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IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2
English Metafunction Analysis in Chemistry Text
Amin, Ahmad
English Metafunction Analysis in Chemistry Text: Characterization
of Scientific Text
Ahmad Amin Dalimunte, M.Hum
IAIN North Sumatra, Indonesia
Abstract
The objectives of this research are to identify what Metafunctions are applied in
chemistry text and how they characterize a scientific text. It was conducted by
applying content analysis. The data for this research was a twelve-paragraph
chemistry text. The data were collected by applying a documentary technique. The
document was read and analyzed to find out the Metafunction. The data were
analyzed by some procedures: identifying the types of process, counting up the
number of the processes, categorizing and counting up the cohesion devices,
classifying the types of modulation and determining modality value, finally counting
up the number of sentences and clauses, then scoring the grammatical intricacy index.
The findings of the research show that Material process (71of 100) is mostly used,
circumstance of spatial location (26 of 56) is more dominant than the others. Modality
(5) is less used in order to avoid from subjectivity. Impersonality is implied through
less use of reference either pronouns (7) or demonstrative (7), conjunctions (60) are
applied to develop ideas, and the total number of the clauses are found much more
dominant (109) than the total number of the sentences (40) which results high
grammatical intricacy index. The Metafunction found indicate that the chemistry text
has fulfilled the characteristics of scientific or academic text which truly reflects it as
a natural science.
Keywords: Metafunction, chemistry, characterization, scientific text.
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English Metafunction Analysis in Chemistry Text
Amin, Ahmad
1. Introduction
Language as a means of communication is broadly used in all aspects of social life,
economy, politic, social, culture, law, education, and many others. It is not only
restricted to spoken language but also in written language. In education, academic
level, language also spreads widely into two broad categories of disciplines of study,
scientific or non – scientific study.
Scientific studies cover many disciplines of study either social sciences or natural
sciences among others linguistics, sociology, anthropology, biology, physics,
chemistry, mathematics, oceanography, etc. Because there are various kinds of
scientific studies, the writer only restrictedly focuses on chemistry as one of scientific
studies categories. The discussion on scientific studies are inseparable from written
language as they are expressed and presented through written language, that is in the
form of a text. Hence, it is very important to know how language, particularly written
language, is used in scientific text. Based on those reasons, the writer attempts to find
out how Metafunction is used in chemistry text.
2. The research questions
With the background specified above, the study aims to answer the following research
questions:
1. What Metafunctions are applied in the chemistry text?
2. How is the result of the Metafunction analysis linked to the characteristics of
scientific text?
3. Literature Review
3.1 Metafunction
Metafunction is defined as functions which should be fulfilled by human beings in
using language. There are three functions known as metafunction, namely to
represent, to exchange, and to organize experience. Technically, this metafunction is
termed as ideational (experiential function), interpersonal, and textual function.
3.2 Experiential function
It functions to represent experience. There are three elements representing experience
in clause, they are participant, process, and circumstance. Halliday (1994:106-142)
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English Metafunction Analysis in Chemistry Text
Amin, Ahmad
categorizes the processes termed as transitivity into six types namely, material,
mental, relational, verbal, behavioral, and existential process.
3.2.1 Material process
Material process is a process of ‘doing’. It expresses the notion that entity ‘does’
something which may be done to other entities. To exemplify the verbs ‘catch’ in the
Policeman caught the thief, and ‘write’ in the girl is writing a letter.
3.2.2 Mental process
Mental process is a process involves sense, which is inside the human or conscious
beings. Verbs of mental process indicate perception, cognition, and affection. For
example, the verb ‘know’ in I know the news from you, and ’hear’ in I heard the
crowded noise.
3.2.3 Relational process
Relational process refers to a process of being and relation among entities through
attribution and identification. The verbs categorized as this process are BE (is, am,
are, was, were, etc) as in My father is a teacher, and linking verbs (become, seem,
cost, weight, etc) as in the old man seemed tired.
3.2.4 Verbal process
Verbal process shows activities of saying, asking, commanding, and offering. It
involves a process of speaking as the verb ’say’ in The man something to me and ’ask’
in she asked me some information.
