommended that teachers should be trained to write a text using the SFG's principles. If teachers acquire the SFG techniques, they can teach their students to write an effective and communicative text using SFG.
For those who are interested in Theme system analysis, it is recommended that other researchers analyze different genres of text, such as the argumentative genre as it is considered the most difficult text. Analyzing Theme markedness
(27)
86
would also be interesting because the decision to make a marked element Theme commonly relates to Mood analysis. More in-depth analysis on the choice of topical Theme will provide further value since this kind of research is still infrequent. Finally, it is expected that this study can offer another perspective on to thematic analysis of texts written by students.
(28)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Adanza, E. 1995. Research Methods: Principles and Applications. Manila: Rex Book Store.
Alonso and McCabbe. 2003. Improving Text Flow in ESL Learner Compositions. The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. IX, No. 2, February 2003. [online] available at http://iteslj.org/Articles/Alonso-ImprovingFlow.html Accessed in 16 December 2012
Alwasilah, A.C. 2008. Pokoknya Kualitatif. Dasar-dasar Merancang dan Melakukan Penelitian Kualitatif. Jakarta: PT Dunia Pustaka Jaya
Anderson, M. and Anderson, K. 1997. Text Type in English 3. South Yarra: Macmillan
Baker, M. 1992. In other Words. New York: Routledge
Butt. D., Fahey, R., Feez, S., Spinks, S. and Yallop, C. 2000. Using Functional Grammar: An Explorer’s Guild 2nd edition. Sydney NSW: National Centre for English Language Teaching and Research Macquarie University.
Christie, F. 2005. Language Education in the Primary Years. Sydney: UNSW Press.
Chistie, F. and Derewianka, B. 2008. School Discourse. New York: Continuum. Christie, F. and Martin, J.R. 1997. Genre and institutions: social processes in the
workplace and school. London: Cassell.
Collerson, J. 1989. Writing for Life. New South Wales: Primary English Teaching Association.
Cresswell, J. W. 1997. Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches 2nd Edition. London: Sage Publication. International Educational and Professional Publisher. Thousand Oaks. [ebook] Available at http://www.4shared.com/office/8QBaD3HV/ qualitative_inquiry_and_resear.html Accessed in 18th December, 2010.
Derewianka, B. 2004. Exploring How Texts Work. Sydney: Primary English Teaching Association.
(29)
Downing, A. 2001. Thematic Progression as Functional Resource in Analysing Texts in Circle of Linguistics Applied to Communication. Caneda and J. Perez (eds). University de Vigo [online]. Available at http://www.ucm.es/info/circulo/no5/downing.html. Accessed in 30th May, 2012.
Ebrahimi, S.F., and Ebrahimi, S. J. 2012. Markedness in Writing: A Case of EFL Students. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 773-777, April 2012. [online] available at ojs.academypublisher.com/ index.php/tpls/article/download/.../4567. Accessed in January 13, 2013. Ebrahimi, S.F., and Khedri, M. 2012. The Importance of Thematic Structure in
Students’ Writing Cohesion. [online] available at Language in India http://www.languageinindia.com/april2012/ebrahimithematiccohesionfin al.pdf Accessed in January, 2013.
Eggins, S. 1994. An Introduction to Systemic Functional Linguistics. London: Pinter Publishers
Eggins, S. 2004. An Introduction to Systemic Functional Linguistics 2nd Edition. London: Continuum.
Emilia, E. 2005. A Critical Genre-Based Approach to Teaching Academic Writing in A Tertiary EFL Context in Indonesia. Vol.1. Melbourne: The University of Melbourne. Unpublished Dissertation.
Emilia, E. 2010. Teaching Writing Developing Critical Learners. Bandung: Rizqi Press.
Forey, G. 2002. Aspects of Theme and Their Role in Workplace Text. University of Glasgow: Unpublished Dissertation. [online] available at http://www.isfla.org/Systemics/Print/Theses/ForeyThesis/Front.pdf accessed in June 26, 2012.
Frankel, J.R. & Wallen, N.E. 1990. How to Design and Evaluate Research in Education. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company.
Fries, P. H. 1995. Themes, Methods of Development, and Texts. In Hasan, R., and Fries, P.H. 1995. (Eds). On Subject and Theme. A Discourse functional perspective. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. B. V.
