G3-level thesis

Academic awareness in
students papers
An investigation of information packaging and
subjective projections in student papers at
university level

Author: David Claesson

Handledare: Charlotte
Hommerberg
Examinator: Magnus Levin
Semester: Spring 2013
mne: English
Niv: G3-level
Kurskod: 2EN10E
Abstract
In this thesis, emphasis was situated around the development of academic awareness among
students studying to become teachers of English. To enable such investigation, a limited
number of students were requested to submit written papers, conducted within two particular
English courses provided at Linnaeus University. The courses concerned are named Academic
writing provided during the first semester of English studies and Academic writing and
rhetoric provided during the second semester of English studies . By investigating papers
written within these two courses, conclusions could be drawn regarding the students
development in academic writing. Twenty-five students decided to share their material, and
submitted two productions each. Hence, the amount of written work to investigate was
delimited to fifty papers. The investigation was conducted through a qualitative study where
certain features, connected to the formal genre of academic writing, were analyzed.
Information packaging and subjective projections were found to be valid measures of such
investigation. The results showed that there was an overall improvement. In fact, all
calculations conducted within these measures, indicated that the students had developed their
academic awareness.

Key words
Academic awareness, academic writing, formal, informal, information packaging, lexical
density, nominal quote, paragraphs, personal pronouns, subjective projections

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Table of content

1. Introduction 5
1.1 Aim and Scope 6
2. Contextual Background 6
2.1 Guidelines for AW1 7
2.2 Guidelines for AW2 8
2.3 Connections between the courses 8
2.4 Discussion regarding the connections 9
3. Theoretical Background 10
3.1 Academic awareness 10
3.2 Subjective projections 11
3.3 Information packaging 12
3.4 Measuring tools 13
3.4.1 Nominal quote 14
3.4.2 Lexical density 14
3.5 Previous research 15
4. Material & Method 16
4.1 Material 16
4.1.1 The collection of material 17
4.2 Method 18
4.2.1 Reliability & validity 19
4.2.2 Method discussion 19

5. Results & Analysis 21

5.1 Results & general analysis 21
5.1.1 Nominal quote 22
5.1.2 Lexical density 22
5.1.3 Occurrence of personal pronouns 23
5.1.4 Paragraphs consisting of references 23
5.2 Detailed analysis 24
5.2.1 Nominal quote and lexical density 24
5.2.2 Personal pronouns 27
5.2.3 Paragraphs 29

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6. Conclusion & Discussion 31
6.1 Conclusion 31
6.2 Discussion 32

7. Bibliography 34

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1. Introduction
Depending on the different contexts students find themselves in, both informal as well as
formal use of language is important to appreciate. Nonetheless, within the context of school
tasks are mainly based on the formal use of English. The further into the school system
students reach, the higher the demand becomes of their capacity to use formal English
(Lundahl, 2009:38-46). However, to apply an appropriate level of English is often difficult,
especially for non-native speakers (Zareva, 2008:2) and informal expressions do consequently
occur in the most formal of contexts. When conducting papers at university level, a specific
genre of formal writing should be applied. The genre at question is generally referred to as
academic writing (Bjrk and Risnen, 2003:17).
According to Melin and Lange (2000) informal language use is mainly connected to
spoken language. In contrast, there is generally a closer connection between formal language
use and writing. In situations where spoken language is involved, expressions are foremost
based on personal and subjective impressions. This means that within contexts where spoken
language is preferred, people are generally expected to include themselves as central figures
in the discussion. However, these are considered informal features which generally should be
avoided. In contrast, objectivity should be upheld as a measure of formal approach and
academic awareness (Melin & Lange, 2000:11-13).
Another feature to appreciate when striving towards academic proficiency is the
application of words which carry much content. There are certain word classes (nouns, verbs,
adjectives and adverbs) which provide a reader with more information, referred to as content
words. These should be preferred over function words (prepositions, conjunctions, pronouns
etc.), which carry less information. A higher percentage of content words provide more
information in a limited number of words, increasing the information packaging of a text
(Johansson, 2008:65). Such features are determiners of formality and connect to guidelines
concerning the development of academic awareness (lnu.se, received April 18th 2013)
At university level, many students perform written productions. Also, there are demands
on students to apply an academic writing style. Adapting to this genre of formal writing is
necessary at university level (Finch, 1999:21), and features relating to informality should be
avoided when performing academic work.

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1.1 Aim and scope
The primary aim of this study is to investigate and shed light upon the development of the
students genre awareness during their first year of academic studies in the subject of English.
The scope of this thesis is delimited to investigation of 50 papers written by 25 students at
university level within the frames of two courses provided for students studying to become
teachers of English. Characteristics concerning information packaging and subjective
projections will be investigated, and justifications regarding the choice of these features will
be provided in the theory section. The following factors will be taken into consideration in
the exploration of the student papers:

- To what extent do first person singular/plural pronouns occur in the papers?

- To what extent are statements in the papers supported by references?
- How high is the level of information packaging within the texts, in relation to
measures of nominal quote and lexical density?

2. Contextual background
When studying to become a teacher of English at university level, the first semester provides
students with a course called Language proficiency. The course is divided into three different
parts, one of which is named Academic writing. During the second semester, a course called
Academic writing and rhetoric including a G2-level thesis is conducted. Assessing papers
written by students within the frames of these courses will make the basis of this thesis.
This section will shed some light upon certain guidelines and content within the two
courses language proficiency and academic writing and rhetoric. Since the focus of this thesis
is based upon academic awareness in written productions, the mentioned content and
guidelines will relate to this. Hence, certain information without relevance to the investigation
is excluded. In addition to exploring the two courses separately, two sections highlighting the
connection between the courses are included. Onwards, for practical reasons, the two courses
language proficiency academic writing and academic writing and rhetoric will be named
AW1 and AW2.