3.2.5 Existential process
Existential process represents something existing or happening. It shares features of
relational process in the sense that the common verb is BE (is, am, are, was, were,
etc), and other verbs such as go, come, toil. Syntactically, this process is preceded by
‘there’. As we can see in there was a stranger over there, and there has been a phone
call for you.
Circumstances are general across process types. Precisely it is because they are less
centrally involved in the process rather than participants. It refers to examples such as
the location of an events, in time or space, manner, cause, etc. In the clause I meet him
last night, and they spent their vacation in Hollywood, the word ‘last night’ and
‘Hollywood’ are circumstances.
3.3 Interpersonal Function
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English Metafunction Analysis in Chemistry Text
Amin, Ahmad
Interpersonal function aims to exchange experience (Halliday, 1994:68). A clause as a
representation of exchange can be analyzed in terms of the structural elements of
interpersonal meaning. A clause is analyzable with respect to the functions of subject,
finite, predicator, complement, and adjunct. In English mood, they are coded by
subject and finite.
3.4 Modality
Modality is defined as personal judgment or opinion. It refers to meaning which lies
between positive and negative polar of the Mood. It is shown through this figure
below.
She went (+)
Area of Modality
(-) she did not go
GO (+)
(-) Do not go!
Thus, between the clause ‘she went’ and ‘she didn’t go’ selections such as may come,
she will come, she certainly will come, which are clauses with modality may occur.
Modality is typically coded by modals such as will, must, can, and should. This figure
shows how modality lies between positive and negative polar of the mood.
Table 1 Positive Polar
POSITIVE POLAR
Value
Modalization
Modulation
is
High
Medium
Low
do
Probability
Usuality
certain must be
always
probably will be
usually
possibly may be sometimes
Is not
Table 2
Obligation
Inclination
required must do
determined
supposed will do
keen
allowed
may do
willing
do not
NEGATIVE POLAR
Examples:
Modalization: an ant must be an insect (probability; high)
They are possibly
Modulation: an ant must have six legs
(probability; low)
(obligation; high)
Some ants may have wings (obligation; low)
The queen will lay eggs
(obligation; medium)
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English Metafunction Analysis in Chemistry Text
Amin, Ahmad
3.5 Textual Function
Textual function is one function in which language is used to organize human
experience. This is to express that language is concerned with the organization of
information within individual clauses. In order to do this language has equipment as
to how experience is organized by using Theme, a starting point of a message, and
Rheme, the rest of the message.
3.6 Cohesion
Cohesion is a grammatically relationship among the sentences or clauses. It is a way a
text is held together by a particular linguistics means. Cohesion can be achieved by
applying reference, Ellipsis, substitution, and conjunction.
3.6.1 Reference
References are words that refer to human, things, or are used instead of other words.
1.
Pronouns
There are some types of pronoun used in English, such as subject pronoun (he,
she, it, I, we, etc), object pronoun (him, her, them, me, etc), possessive pronoun
(his, her, my, their, your, etc), etc.
2.
Demonstrative.
It is to show near distance of entity (this, these, here), and to show far distance
(that, those, there).
3. Comparison degree: - Positive: as ….as.. in she is as beautiful as her mother
- Comparative: - er, more in she is more beautiful than her
mother
- Superlative: -est, most in she is the most beautiful one in her
family.
3.6.2 Ellipsis
It is by eliminating linguistics units (word, group/phrase, clause, etc)in order to avoid
redundancy. Ellipsis is applied by using too as in she finds the book, I do too, also as
in she loves me, so do I, neither, either, etc.
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English Metafunction Analysis in Chemistry Text
Amin, Ahmad
3.6.3 Substitution
It is by deleting linguistics units to be replaced by another one. It is applied by
another, other, one, ones, etc. For example: the rich man has two cars. One is
BMW, and another one is Avanza.
3.6.4 Conjunction
Conjunction or connectives are words serving as links, and indicating the relation
between what they are linking, in addition the relation should be logic. There are four
types of conjunction, they are:
1. Additive conjunction, such as and, or, beside, moreover, etc as in she and I left
the town.