Halliday, M.A.K. 1994. An Introduction to Functional Grammar. 2nd Edition. Arnold. Great Britain.
(30)
Halliday, M.A.K. and Matthiessen, C. 2004. An Introduction to Functional Grammar 3rd Edition. Arnold. Great Britain.
Harmer, J. 2004. How to teach writing. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. Huddleston, R., and Pullum, G. K. 2005. A Student's Introduction to English
Grammar. Cambridge: Cambrdige University Press.
Gerot, L., and Wignell, P. 1994. Making Sense of Functional Grammar: An Introductory Workbook. Sydney: Gerd Stabler.
Jalilifar, A. R. 2010. The Status of Theme in Applied Linguistics Articles. The Asian ESP Journal [online]. Autumn Edition 2010 Vol. 6 Issue 2. Available at http://www.asian-esp-journal.com/October-2010.pdf. Accessed in 24th February, 2012.
Knapp, P., and Waltikns, M. 2005. Genre, Text, Grammar: Technologies for Teaching and Assessing Writing. Sydney: University of New South Wales Press.
Li, Q. F. 2009. Thematic Selection and Progression in EFL Writing. US-China Foreign Language Journal [online]. Jul. 2009, Volume 7, No.7 (Serial No.70) 25 – 29. Available at http://ehis.ebscohost.com/ ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=5b6858aa-52e0-49af-8e9a-05d218d1f4f 6%40sessionmgr111&vid=6&hid=4. Accessed in 5th June, 2012.
Martin, J.R. 1992. English Text. System and Structure. Amsterdam: John Benjamin's Publishing Company.
Martin, J. R., and Rose, D. 2007. Working with Discourse: Meaning beyond the Clause. London: Continuum.
Martin, J. R., Matthiessen, C. M.I.M., and Painter, C. 1997. Working with Functional Grammar. London: Arnold.
Marczyk, G., DeMatteo, D., and Festinger, D. 2005. Essentials of Research Design and Methodology. New Jersye: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Matthiessen, C.M.I.M. 2005. Lexicogrammar in Systemic Functional Linguistics:
descriptive and theoretical developments in the “IFG” tradition since the 1970s.” In Ruqaiya Hasan, Christian M.I.M. Matthiessen & Jonathan Webster (eds.), Continuing discourse on language. Volume 2. London: Equinox. [online] available at http://minerva.ling.mq.edu.au/resource/ VirtualClassroom/ling900/99Assignment1.html accessed in January,
(31)
McCabe, A. 1999. Theme and Thematic Patterns in Spanish and English History Texts. Aston University: Unpublished Dissertation [online]. Available at http://www.isfla.org/Systemics/Print/Theses/McCabephd.pdf. Accessed in 19th February, 2012.
McMillan, J.H. 1992. Educational Research: Fundamentals for the Consumer. New York: Harper Collin Publisher, Inc.
Ministerial of National Education Regulation No. 23 Year 2006 on Graduate Competence Standard. Ministry of Education and Culture. [online] Available at http://bsnp-indonesia.org/id/bsnp/wp-content/uploads/2009 /04/SKL_MSPEL_SMA_MA.pdf. Accessed in 15 December 2012
Mustaffa, R. 2007. Thematic Progression in the Writings of Undergraduate LEP Learners. The International Journal of Learning, [online]. Volume 14, Number 9, 2007 available at http://www.Learning-Journal.com Accessed in 4th June, 2012.
Paltridge, B. 2000. Making Sense of Discourse Analysis. Sydney: Gerd Stabler. Ping, A. L. 2005. Talking Themes: The Thematic Structure of Talk. Sage
Publication Vol. 7. [online] London: Thousand Oaks. Available at http://dis.sagepub.com/content/7/6/701 Accessed in 29th October 2012. Rachmawati, A. 2010. Thematic Progression in Gail B. Stewart's Cuba (Places in
the news) A Study of Systemic Functional Grammar. Unikom: Unpublished Paper.