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2.1 Guidelines for the course Academic writing (AW1)
Within the frame of this course, students studying to become teachers of English are provided
with specific guidelines. To prepare students for the implementation of academic demands
which university studies are characterized by according to Finch (1999:21), three different
written academic assignments are introduced during the first semester of English studies at
Linnaeus University. To some extent the guidelines regarding content differ between the three
various tasks. However, they are all united by two factors: Firstly the assignments should all
be conducted in the shape of written papers. Secondly, the use of formal language is
highlighted as central. The aim is for students to learn how to write academic papers.
Eventually, assisting students in their strive towards academic proficiency, the teachers
responsible for the course provide verbal instructions and, in addition, a written document
including various academic factors to consider when writing. Additionally, lectures including
PowerPoint slides have been provided as a complement to the guidelines, explaining concrete
examples of features to uphold and avoid when writing. The following factors are highlighted
as important when performing academic written work, and connected to information
packaging as well as subjectivity:

- Many (often abstract) nouns

- Irrelevant information should be excluded
- Informal and non-specific vocabulary should be avoided.
- Few pronouns!
- Subjective constructions should be avoided
- The writer should be less visible in the text
- Statements supported with reliable sources
(lnu.se, 2010 received April 18th 2013).

Although these factors are appreciated as important to acknowledge when writing, there are
additional factors to consider as well. However, the five factors mentioned in this case are
most relevant in relation to the aim of the thesis. Other characteristics highlighted as crucial
are hence excluded.

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2.2 Guidelines for the course Academic writing and rhetoric
This course involves one assignment in the shape of a G2-level thesis paper, between 7 10
pages. Students are, although provided with a bank of possible topics, given the opportunity to
freely choose a topic within the sphere of English teaching in school. Regardless of what topic
the students might choose, the demands concerning academic performance do not differ. It is
clearly stated in the guidelines of the course, that the paper is a piece of academic work which
should contain a certain level of language proficiency. The course criteria also state that the
level of academic style will be graded. Hence, the guidelines presented highlight the
importance of academic writing. The following description demonstrates the academic
demands within the guidelines for this course:

Please note that this paper is a piece of academic work, where you get to show that you have
reached a certain level as far as composition techniques and language proficiency level are
concerned.

After the course, you are expected to be able to search for and compose information and analyse
your findings together with external sources. Thus, it is of great importance that your text brings
in references to other sources than your own experiences and the ideas and experiences of e.g.
your school practice teacher. A list of references that might be helpful to get started is attached
to this document. Of course, we count on your being able to refer to other sources correctly by
now.

Please use references wisely and adhere to the recommended system of referencing!
(lnu.se, 2010 received April 18th 2013).

Further, analyzing the grading criteria, the following factors concerning academic writing will
be graded:

For the grade G: The essay is written in a structured manner with a progression of
ideas in reasonably correct and appropriate academic English.

For the grade VG: Your essay is written in a structured manner with a clear
progression of ideas in idiomatic, grammatically nearly impeccable (!) and
stylistically advanced academic English (lnu.se, 2010 received April 18th 2013)

2.3 Connections between the two presented courses

To investigate the correlation between how well the AW1 course improves the students
academic awareness and whether the course AW2 show proof of such development, the
guidelines within the two courses have to share similar demands regarding the use of written
academic English. In the opposite case, comparing the two would be purposeless. The

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guidelines of the two courses make it clear that the papers should be written in a formal style.
Furthermore, the academic demands expressed in the AW1 course, have to be taken into
consideration in the course AW2 as well. Hence, the demands regarding style of language are
similar when comparing the two. This fact justifies the choice to compare the written
productions within the two courses as means to shed light on how well the course AW1
prepares students for upcoming academic challenges. In this particular case, such challenge
would be the G2-level thesis written in the course AW2.

2.4 Discussion regarding the connections

When analyzing the connections between the two courses, there are certain characteristics
which are obvious. Initially, the first obvious connection could be noticed through looking at
the two titles, both including the phrase academic writing. This feature per se does suggest
that academic writing is emphasized as central in both courses. Secondly, when exploring
guidelines and content, the first impression is strengthened through concrete statements which
highlight the use of an appropriate formal style as central. Additionally, the level of academic
proficiency makes a heavy part of the grading criteria. However, there are a few differences.
The main difference when investigating the content within the courses is the level of provided
material. The AW1 course provides students with a well formulated document including a
great variation of different features to both avoid and apply when writing. The writing
checklist along with other helpful tools is provided in the document. In addition, there are
also conducted lectures involving PowerPoint productions which bring up concrete examples
of features to avoid and uphold when writing. Overall, the content within the course is well
designed including concrete examples and tools which are relevant and helpful. There is
without doubt an obvious focus on improving the students academic awareness. In contrast,
the course AW2 does not, although highlighting and grading the level of academic writing,
provide students with an equal level of preparation.
If speculating, this might depend on the fact that the students, according to the
institution, should have been provided with a proper level of academic awareness within the
AW1 course and that these skills have been maintained through repetition. Hence, the
students are presumably expected to possess an appropriate level of academic awareness at
the beginning of the AW2 course. However, these are differences worth acknowledging as
students might forget parts of the provided content during the time between the end of AW1
and the start of AW2. If the students do not get the opportunity to refresh their academic

9
awareness through repetition in AW2, there might be a slight risk that some features upheld
during AW1 are forgotten. Equally, certain patterns to avoid might be applied. However, in
AW2 the institution provides students with a mentor to guide them through the writing
process, where comments on academic features are formulated. The mentor might hence be
considered a substitute to the thorough lectures, information and examples provided in AW1.

