Is There a Place for Cross-cultural Contastive Rhetoric in English Academic Writing Courses?

Abstract

This is a primary study investigating the pedagogical approach of employing cross-cultural contrastive rhetoric (CCCR) comparisons in graduate-level writing courses. Two 501-level (advanced) classes were recruited to participate in this study: one class received CCCR instruction and participated in CCCR discussions, and the other class did not receive CCCR instruction and discussions. The study entailed both quantitative and qualitative investigations involving the grading of the results, the counting of use of dependent clauses and cohesive devices in students’ writing samples; pre- and post-study surveys, questionnaires and interviews. The findings show that students who received CCCR instructions and participated in CCCR discussions demonstrated more active use of connectives and showed increased metacognition about the similarities and differences between English academic writing academic writing in their L1s.

Keywords

• contrastive rhetoric
• English academic writing
• mecacognition
• pedagogical approach
• dependent clauses
• connectives