2. Comparative, such as like, meanwhile, whereas, on the other hand, but, as if, as
though, and so on.
For example: she left the town whereas I don’t
She walked as if she were a super model
3. Temporal, such as when, while, as, since, finally, etc.
For examples: she left this town when I just arrived
She left this town since I moved to Medan
4. Consequential, such as in order that, in order to, so that, such that, the,
otherwise, so on as in the lady shouted out in order that people heard her.
3.7 Text and Context
In analyzing a text anyone can not separate it from its context. Context (Halliday,
1989) simply is described to serve in making a bridge between the text and the
situation in which texts actually occur. The term ‘context’ covers some aspects;
ideology, culture, and situation. Those contexts have great impact on how the text is
developed. The context of situation determines field (what topic is being talked
about), tenor (participants), and mode (way, or medium). However, the analysis of the
text must be related with its context.
3.8 Scientific text and its characteristics
Based on the major discipline of study, text is categorized into two types; they are
scientific and non-scientific text. This study only focuses on scientific text, namely
chemistry text. Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions,
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English Metafunction Analysis in Chemistry Text
Amin, Ahmad
but also its composition, structure and properties. As one branch of scientific studies,
it applies logical, rational approach to understand entities in real world. Focusing on
the scientific text, chemistry cannot be separated from its characteristics.
Some characteristics of scientific text are as follows:
1. Impersonal
In Oxford dictionary (Hornby, 1974), the term impersonal means having no
personal reference or connection.
2. Objective
The term objective means one which is perceived similar by all persons regardless
of the surrounding elements.
3. Practical
This term means pertaining to practice or action, or it concerns with ordinary
activities.
4. Technical
Technical is defined as concerning detailed practical knowledge of an industrial or
scientific subject, or showing technique.
Table 3 below lists the characteristics of written language which is the medium of
scientific text.
Aspects
Form
Function
Grammar
Written language
Eye mode
Durable, permanent
Spatial
Solitude
Absence of interlocutor
Formal use
Less dialectal variation
Grammatical intricacy: low
Lexical density: high
4. Research Design
Design is defined as a researcher’s plan of how to proceed (Bogdan and Biklen,
1992:58). A descriptive qualitative design was applied in this study. Descriptive
qualitative design simply describes what going on is and what the qualitative data
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English Metafunction Analysis in Chemistry Text
Amin, Ahmad
shows. It is appropriate to be used since the data is in the form of word rather than
number. The type of this study is Content Analysis.
Content Analysis is defined as a systematic, replicable technique for compressing
many words of text into fewer content categories based on explicit rules of coding
(Krippendorf, 1980). It is the study of recorded human communications, such as
books, websites, paintings, and laws. It is used to determine the presence of certain
words or concepts within text or set of texts.
4.1 Source of Data
The data in this research was a single twelve- paragraph chemistry text titled
“Electron Emission from Solids (I): History and Theory” written by Vishwas Purohit.
“Electron Emission from Solids (I): History & Theory”
By Vishwas Purohit
(Paragraph 1) Certain solids emit electrons from their surfaces when subjected to heat
(thermionic emission), electromagnetic radiation (photoemission) and/or an electric
field (field emission). Much of electronics, including vacuum tubes, cathode-ray tubes
in their various manifestations, and electron microscopes, depend on the emission of
electrons from metals and the manipulation of these electrons to perform various
tasks.
Figure 1
History
(Paragraph 2) Electron emission from solids is a fundamental process underlying
electrical transmission in a gas or vacuum, and as such, was among the earliest
phenomena to be observed scientifically. In the mid-eighteenth century, Jean-Antoine
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English Metafunction Analysis in Chemistry Text
Amin, Ahmad
Nollet and William Morgan conducted experiments showing that the passage of
electrical discharge in partially evacuated tubes produced a glow between the
electrodes. In the nineteenth century, Johann Hittorf and Sir William Crookes
independently investigated the radiation produced by a cathode in a vacuum tube,
demonstrating that an invisible "light" was produced which caused glass to fluoresce
and cast shadows.