3. Theoretical background
In this section theory will be provided to clarify why certain features are investigated in
relation to academic awareness. Clarifications will be given regarding the concepts academic
awareness, information packaging and subjective projections. Nominal quote and lexical
density are two measuring tools used in this thesis and explanations will be provided
regarding what these intend to measure.

3.1 Academic awareness

According to Bjrk and Risnen (2003) written assignments within the sphere of university
studies occur regularly, and the formulated guidelines frequently highlight the use of formal
language. For the sake of written fluency, academic awareness is crucial to develop. When
writing essays and papers at university level, there are demands on a high level of formality.
Academic writing becomes highly significant to apply, and to adopt a certain level of
academic awareness is hence crucial (Bjrk & Risnen, 2003:13-18). In connection to these
claims, additional points of view on the matter are provided by Hyland (2006). The angle of
approach towards the issue does in this case concern features connected to the context of
academic writing. At university level, one of the more prominent characteristics is the demand
for a high level of formality, where specific, clear and precise expressions suitable to the
context should be applied (Hyland, 2006:13). Further, Read (2000:200) claims that academic
studies often concern narrow strings of context, characterized by certain genre-specific
language styles. Hence, Hinkel (2003:276) considers the adaptation of academic skills as
highly crucial, to uphold a suitable style that is appropriate within the sophisticated context of
university studies.

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3.2 Subjective projections
According to Bjrk and Risnen (2003) students should not express their own ideas, but
merely adopt communicative abilities which stretch beyond the limitation of personal
thoughts. Nonetheless, personal exploration of ideas could be useful to some extent. Texts
including these ideas should however not be intended for external readers, but merely written
for own purposes. This depends on the fact that such projections are considered informal.
When writing essays and papers, there are in contrast demands on a higher level of formality.
Hence, productions intended for other readers should be objective (Bjrk & Risnen,
2003:13-18).
Furthermore, Melin and Lange (2000:11-13) state that written formal papers should be
impersonal, and the author should be absent from the context highlighted in a production.
Lundahl (2009:38-46) generalizes between the concept of informal language, which is
mainly based on expressions related to the concrete present, and formal language use which is
merely based on technical and abstract knowledge. Lagerholm (2008) also pinpoints this
connection, and highlights informal language use and spoken language mainly general
every-day conversation as closely related. When speaking, people generally get private,
personal and emotional. Also, spoken language demands quick responses which force people
to use informal sentence constructions, based on immediate personal reactions (Lagerholm,
2008:186), or the concrete present, as Lundahl (2009) describes it. In contrast, the emphasis
when producing written work is merely put on using correct expressions. The time aspect is
also significant in this case, since writing often provides people with more time to consider
different ways of constructing a sentence. However, although informal features are more
frequent in spoken language, it does not mean that informal expressions personal and
subjective never occur in written productions. Contrarily, such expressions do occur in
formal written work.
Melin and Lange (2000) explain certain features which separate the formal context of
written productions, from the general informal context of spoken language. Among these
features there is a few important key components mentioned.

Written language characteristics Spoken language characteristics

Formal Informal
Objective Subjective
Absent from context Present in context
Impersonal Personal
(Melin & Lange, 2000:11-13).
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 The use of I, me, my, we, our, us should be avoided since these pronouns
suggest that the writer takes part in the context. In such case, the author uses a style which is
generally adapted in spoken language. Through projecting oneself as present in a text, an
informal approach is applied (Melin & Lange, 2000:11-13). Davies (2012:7) supports these
claims and describes such features as personally tinged, since they evoke impressions of the
author being included in the text. Such expressions should be avoided since it goes against the
grain of academic writing. Furthermore, Lagerholm (2008:186) claims that expressions
related to personal and subjective impressions are informal features, connected to spoken
language. These should be avoided when performing formal written work. Lastly, it is
according to Bjrk and Risnen (2003:272) important to always support claims in academic
productions with scientific and reliable sources. The conclusions made should be based on
theories as well as material, and an appropriate academic style should be applied when writing
about the research.

3.3 Information packaging

In spoken language the use of informal expressions has been highlighted as a prominent
feature which, due to the nature of demands on quick responses, inevitably occurs. This fact
does not only decrease the probability of an upheld objective approach (Lagerholm,
2008:186), but consequently also affects the occurrence of content bearing words. However,
when performing written formal work, the circumstances often allow thorough considerations
regarding the use of appropriate words. This also enables a construction of text which consists
of a higher level of information packaging. To exemplify such consideration, Davies (2012:9)
explains how the use of pronouns, could be replaced with nouns, which according to
Johansson (2008:65) and Biber et. al (2002:11) is a feature which should be frequently
occurring in academic texts, due to the high informational density of the word class.
To gain understanding regarding how high the level of information packaging is in a
text, there are certain measures which could be calculated. According to Yates (1996:36),
lexical density (henceforth LD) is among the most reliable and scientifically explored
measures. There are considerable differences between the utterance of spoken and written
language. Among these characteristics, the construction of sentences does include more
content words in written productions. Oppositely, the use of function words does occur more
frequently in spoken language, and transmissions of such features to written productions do

