| Linear Unit Grammar(LUG for short)is a theoretical model for conceptualizing grammar proposed by Sinclair and Mauranen(2006).Smart(2016)further develops Sinclair and Mauranen’s(2006)original model,and his classification of text-oriented organizational elements has gained attention in academia.Currently,little work has been done in investigating text-oriented organizational elements in research articles.Taking a LUG perspective and integrating Smart’s(2016)model with Chinese scholar Xu’s(2006)related work,the thesis proposes a new classification of text-oriented organizational elements and investigates the use of them in research articles.This thesis builds a small corpus of 120 original research articles,totaling 798,884 words.The selected articles cover four disciplines: biology,chemistry,history,and linguistics,where biology and chemistry are typically categorized as“hard science” while history and linguistics are known as “soft science”.With the help of Ant Conc 4.2.0 and SPSS 28.0,this thesis focuses on the frequency,lexical features and discourse functions of text-oriented organizational elements in research articles,thus revealing the application characteristics of connective(+ot-),supplementary(ots),and suspensive(|ot)elements,as well as punctuation marks and visual factors functioning as text-oriented organizational elements.The data show that:(1)the +ot-elements take the largest proportion,while |ot elements and ots elements are less frequently used in the corpus.In addition,the frequency of text-oriented organizational elements in soft science articles is significantly higher than in hard science articles;(2)the text-oriented organizational elements are mainly conjunctions,adverbs,and adverbial phrases.The most frequently occurring +ot-element,ots element and |ot element respectively are and,respectively,and or;(3)the majority of text-oriented organizational elements play the role of logical connectives,displaying the additive,comparative,and consequential relations between message-oriented elements.A small portion of text-oriented organizational elements serve as code glosses or frame markers,indicating the clarification or structures of message-oriented elements;(4)punctuation marks such as colons,dashes,and brackets,as well as visual factors such as font changing and line breaking could be used as text-oriented organizational elements.Through the enrichment of classification and thorough descriptions,this thesis shows the forms and functions of text-oriented organizational elements in research articles,uncovering the differences of them across disciplines.It carries implications for applying LUG in discourse studies and the in-depth exploration of English for Academic Purposes,enlightening the teaching and learning of academic English writing. |
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