(Paragraph 3) In 1897, Joseph John Thompson demonstrated that these cathodic rays
were actually beams of negatively charged particles (that is, electrons). He measured
their charge-to-mass ratio and noted their behavior in electric and magnetic fields.
Thomas Edison obtained a patent in 1884 for a thermionic emission device, consisting
of an incandescent wire in an electric field within an evacuated envelope, which was
the forerunner of amplifier tubes.
(Paragraph 4) Early investigators were puzzled by the sharp threshold value for
photoemission with respect to wavelength, an observation which could not be
explained by classical electrical theory but which was correctly described by a
quantum process by Albert Einstein in 1905.
(Paragraph 5) The cathode ray tube(CRT) , equipped with a phosphorescent screen,
became the basic device for translating electronic signals into visual displays- initially
in scientific instrumentation, in such devices as oscilloscopes, and later in television
and computer screens. Modern CRT devices rely on electron guns based on field
emission, which provide greater life, brightness, and focusing ability than the
thermionic or photoemission sources. The electron source in a CRT acts as an
amplifier of a weak signal (from an antenna or the logic circuit of a computer) in a
manner which is analogous to the triode. This electron source also incorporated a
magnetic deflector, which moves the electron beam across the phosphorescent
background at a constant rate to create a two dimensional image from an essentially
one dimensional electronic signal.
(Paragraph 6) The Ionoscope and the multiplier phototube, invented by Zworykin in
1923 and 1935 respectively, set the stage for television and video cameras. A
television camera is defined as a device for converting photons into electrical signals
which operates on the principle of photoemission. Early versions incorporated tubes,
but later cameras used semiconductor technology.
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English Metafunction Analysis in Chemistry Text
Amin, Ahmad
(Paragraph 7) Transmission and Scanning electron microscopes employ the optical
properties of electrons, notably the shorter wavelength, to produce images of very
high resolution. Crude models were developed in the 1930s' by Max Knoll and Ernst
Ruska, but it was not until World War II that practical electron microscopes became
available. Transmission electron microscopes require an electron beam of maximum
brilliance, minimum divergence, and high focus ability, and they continue to place
demands on the development of increasingly sophisticated electron beam technology.
(Paragraph 8) Electron beams are capable of delivering high levels of energy with
great precision. In the 1950s' and early 1960s', considerable research was devoted to
the use of electron beam in welding, machining, and metal refining on a miniature
scale. These devices were cumbersome because of the need to operate in vacuum, and
this technology has been largely supplanted by lasers. The development of a very
powerful and flexible laser based on magnetic manipulation of an electron beam
brought electron beam technology into the forefront of instrumentation.
Generalized theory
(Paragraph 9) The electrons within a metal can be visualized and modeled as a form
of "electron gas" in which individual outer shell electrons are capable of moving
freely under the influence of an electric field; this movement of electrons is
responsible for the function of electric circuits. At the surface of a metal, a potential
barrier exists which prevents the electrons from escaping unless certain conditions are
met, whereupon the metal emits electrons into the surrounding vacuum or gas. This
emission produces a beam of free electrons which carries current and is capable of
being manipulated in many of the same ways that light is being manipulated. Both the
current carrying and optical properties of electrical beams have unique aspects that
make such beams indispensable in electronics.
(Paragraph 10) The behavior of electrons at the surface of a metal is a quantum
effect. Electrons bound to atoms exist in discrete energy states. An electron may exist
in the ground state, corresponding to absolute zero temperature, or it may absorb
energy and be raised to a discrete higher energy level by heat or irradiation by
electromagnetic radiation. In metals and crystalline solids, the shared electrons
occupy energy bands rather than discrete energy levels.
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(Paragraph 11) Electrons are unable to escape from the surface of the solid because
the energy of an outer shell, ground state electron in the solid is less than the energy
of a free electron in vacuum. In order for an electron to be ejected from the surface, it
must either surmount the surface potential barrier by having energy equal to or greater
than that of a free electron in the surrounding medium, or tunnel through the barrier.
The phenomenon of tunneling is considered to be in the context of field emission, to
which it is specific.