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evoke informal impressions. The LD could crudely be described as a measure of information
packaging, which Johansson (2008:65) will discuss further. In relation to these claims,
Oliveira (2010:192) suggests that there are issues concerning the high academic demands at
university level, where many learners of English do struggle to adapt to an appropriate style.
The demands to produce and understand informationally dense texts at university level do not
correlate with the students every-day language. The abstract, often long words that occur
within the academic context are hence often hard to interpret. Lagerholm (2008:186) mentions
that in contrast, the every-day language use is mainly connected with informality.
Johansson (2008) also mentions the packaging of information in a text as a formal
feature. There are certain word classes (nouns, verbs, adjectives and to some extent adverbs),
referred to as content words, which carry more information than other word classes. The
proportion of these word classes can be put in relation to the total number of tokens in a text.
By investigating this, a notion is received regarding the packaging of information in a text.
The measure of such correlation reveals the LD (Johansson, 2008:65).
Although both nouns and verbs have been accounted as measures of content bearing
words to appreciate in formal contexts (Johansson, 2008:65), there are other ways of
measuring the information packaging. Lagerholm (2008) claims that nouns are the most
informationally dense word class, but does however state that verbs stand in a contrary
relation. Verbs occur more frequently in spoken language, whereas nouns occur more
frequently in written texts. Also, these word classes occur at the expense of the other,
meaning that a sentence with many verbs generally consist of few nouns. Hence, a simpler but
similar investigation of information packaging could be calculated. The measure is called a
nominal quote (henceforth NQ) and is a measure of the nouns in a text divided by the verbs.
Through such measure, a notion of information packaging could be received (Lagerholm,
2008:132-133).

3.4 Measuring tools

Below, the measures of LD and NQ are further explained. These are designed to enable
investigations regarding the level of information packaging in texts, which are calculations
that to various extents shed light on the level of formality.

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3.4.1 Nominal quote
According to Lagerholm (2008) the NQ of a text is a measure which provides a notion of
information packaging in a text, investigated through dividing the number of nouns in a text
with the verbs. This is a simple measure which is not completely accurate. However, these
word classes stand in a contrary relation to each other, where the frequency of nouns
generally occurs on the expense of verbs. Such relation is characteristic for formal writing,
whereas the use of verbs at the expense of nouns is related to speech and informality. The
distinct contrast between the two word classes validates this NQ equation. To provide an
example, a text could consist of 30 nouns and 20 verbs. The equation would in such case
function like this:

30 nouns/ 20 verbs = 1,5 NQ

However, such investigation does not provide a detailed description of the information
packaging. Additionally, the occurrence of the word classes should, for thorough analysis, be
related to their connection in the text. Hence, the results from an N/V-equation are highly
general. Additionally, this measure does not take the total number of words in a text into
consideration. The two word classes are only put in relation to each other and additional
elements in the text are excluded (Lagerholm, 2008:133).

3.4.2 Lexical density

According to Johansson (2008), Lexical density is the term most often used for describing
the proportion of content words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, and often also adverbs) to the total
number of words. (Johansson, 2008:65). By investigating this, a notion regarding the
information packaging is received. This depends on the fact that those content words contain
more information than other word classes. Function words, (prepositions, interjections,
pronouns, conjunctions and count words) contain little information in comparison. The
correlation between the content words and function words is hence a valid measure to use
when investigating the information packaging. A high score of information packaging is a
measure of formality (Johansson, 2008:65). For example: A text includes 26 content words
(CW) and 24 function words, counting to a total number of 50 words. In such case the
equation would be:

LD = (CW/50) * 100 (LD = 52%) (Johansson, 2008:67)

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Although this measure is scientifically supported, Yates (1996) claims that there are certain
variables that should be recognized. The questions raised do in this case concern the
frequency of which certain words generally occur. Within the measure Johansson (2008)
proposes, all content words share the same value, without any consideration regarding the
frequency of which they occur. This means that in relation to all tokens in the text, a common
every-day verb shares the same value as an abstract genre-specific noun (Yates, 1996:37-38).
These recognitions do also connect to claims regarding nouns being the most content bearing
word class (Biber et al, 2002:11) and the considerations regarding verbs, which are described
as more informal (Lagerholm, 2008:133). Also Bjrnsson (1968:2) attends a similar subject
and describes common every-day words as generally more informal. In contrast, longer words
exceeding six characters consist of a higher level of formality. Hence, it could be argued that
the measure is not completely reliable. In this thesis the issues raised are only highlighted as
factors to keep in mind, and will not be dealt with practically.

3.5 Previous research

Johansson (2008) conducted a study based on the lexical diversity and LD among an age-
group reaching between children at 10 years of age to adults. The research showed that within
the measures of LD, there seemed to be a considerable development of skills among students
studying at the university to use lexically dense words. At this stage of education within
school, the investigation shows that skills connected to formal written language are
developed. Their ability to use varied, lexical dense vocabulary does at university level
improve according to the research (Johansson, 2008:77).
Regarding subjective projections in papers, Hinkel (2001) investigates certain informal
features in non-native speakers papers. The investigated features concern certain words
which are emphatically related, leading to the impression of informality. It is argued that
since most non-native speakers of English mainly use their language skills in spoken
conversation, they project similar informal words in papers as well. The research did in this
case show that the papers written by native speakers consisted of a higher level of formal
word constructions. In contrast, the non-native speakers included informal words at a
considerably higher frequency rate. One example raised among many others is the
construction: I definitely believe, which does indicate that the student emphasizes with the
content. Such projections are informal and do occur frequently among non-native speakers
(Hinkel, 2001:1059).

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4. Material & Method
In this section clarifications will be made regarding the material used in this thesis as well as
how the process of collecting material was carried through. The method used when
investigating the papers is explained and important aspects as selection, reliability, validity
and ethical aspects are highlighted.

