Investigating the Use of Elaborative Discourse Markers in Essay Writing among EFL Undergraduates
(in progress)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62819/jel.2026.1268Keywords:
discourse markers, corpus linguistics, academic writing, EFL writing, language teachingAbstract
Given the importance of academic writing for undergraduates, understanding their use of discourse markers is crucial for effective writing instruction. This study examines the frequency of discourse markers used by non-native EFL undergraduate students and explores their misuse by employing both quantitative and qualitative methods. The results show that the most frequently used elaborative discourse markers are ‘and’ (73.05%), ‘as well as’ (9.26%), and ‘in addition’ (5.50%), respectively. Also, it is shown that non-native EFL undergraduate students sometimes misplace elaborative discourse markers by putting them in the middle of the clause, leading to confusion or grammatical errors. These findings suggest that explicit teaching of elaborative discourse markers should be taught in academic writing classrooms, and teachers or instructors could have students exposed to authentic academic texts so that they will be more familiar with the real texts and eventually more confident in their writing.
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