Richards, J. C. 1996. Functional English Grammar: An Introduction for Second Language Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Ritchie, J., and Lewis, J. 2003. Qualitative Research Practice: A Guide for Social Science Students and Researchers. London: Sage Publications
Silverman, D. 2005. Doing Qualitative Research. London: SAGE Publication Ltd. Sofyan, R. 2009. Topical Theme Shift in Factual English-Bahasa Indonesia Translation on Reconstruction of Sinabang Port Specifications [online]. The University of North Sumatra: Unpublished Thesis. Available at http://repository.usu.ac.id/bitstream/123456789/5746/1/09E03002.pdf. Accessed in 19th February, 2012.
Sugijarto. 2011. Thematic Progression in Students' Explanatory Text: A Systemic Functional Linguistics Perspective. Bandung: Indonesia University of
(32)
Susanti, Y., Hadi, O., Yulita, R., Diah, R.N. 2011. Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan. Universitas Sebelas Maret. Unpublished Paper. [online] Available at http://yenipsa08.blog.uns.ac.id/files/2011/04/ktsp.pdf Accessed in 15 December 2012.
Thompson, G. 2004. Introducing Functional Grammar 2nd Edition. London: Arnold.
Thompson, J. 2005. Theme analysis of narratives produced by children with and without Specific Language Impairment. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics, [online]. April–May 2005; 19(3): 175–190. Available at http://www.umass.edu/accela/llc/794d/pdf/theme%20analayis%20of%20 narrative%20Thomson%2007.pdf Accessed in 12th January, 2012. Wang, L. 2007. Theme and Rheme in the Thematic Organization of Text:
Implication for Teaching Academic Writing. Asian EFL Journal. Vol. 9, Issue 1, Article 9. Available at http://asian-efl-journal.com/quarterly- journal/2007/03/28/theme-and-rheme-in-the-thematic-organization-of-text-implications-for-teaching-academic-writing/
Wulandari. W. 2009. Thematic Progression in the Translation of Masaru Emoto's the True Power of Water. Indonesia University of Education: Unpublished Paper.
Yang, Q., Ramirez, J.A., and Harman, R. 2007. EFL Chinese Students and High Stakes Expository Writing: A Theme Analysis [online]. Available at http://uga.academia.edu/RuthHarman/Papers/584871/EFL_Chinese_Stud ents_and_High_Stakes_Expository_Writing_A_Theme_Analysis Accessed on 3rd June, 2012.
(1)
86
would also be interesting because the decision to make a marked element Theme commonly relates to Mood analysis. More in-depth analysis on the choice of topical Theme will provide further value since this kind of research is still infrequent. Finally, it is expected that this study can offer another perspective on to thematic analysis of texts written by students.
(2)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Adanza, E. 1995. Research Methods: Principles and Applications. Manila: Rex Book Store.
Alonso and McCabbe. 2003. Improving Text Flow in ESL Learner Compositions. The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. IX, No. 2, February 2003. [online] available at http://iteslj.org/Articles/Alonso-ImprovingFlow.html Accessed in 16 December 2012
Alwasilah, A.C. 2008. Pokoknya Kualitatif. Dasar-dasar Merancang dan
Melakukan Penelitian Kualitatif. Jakarta: PT Dunia Pustaka Jaya
Anderson, M. and Anderson, K. 1997. Text Type in English 3. South Yarra: Macmillan
Baker, M. 1992. In other Words. New York: Routledge
Butt. D., Fahey, R., Feez, S., Spinks, S. and Yallop, C. 2000. Using Functional
Grammar: An Explorer’s Guild 2nd edition. Sydney NSW: National Centre for English Language Teaching and Research Macquarie University.
Christie, F. 2005. Language Education in the Primary Years. Sydney: UNSW Press.
Chistie, F. and Derewianka, B. 2008. School Discourse. New York: Continuum. Christie, F. and Martin, J.R. 1997. Genre and institutions: social processes in the
workplace and school. London: Cassell.
Collerson, J. 1989. Writing for Life. New South Wales: Primary English Teaching Association.
Cresswell, J. W. 1997. Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing
Among Five Approaches 2nd Edition. London: Sage Publication.
International Educational and Professional Publisher. Thousand Oaks. [ebook] Available at http://www.4shared.com/office/8QBaD3HV/ qualitative_inquiry_and_resear.html Accessed in 18th December, 2010.
Derewianka, B. 2004. Exploring How Texts Work. Sydney: Primary English Teaching Association.