4.1 Material
The investigated material is collected from two different courses given at Linnaeus
University. These courses are provided for students studying to become teachers of English
and run during the first and second semester of English studies. During the first semester a
course called language proficiency (AW1) is outlined and divided into three parts. One of
those parts is called academic writing (AW1), where students should submit formal written
assignments. The assignments are in the shape of written papers and these texts make up the
first part of the material investigated in this thesis. The students write three different papers
within the course and those are submitted to the responsible teachers for comments on the
academic performance. A hand written final examination is also included in the course to
decide the final grade. However, this thesis will be delimited to an investigation of the three
initial assignments. The final examination paper is hence excluded. During the first semester
of English studies, this is one among the first courses provided and it occurs early. The course
does stretch over a limited time span of a few weeks, which makes the course quite compact.
The amount of material used from this particular course is 25 papers written by 25 students.
During the second semester of English studies, a course called academic writing and
rhetoric is outlined. The course consists of one G2-level thesis which should be written in an
academic style. This course stretches over an extended period of time and is conducted during
the last half of the second semester of English studies. The students are in this course divided
into small groups with a mentor who will help the students throughout the process. In these
groups feedback on the thesis is given by both the mentor and the other students. However,
although divided into smaller groups, all students write their theses individually. The papers
collected within this course will make up the second part of the investigated material. The
papers collected are of the equal amount as from AW1; that is 25 papers written by 25
students. Moreover, to enable a comparison between papers written within the two courses
and later reach a conclusion regarding the extent of which the AW1 course prepares students
to write formally, the 25 papers collected in both courses have to be written by the same

16
students. Thus, the total amount of material collected amounts to 50 papers written by 25
students within the two courses AW1 and AW2.
In order to shed light upon the length and extent of the investigated papers, the table
below displays the total number of words within the 25 papers of each course separately. It
also displays the total number of words per paper on average.

Table 1. The number of words on total and average within the papers.
Count AW1 AW2
Total number of words within the
25 papers in each course 19 876 67 545

Average number of words per

paper 795 2701

4.1.1 The collection of material

At the beginning of the process, a total number of 32 students were asked to send copies of
their written papers within the two courses, allowing an analysis of these. Before doing so, the
students were provided with information regarding the general purpose of this thesis; namely
to compare their written productions in AW1 with the G2-essays written in AW2. An
explanation regarding how these papers were to be compared was given. Twelve out of the
twenty-five students were initially verbally asked to share their papers, with the purpose of
investigating whether there were any indications of interest to enable an analysis. All the
students approved to share their work, resulting in the decision to follow through with the
intended idea. Hence, an e-mail was formulated and sent to the students, reminding them of
the purpose of the thesis as well as the ethical aspects.

The ethical aspects did in this case concern principles which are demanded when carrying
through with research. Among these principles, there are certain requirements to keep in
regard, to ensure that the participating individuals integrity is protected (Vetenskapsrdet,
2002). Firstly, there are demands which highlight the importance of providing the participants
with proper information. The information should include explanations regarding the aim of
the study, the participants role in the study and clarifications concerning their rights.
Additionally, confidentiality has to be secured, along with other promises stating that the
material will only be used within the context of the research (Vetenskapsrdet, 2002). The e-
mail which the participants received included all the mentioned aspects and ethical factors
have thus been recognized when transmitting the request.
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 Furthermore, since twelve students could not provide enough material, twenty
additional students were contacted via e-mail. The e-mail included information which was
similar to what the previous twelve students received, but with some additional clarifications.
When ultimately provided with their answers, a total of 25 students agreed to share their
written productions. The students then sent an e-mail consisting of their formulated approval
as well as attached papers written within the concerned courses.
The selection of the participants was easily decided, mainly as a result of the
investigation being delimited to students who have studied English and finished their studies
within AW1 and AW2 at Linnaeus University. Hence, the emerging challenge was to find 25
students who were qualified within these criteria. When an appropriate number of students
were found and contacted, these were provided the opportunity to choose if they wanted to
participate and share their material. In connection to this approach, Halvorsen (1992:26)
mentions the concept of self-selection, which means that the individuals get the opportunity
to decide whether they want to contribute. As seven students decided to deny the request to
include their productions in the investigation, the 25 remaining students were left to make the
foundation of this thesis.

4.2 Method
This is a quantitative as well as a qualitative study which investigates 25 students
development of academic genre awareness at Linnaeus University. Since the material is
limited to a number of 50 academic papers, it enables a general investigation where the
overall development is analyzed. Additionally, the circumstances allow a deep and thorough
investigation where certain sentences from the papers are provided as examples. The
occurrence of certain formal and informal features in the papers written within the course
AW1, are compared to the frequency of the same features in the G2-level theses, within the
AW2 course.
In order to investigate the measures of information packaging in the texts, a text
analyzing tool on the internet was used. The tool could be used by registering as a member on
the website usingenglish.com. The website consist of approximately twenty staff members, all
professionally active within the area of language. Also, the website is specialized in ESL
(English as a second language). The tool provided measures for the LD of the texts on average
(usingenglish.com, 2002 received May 7th 2013). The NQ could not be investigated through
using this tool. Hence the material was in relation to that measure investigated manually.

18
 The investigation of subjective expressions was carried through both automatically by
using the website usingenglish.com, as well as manually. To investigate the occurrence of
subjective projections in the texts, there are certain words which foremost are used as
measures. Since the occurrence of personal pronouns (Melin & Lange) is a measure of
informality, and because pronouns according the AW1 guidelines should be avoided in
academic writing (lnu.se), these features are investigated. Additionally, since statements in
academic productions in general should be supported by sources (Bjrk & Risnen,
2003:272) to uphold an objective approach, this is also a measure which provides a notion of
the academic approach in the papers.

