ERIC Number: EJ723578
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006
Pages: 28
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0741-0883
EISSN: N/A
Registers in the Academic Writing of African American College Students
Syrquin, Anna F.
Written Communication, v23 n1 p63-90 2006
The study examines the development of the registers of academic writing by African American college-level students through style and grammar: indirection inherent in the oral culture of the African American community and the paratactic functions of "because." Discourse analysis of 74 samples of academic writing by 20 African American undergraduate students and of 61 samples by a control group showed that first, only African American subjects used indirection; second, paratactic functions of "because" were significantly more prevalent among African American students than in the control group; and third, among African American students, those from low-income families showed statistically significant higher frequencies of the use of both indirection and paratactic "because." A relationship of hierarchy in the uses of indirection and paratactic "because" was also evident in the data.
Descriptors: Discourse Analysis, Comparative Analysis, College Students, Academic Discourse, African American Students, Higher Education, Oral Tradition, Grammar, Cultural Influences, Language Usage
SAGE Publications, 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243 (Toll Free); Fax: 800-583-2665 (Toll Free).
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A