(3)
Downing, A. 2001. Thematic Progression as Functional Resource in Analysing
Texts in Circle of Linguistics Applied to Communication. Caneda and J.
Perez (eds). University de Vigo [online]. Available at http://www.ucm.es/info/circulo/no5/downing.html. Accessed in 30th May, 2012.
Ebrahimi, S.F., and Ebrahimi, S. J. 2012. Markedness in Writing: A Case of EFL Students. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 773-777, April 2012. [online] available at ojs.academypublisher.com/ index.php/tpls/article/download/.../4567. Accessed in January 13, 2013. Ebrahimi, S.F., and Khedri, M. 2012. The Importance of Thematic Structure in
Students’ Writing Cohesion. [online] available at Language in India http://www.languageinindia.com/april2012/ebrahimithematiccohesionfin al.pdf Accessed in January, 2013.
Eggins, S. 1994. An Introduction to Systemic Functional Linguistics. London: Pinter Publishers
Eggins, S. 2004. An Introduction to Systemic Functional Linguistics 2nd Edition. London: Continuum.
Emilia, E. 2005. A Critical Genre-Based Approach to Teaching Academic Writing
in A Tertiary EFL Context in Indonesia. Vol.1. Melbourne: The
University of Melbourne. Unpublished Dissertation.
Emilia, E. 2010. Teaching Writing Developing Critical Learners. Bandung: Rizqi Press.
Forey, G. 2002. Aspects of Theme and Their Role in Workplace Text. University of Glasgow: Unpublished Dissertation. [online] available at http://www.isfla.org/Systemics/Print/Theses/ForeyThesis/Front.pdf accessed in June 26, 2012.
Frankel, J.R. & Wallen, N.E. 1990. How to Design and Evaluate Research in
Education. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company.
Fries, P. H. 1995. Themes, Methods of Development, and Texts. In Hasan, R., and Fries, P.H. 1995. (Eds). On Subject and Theme. A Discourse functional
perspective. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. B. V.
Halliday, M.A.K. 1994. An Introduction to Functional Grammar. 2nd Edition. Arnold. Great Britain.
Halliday, M.A.K. and Hasan, R. 1985. Language, Context and Text: Aspects of
(4)
Halliday, M.A.K. and Matthiessen, C. 2004. An Introduction to Functional
Grammar 3rd Edition. Arnold. Great Britain.
Harmer, J. 2004. How to teach writing. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. Huddleston, R., and Pullum, G. K. 2005. A Student's Introduction to English
Grammar. Cambridge: Cambrdige University Press.
Gerot, L., and Wignell, P. 1994. Making Sense of Functional Grammar: An
Introductory Workbook. Sydney: Gerd Stabler.
Jalilifar, A. R. 2010. The Status of Theme in Applied Linguistics Articles. The
Asian ESP Journal [online]. Autumn Edition 2010 Vol. 6 Issue 2.
Available at http://www.asian-esp-journal.com/October-2010.pdf. Accessed in 24th February, 2012.
Knapp, P., and Waltikns, M. 2005. Genre, Text, Grammar: Technologies for
Teaching and Assessing Writing. Sydney: University of New South
Wales Press.
Li, Q. F. 2009. Thematic Selection and Progression in EFL Writing. US-China Foreign Language Journal [online]. Jul. 2009, Volume 7, No.7 (Serial No.70) 25 – 29. Available at http://ehis.ebscohost.com/ ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=5b6858aa-52e0-49af-8e9a-05d218d1f4f 6%40sessionmgr111&vid=6&hid=4. Accessed in 5th June, 2012.
Martin, J.R. 1992. English Text. System and Structure. Amsterdam: John Benjamin's Publishing Company.
Martin, J. R., and Rose, D. 2007. Working with Discourse: Meaning beyond the
Clause. London: Continuum.
Martin, J. R., Matthiessen, C. M.I.M., and Painter, C. 1997. Working with
Functional Grammar. London: Arnold.
Marczyk, G., DeMatteo, D., and Festinger, D. 2005. Essentials of Research
Design and Methodology. New Jersye: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Matthiessen, C.M.I.M. 2005. Lexicogrammar in Systemic Functional Linguistics: descriptive and theoretical developments in the “IFG” tradition since the 1970s.” In Ruqaiya Hasan, Christian M.I.M. Matthiessen & Jonathan Webster (eds.), Continuing discourse on language. Volume 2. London: Equinox. [online] available at http://minerva.ling.mq.edu.au/resource/ VirtualClassroom/ling900/99Assignment1.html accessed in January, 2013.