4.2.1 Reliability and Validity

The concept of validity concerns the research and whether it actually measures what it intends
to. Reliability on the other hand concerns how trustworthy the research really is (Bryman,
2008:78). Firstly, in order to make sure that these required aspects have been adopted, the
investigation is based on a qualitative study, which according to Svensson & Starrin
(1996:169) should be applied when analyzing papers. To ensure that the investigation is
reliable, the theory and previous research used is extracted from scientifically based sources.
Additionally, the students contributing with papers did not solely perform their written work
during the same semester. Based on the year the students attended the AW1 course, it ranges
from spring 2010 to the autumn of 2011. This fact makes the investigation more diverse and
provides additional depth. A fact that might evoke questions regarding the reliability is the
difference in extent between the papers in each course. There is a considerable difference
between the number of words per paper in the productions written within the AW1, compared
to the G2-theses within the AW2.

4.2.2 Method discussion

In relation to the aim of this study, there are some factors that should be recognized. The
overall aim is to investigate whether the students have developed their academic awareness.
However, the features measured in this thesis cannot solely determine if the students have
developed. Although subjectivity and information packaging are proved to be determining
features, there are other variables which are related to academic awareness as well. Hence, if
the investigation would show that the students have not improved within these measures, it
does not exclude the possibility of development within other areas of academic proficiency.

19
For example, Channell (1994:1) argues that vague expressions should be avoided, and Read
(2000:200) indicates that to avoid this, expressional accuracy and lexical richness are
important academic features. Such characteristics are in this thesis excluded. Thus, the
investigation does only cover a limited part of the students academic awareness.
Additionally, the measures only shed light on whether the students have developed during the
time between AW1 and AW2. The calculations are not put in relation to any standardized
normative scores.
Regarding the methods used to investigate the material, there are additional factors
which should be acknowledged. Firstly, there is a correlation between information packaging
in a text and formality. This could be measured with the calculation of a simple NQ.
However, such calculation only provides a general notion of the information packaging
(Lagerholm, 2008:133). Also, the occurrence of nouns and verbs in the texts were counted
manually. Hence, there is a certain risk that an unknown number of nouns and verbs are
missing in the calculation. Despite this, the count was carried through with support from
Vannestls (2007) book A university grammar of English. The book provided information
regarding certain borderline words and enabled a more reliable investigation. However, an
additional calculation of information packaging was needed. In this case, the LD in the papers
was used as such measure. According to Johansson (2008:65) the LD of a text is a measure of
information packaging. Since this measure could be automatically calculated on the website
usingenglish.com, it was an efficient way of adding credibility to the measure of information
packaging in the investigated papers.
The final important aspect to highlight is the measure of subjective projections in the
papers. Firstly, the use of pronouns overall should, in accordance with the AW1 guidelines, be
excluded (lnu.se, received April 18th 2013). According to Melin and Lange (2003:11-13) the
pronouns I, me, my, we, us, our, should be avoided, since these words evoke the impression of
a present writer; a feature which should be avoided in academic productions. These claims
support an investigation of the exemplified pronouns. The calculation measures the
occurrence of I, me, my, we, us, our, in 1000 words. In addition to this measure, a second
investigation of subjectivity will be carried through. The calculation does in this case count
the percentage of paragraphs consisting of references. This includes scientific references as
well as paragraphs connected to material (interviews, recordings, questionnaires etc.). Support
to such measure could also be found in the AW1 guidelines where it is acknowledged as
crucial to connect statements to sources (lnu.se). Additionally, Bjrk and Risnen (2003:272)

20
mention that claims in academic productions exclusively should be supported by reliable
sources. This is important, in order to uphold an objective approach.
The calculations of information packaging are done by using measures which are
supported by scientific sources (Lagerholm, 2008:133; Johansson, 2008:65). Such
calculations have hence been used in previous research and proved to be useful. In contrast,
the calculations connected to subjective projections have not been found in any previous
research. This fact might invoke on the credibility of these measures. Hence, it is important to
acknowledge that these calculations should be perceived as highly general. However, the
investigated features are supported by sources. Also, Melin and Lange (2003) mention that
linguistic analysis is not an accurate science. This means that within such studies, different
developed analyzing tools could be applied in various ways and it enables development of
new analyzing tools (Melin & Lange, 2003:15). A final factor to keep in mind is that some of
the sources used in this thesis mainly relate to the use of Swedish language. Although there
are many similarities between Swedish and English, there are also differences which might
evoke questions regarding the relevance of these sources. However, the sources used were
carefully chosen.

5.0 Results & analysis

In this section the results will be displayed in tables along with explanations regarding what
these results show. When the results are presented, an analysis of the results will be carried
through. The analysis part will consist of a general analysis, explaining what the scores
indicate. Furthermore, a detailed investigation will be conducted where samples from the
students papers make the basis.

5.1 Results & General analysis

The results will be displayed in tables, to provide a general view of the measures for both
information packaging as well as subjective projections. The results for information
packaging are measured through NQ and LD. The subjective projections are measured
through the occurrence of the pronouns I, me, my, we, us, our, in 1000 words. Additionally,
the percentage of paragraphs in the papers, supported by references scientific sources and
material is also used as a measure, to provide a notion of the extent objectivity is upheld.

21
5.1.1 Nominal quote
As Lagerholm (2008:133) claims, the NQ is calculated by dividing the total number of nouns
in a text with the total number of verbs. Through such equation, this measure calculates the
information packaging within the text.

Table 2. The number of nouns, the number of verbs and the NQ score on average.
Measure AW1 AW2

Nouns 3522 12395

Verbs 1921 6296

NQ 1.83 1.97

Information packaging in a text is a characteristic which serves a significant function when

deciding how formal a text is and the NQ provides a notion of such feature (Oliveira,
2010:192; Lagerholm, 2008:133). In this case, the results show an overall improvement from
a NQ of 1.83 in AW1 to 1.97 in AW2. This indicates that generally, the students provide
information through the use of nouns more frequently in AW2 than AW1, put in comparison
to the use of verbs. Hence, it provides an indication of improvement among the students to
use words which provide the reader with more informationally dense text. Hence, a higher
level of formal writing has in general been applied (Biber et al, 2002:11).