(Paragraph 12)
The ejection of electrons from a heated conductor is known as
thermionic emission. In its most basic form, a thermionic device consists of the
heated, negatively charged cathode (which serves as the electron emitter) and a
positively charged anode to draw off emitted electrons, both of which are enclosed in
a vacuum- typically a glass tube. A vacuum is required because electrons traveling
through a gas are scattered and dissipate their energy in heating the gas. In addition,
chemical reactions between the cathode and any substances present in the tube poison
the cathode, decreasing emission. Unless an anode is present to draw off emitted
electrons, they build up in a space charge around the cathode, increasing the energy
required for electron emission.
4.2 Technique of Data Collection
The data were collected by applying a documentary technique. The document was
read and analyzed to find out the Metafunction.
4.3 Technique of Data Analysis
The data were analyzed based on these following procedures:
1. a. Identifying the types of process; material, mental, relational, verbal, behavioral,
and existential.
b. Counting up the number of the processes.
2. a. Categorizing the cohesion devices; pronouns, references, ellipsis, substitution,
and conjunctions applied in the text
b. Counting up the number of the cohesion devices.
3. a. Classifying the types of modulation whether Modalization or Modulation are
used in the text
b. Determining modality value high, medium, or low.
4. a. Counting up the number of sentences and clauses in the text
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English Metafunction Analysis in Chemistry Text
Amin, Ahmad
a.
Scoring the grammatical intricacy index
5. Data Analysis
After having been analyzed the text, the writer found out the use of Metafunction in
chemistry text as follows:
5.1 Transitivity ( types of processes)
Table 4.1 Types of processes were found in chemistry text
Transitivity (Process)
Material
mental
Emit(2)
Based(2)
Known
Perform
Provide
Depend
Acts
Underlying Incorporated
Conducted (2)
Produce(5) Move(2)
Caused
Create
Charged
Invented
Measured
Set
Obtained
Converting
Puzzled
Operates (2)
Equipped
Used
Rely
Supplanted
Raised
Discrete
Draw off Require (3)
(2)
Prevent
Employ
Escape
Brought
Travelling
Occupy
Continue
Enclosed
Met
Developed Ejected
Scattered
Decreasing
Place
Increasing
Surmount
Devoted
Dissipate
Make
Delivering
Charged (2)
Manipulate Absorb
d
Build up
(2)
Modeled
Serve
Visualized
Relational
Is (7)
Was(3)
Consisting(
2)
Were (2)
Became (2)
Are (2)
Have (2)
Correspondi
ng
To
Verbal
Showing
Demonstra
te (2)
Explained
Described
Defined
Behavioural
Observed
Investigated
Noted
Considered
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Existential
Exists
Present
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English Metafunction Analysis in Chemistry Text
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71
1
21
Total = 106
6
4
3
It was found through the analysis that material process is used mostly. An essence of
material process is to show actions, doings involved physics of entities. It is closely
related to ‘practicality’ as one of characteristics in scientific text since practicality
concerns with practice, action, or activities. And practicality in scientific text cannot
be achieved without applying material process.
Relational process is used dominantly. Because the chemistry text frequently uses
many symbols to refer to entities in chemistry, in order to identify and attribute them
or to make it easy to be realized, relational process is used.
5.2 Circumstance
Table 4 circumstances were used in chemistry text
T
Y
P
E
S
Extent
of
Location: spatial
C
I
R
C
U
M
S
T
A
N
C
E
Manner
Location:
temporal
Cause
Circumstances
Frequen
cy
In the mid-eighteenth century, in the nineteenth 8
century, in 1894,in 1884,in 1905,in 1923,and
1935,in the 1930’s,until world war
In a gas or vacuum, in a vacuum tube, in electric and 26
magnetic
Field, in an electrified, in scientific instrumentation,
in such
Devices as oscilloscopes, in television, in a CRT,
from an antenna or the logic circuit, from one
dimensional electronic signal, into the forefront of
instrumentation, in a space charge around the
cathode, at the surface of metal (2) into the
surrounding vacuum or gas, in electronics, in the
surrounding medium, in the ground state, in the
tube, in metals and crystalline solids, from the
surface of solids (2),in the solid, in vacuum (2).