(5)
McCabe, A. 1999. Theme and Thematic Patterns in Spanish and English History
Texts. Aston University: Unpublished Dissertation [online]. Available at
http://www.isfla.org/Systemics/Print/Theses/McCabephd.pdf. Accessed in 19th February, 2012.
McMillan, J.H. 1992. Educational Research: Fundamentals for the Consumer. New York: Harper Collin Publisher, Inc.
Ministerial of National Education Regulation No. 23 Year 2006 on Graduate Competence Standard. Ministry of Education and Culture. [online] Available at http://bsnp-indonesia.org/id/bsnp/wp-content/uploads/2009 /04/SKL_MSPEL_SMA_MA.pdf. Accessed in 15 December 2012
Mustaffa, R. 2007. Thematic Progression in the Writings of Undergraduate LEP Learners. The International Journal of Learning, [online]. Volume 14, Number 9, 2007 available at http://www.Learning-Journal.com Accessed in 4th June, 2012.
Paltridge, B. 2000. Making Sense of Discourse Analysis. Sydney: Gerd Stabler. Ping, A. L. 2005. Talking Themes: The Thematic Structure of Talk. Sage
Publication Vol. 7. [online] London: Thousand Oaks. Available at
http://dis.sagepub.com/content/7/6/701 Accessed in 29th October 2012. Rachmawati, A. 2010. Thematic Progression in Gail B. Stewart's Cuba (Places in
the news) A Study of Systemic Functional Grammar. Unikom:
Unpublished Paper.
Richards, J. C. 1996. Functional English Grammar: An Introduction for Second
Language Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Ritchie, J., and Lewis, J. 2003. Qualitative Research Practice: A Guide for Social
Science Students and Researchers. London: Sage Publications
Silverman, D. 2005. Doing Qualitative Research. London: SAGE Publication Ltd. Sofyan, R. 2009. Topical Theme Shift in Factual English-Bahasa Indonesia Translation on Reconstruction of Sinabang Port Specifications [online]. The University of North Sumatra: Unpublished Thesis. Available at http://repository.usu.ac.id/bitstream/123456789/5746/1/09E03002.pdf. Accessed in 19th February, 2012.
Sugijarto. 2011. Thematic Progression in Students' Explanatory Text: A Systemic
Functional Linguistics Perspective. Bandung: Indonesia University of
(6)
Susanti, Y., Hadi, O., Yulita, R., Diah, R.N. 2011. Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan. Universitas Sebelas Maret. Unpublished Paper. [online] Available at http://yenipsa08.blog.uns.ac.id/files/2011/04/ktsp.pdf Accessed in 15 December 2012.
Thompson, G. 2004. Introducing Functional Grammar 2nd Edition. London: Arnold.
Thompson, J. 2005. Theme analysis of narratives produced by children with and without Specific Language Impairment. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics, [online]. April–May 2005; 19(3): 175–190. Available at http://www.umass.edu/accela/llc/794d/pdf/theme%20analayis%20of%20 narrative%20Thomson%2007.pdf Accessed in 12th January, 2012. Wang, L. 2007. Theme and Rheme in the Thematic Organization of Text:
Implication for Teaching Academic Writing. Asian EFL Journal. Vol. 9, Issue 1, Article 9. Available at http://asian-efl-journal.com/quarterly- journal/2007/03/28/theme-and-rheme-in-the-thematic-organization-of-text-implications-for-teaching-academic-writing/
Wulandari. W. 2009. Thematic Progression in the Translation of Masaru Emoto's
the True Power of Water. Indonesia University of Education:
Unpublished Paper.
Yang, Q., Ramirez, J.A., and Harman, R. 2007. EFL Chinese Students and High
Stakes Expository Writing: A Theme Analysis [online]. Available at
http://uga.academia.edu/RuthHarman/Papers/584871/EFL_Chinese_Stud ents_and_High_Stakes_Expository_Writing_A_Theme_Analysis Accessed on 3rd June, 2012.