5.1.2 Lexical density

Table 3. The average scores for LD.

Measure AW1 AW2

LD 48.75% 53.21%

LD is a measure of information packaging in a text, which is connected to formal writing

(Yates, 1996:36). The results show that generally, there has been a 4.46 % increase of the
content word occurrence in the AW2 papers, compared to AW1. The function words which
previously occurred on a 51.25% rate have now decreased to a rate of 46.79%. The
frequency of content words has hence increased to a score of 53.21%. This measure shows
that the LD in the texts has improved. Thus, the level of information packaging in the
investigated papers has proved to be higher. The general level of formal writing in the

22
productions has in relation to this measure increased (Yates, 1996:36). This result also
correlates with Johanssons (2008:77) findings regarding the overall development of students
ability to produce lexically dense texts at university level.

5.1.3 Occurrence of personal pronouns

Table 4. The percentage of personal pronouns on average.

Measure AW1 AW2
Total number of words in the
papers 19 876 67 545
Number of investigated personal
pronouns in the papers (I, me, my,
we, us, our)
202 342
Number of investigated personal
pronouns in 1000 words
10 words (1%) 5 words (0.5%)

The occurrence of any pronouns should in accordance with the guidelines for AW1 be very
limited (lnu.se received 18th april 2013). Further, Melin and Lange (2000:11-13) mention the
investigated personal pronouns as features of informality, that evoke impressions of a present
writer. Such subjective projections should be excluded when performing academic work
(Davies, 2012:7). When looking at the results of this measure, the occurrence of the
investigated pronouns does not exceed a frequency of 1% in any of the two courses.
However, there has been a considerable drop of frequency between the AW1 and AW2. There
has been a 50% decrease per 1000 words when counting the occurrence of the pronouns in
AW2 compared to AW1. This suggests that in general, students have adopted skills to
formulate sentence constructions, without including the investigated pronouns. This provides
a notion of improvement among students to uphold a higher level of objectivity, which is a
formal and academic feature.

5.1.4 Paragraphs consisting of references

Table 5. The percentage of paragraphs consisting of references on average.

Measure AW1 AW2
Total number of paragraphs 205 802
Paragraphs consisting of references
107 631
Total percentage of paragraphs
consisting of references
52% 78%
23
The guidelines in AW1 do state that it is important to support statements with scientific
sources. From a general standpoint Bjrk and Risnen (2003:13-18) also claim that in
academic contexts, it is important to perform written work that stretches beyond the limitation
personal thoughts. Hence, it is important to apply reliable sources as well as collected
material, in connection to claims. The results within this measure show that paragraphs
consisting of references have increased considerably in AW2 compared to AW1. The general
percentage of 52% in AW1 has increased to 78% in AW2. This shows that within the AW2,
students have used sources more frequently within a higher percentage of paragraphs, to
support their claims. By doing so, the students ensure that a higher level of academic style is
applied (Bjrk & Risnen, 2003:272).

5.2 Detailed analysis

In this section, analyzes of the investigated features are conducted. These are detailed and
concern both information packaging as well as subjective projections. Samples from the
students papers are provided as examples.

5.2.1 Detailed analysis of nominal quote and lexical density

To gain some depth in the analysis regarding LD and NQ, different features in sentences will
be explained. The examples given include sentences written by a student with scores below
average; one example from AW1 and another from AW2. The two sentences provided as
examples will show proof of the overall development which the general analysis displayed.
The examples chosen will be supported with the specific measures of NQ and LD. Also, the
theory section will be used to highlight features in the examples which are connected to
academic awareness. Before analysing the sentences, some clarifications will be made:

- The words in bold shape stand for nouns in the sentence. (NQ)
- The words in italics indicate the verbs in the sentence. (NQ)
- All the underlined words show the content words in the sentences (nouns, verbs,
adjectives and adverbs). (LD)
- The remaining words without any markers stand for the function words in the
sentences. (LD)

24
To receive an immediate notion of how formal the texts are, the NQ and LD are calculations
which are valid measures. Information packaging in a text is a characteristic which is
connected to written language, formality and academic writing (Lagerholm, 2008:133;
Johansson, 2008:67; Oliveira, 2010:192).

Example from the students paper in AW1:

By doing that we get an idea of what we say, why we say it and how we can say
it.

Example from the students paper in AW2:

According to me this is an important part of the study, along with investigating
in which way they should work.

Table 6. Nouns, verbs, content words and function words in the examples.
Measure Example from AW1 Example from the LSP (AW2)
Nouns Idea Part, study, way

Verbs Doing, get, say, say, can, say Is, investigating, should, work

Content words Doing, get, idea, say, why, say, According, is, important, part,
how, can, say study, investigating, way, should,
work

Function words By, that, we, an, of, what, we, we, to, me, this, an, of, the, along, with,
it, and, we, it in, which, they

Table 7. NQ and LD in the examples, compared to the students total scores.