Independently, negatively (2),correctly, respectively, 10
increasingly,
largely,
freely,
positively,
scientifically.
Because of, because the energy, in order for, 4
because electrons
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Contingency
Accompaniment
Role
Matter
angel
In the context of field emission
With great precision, with a phosphorescent screen
As a form of electron gas, as the electron emitter, as
an amplifier, as a device, as thermionic emission
Total 56
1
2
5
0
0
Circumstance of spatial location is much more dominant than other circumstances.
Because this text fully concerns in history, in order to support the facts mentioned, a
list of circumstances of location showing spatial (place) and temporal (time) are used.
5.3 Modality
Table 5 modality found in chemistry text
Could not be explained
It must either surmount the surface
Can be visualized
An electron may exist
It may absorb
MODALITY
Modulation:obligation:low
Modulation:obligation:high
Modulation:obligation:low
Modulation:obligation:low
Modulation:obligation:low
Modality was less used this text in order to avoid from subjectivity because
subjectivity is expressed by modality, personal judgment or opinion. Subjectivity is
very contrastive to objectivity which is major characteristics of scientific text.
5.4 Cohesion units
5.4.1 Reference
Table 6 references used in chemistry text
pronouns
Their (5)
They (2)
7
demonstrative
These (2)
This (3)
Both (2)
7
This chemistry text used fewer pronouns because it tends to be impersonal. It means
the write does not show his personality. Instead of using pronouns, passive
construction is applied in the text in order to maintain objectivity. Objectivity means
one which is perceived similar by all persons regardless of the surrounding elements.
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5.4.2 Conjunction
Table 7 conjunctions used in chemistry text
Conjunctions Frequency
When
1
And
27
Or
4
Thant
7
Which
13
But
3
Because of
1
In which
1
Where
1
Because
2
Total
60
The reason why there are many conjunctions used is very closed related to the
grammatical intricacy as shown in table 4.5 that the ideas developed are very
complete, so those such conjunctions are used to relate closely those ideas; intra and
interrelated ideas ,consequently the readers can comprehend easily the text.
5. 5 Grammatical Intricacy (GI)
Table 8 Grammatical Intricacy in Chemistry Text
paragraph
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Total
sentences
2
3
3
1
4
3
3
4
5
4
3
5
40
clauses
4
12
8
3
11
6
7
8
16
8
8
18
109
GI SCORE = the total number of clause
The total number of sentences
= 109
=2.7
40
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Significant difference of the total number between clauses and sentences indicates
that this Chemistry text is more informative, and more academic. This is to
indicate that this text contained more information. The more concise information
contained in this text, the more complete information is available, and then the
readers can comprehend the text better.
6. Conclusions
With reference to the research findings, some conclusions are drawn as the following.
1. Through the transitivity analysis result, it was found that the chemistry text
used material process mostly. It is because the material process is essentially
to show action, activity of entity, and it is tightly related to ‘practical’ and
‘technical’ as characteristics of scientific text which are mainly about practice,
action, or practical knowledge.
2. Based on the research findings, the modality aspect is less used because it
concerns with personal judgment or opinion which is subjective, and it is
extremely contrastive with the main characteristics of scientific text, that is
‘objective’.
3. The analysis result also showed that the cohesion devices are very useful to
relate information to the other one. There are also many circumstances found
in the text to give additional information in order that the information becomes
more complete and make the text more academic.
4. The degree of an academic text can be seen through the total number of
clauses found in the sentences. The total number of the clauses are much more
dominant than the total number of the sentences because they function to give
much more complete information, in other words the more clauses found in
the text, the more complete the information contained.
About the Author:
Ahmad Amin Dalimunte, M.Hum works as a faculty member with the IAIN [State
Institute for Islamic Studies] North Sumatra, Indonesia. His areas of research interest
include- ELT, ESP and Teaching English as a Foreign Language.
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ISSN: 2308-5460
July-September, 2013
www.eltsjournal.org
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