Scores in the example from AW1 NQ: 0.16 , LD: 42 %

Total scores from AW1 NQ: 1.18 , LD: 35 %

Scores in the example from AW2 NQ: 0.75 , LD: 45 %

Total scores from AW2 NQ: 1.41 , LD: 39 %

25
Firstly, to conduct a detailed investigation of these two sentences, the NQ will make the basis.
The NQ of both sentences is low in comparison to the general N/V score among the students
in both courses, but the sentences show proof of some features that the student seems to have
developed. The AW1 sentence has a score of 0,16 NQ and such score stands in direct relation
to spoken language and informality, since the occurrence of verbs in the sentence by far
exceeds the number of nouns (Lagerholm, 2008:133). The AW1 example relies almost
exclusively on the use of verbs. In this case, the word class does occur at the expense of nouns
when describing an apparent outcome, which evokes the impression of a spoken text
(Lagerholm, 2008:133). The design of the sentence is hence informal. Nouns are the most
content bearing word class and should to a greater extent be included in formal contexts
(Biber et al, 2002:11). By constructing the sentence in this way, the student has applied a style
which does not correlate with an appropriate academic style. The NQ is low and indicates a
low level of information packaging, which is an important academic feature (Oliveira,
2010:192).
In AW2, the student has constructed a sentence consisting of more nouns in relation to
the verbs. Compared to the AW1 sentence, this construction has a higher level of information
packaging. Additionally, the total NQ-score of the whole paper (1,41) is higher than in AW1
(1,18). The AW2 example shows some interesting features that could be perceived as
evidence for such development. Mainly, the considerable difference between the use of verbs
and nouns is erased, and the frequency of which the verbs occur is less inconvenient. This fact
is proved through the NQ-score which in the AW2 example (0,75) is higher than in the AW1
sentence (0,16). In the AW2 sentence, the student has adapted to the use of nouns which
consequently has made the verbs occur at a lower rate in comparison. This contrary relation
has been recognized by Lagerholm (2008). When perceiving the total scores in the papers, the
student has acquired skills to include nouns at a higher rate. This fact has had a positive effect
on the outcome of the NQ-score.
When analysing the LD of the sentences, there are more word classes to acknowledge
(Johansson, 2008:65) which makes this investigation more complex. When perceiving the LD
of the two sentences, the scores are similar. In fact, the results do intend that the AW2
sentence (LD 45%) only contains a slightly higher level of information packaging than the
AW1 sentence (LD 42%). This result does without doubt put question marks around the
outcome of the NQ-score, which did suggest that the level of information packaging was
considerably higher in the AW2 example. The results from the two measures have in this case

26
provided differences in outcome. However, explanations could be found to clarify several
reasons. Yates (1996:37-38) mentions that there are some issues concerning the measure of
LD. Mainly, all words in a text that qualify as content words do share the same value. In the
examples concerned in this case, it is clear that although the LD-score is close to identical,
there are considerable differences when it comes to the use of word classes. In the AW1
sentence, eight out of the nine content words in the sentence are either verbs or adverbs. The
remaining content word in the example is a noun. In contrast, the correlation between the
word classes seems to be more convenient in the AW2 sentence. The use of nouns is more
frequent and the use of verbs is less occurring, which is preferable in formal writing
(Lagerholm, 2008:133). Adjectives are also included in the sentence, which makes the use of
word classes more varied. These differences do indicate that although the LD-score is similar,
the word classes used in AW2 seem to be more adapted to the formal context of academic
writing (Biber et al, 2002:11). The difference between the choices of words could also be put
in relation to Bjrnssons (1968:2) claims. Words exceeding six characters could generally be
considered more formal and in such relation, the AW1 sentence is highly informal due to the
fact that none of the words exceeds that number. In contrast, the AW2 sentence consists of
three words exceeding that number. Although this is not an accurate measure of information
packaging, Oliveira (2010:192) does claim that within the academic context, longer words are
generally more content bearing. The every-day common language however, is often more
informal (Lagerholm, 2008:186) and consist of shorter high-frequency words. Despite the
similar LD-score between the sentences, these explanations do indicate that the AW2 sentence
could be classified as more academic than the AW1 sentence. Also, the total LD- and NQ-
scores in the two papers show that there has been a general improvement within both
measures.

5.2.2 Detailed analysis of personal pronouns

Within this section, one students papers will make the basis. One example of sentence
construction in each paper will be analysed to shed light on the level of subjectivity. Certain
features will be explained that will reveal differences of approach in the two sentences. The
personal pronouns used will be the emphasis in this case, and these will be marked in bold
shape.

27
AW1: To answer my own question posed in the introduction I locate pictures viewing
elephants and lions which can be used effectively.

AW2: However, the book also presents four main sections regarding the current vocabulary
methods used today which will be explained later in this section.

Table 8. The occurrence of personal pronouns in the examples, compared to the occurrences on total.
Measure AW1 AW2
Number of personal pronouns in
the example 2 0
Number of personal pronouns on
total in the papers 15 21
Total amount of words in the
papers 1029 3445
Pronouns per 1000 words in the
papers 15/1000 words (1.5%) 6/1000 words (0.6%)

As the general analysis of the results has shown, there seem to have been improvements made
among the students to uphold an objective approach in relation to their productions. In this
case, there are features which point in such direction as well. Both sentences suggest that an
investigation is taking place. In the AW1 sentence, an investigation is carried through by
locating pictures in a book, while the AW2 sentence describes the apparent content in a book
concerning vocabulary methods. Despite being similar in the sense that both examples suggest
investigations, the approach towards such investigation does differ. As Melin and Lange
(2000:11-13) describe, there are certain pronouns that should be avoided in formal texts.
Among these, the occurrence of the words I and my is accounted, and the AW1 sentence
consists of such pronouns. This is an inconvenient feature according to Davies (2012:7), since
such projections do suggest that the writer is present in the text, which goes against the grain
of academic writing. In the case concerning the AW1 sentence, the construction consist of the
words I and my, which indicates an obvious inclusion of the own persona in the context.
This does according to Melin and Lange (2000:11-13) indicate a subjective standpoint, due to
the impression of personal approach that such pronouns evoke. Moreover, Bjrk and Risnen
(2003:13-18) highlight an objective approach as crucial. Hence, the statements in academic
papers should stretch beyond the limitation of personal thoughts. In the AW1 case, it is
obvious that the writer uses personal pronouns which oppose the appropriate level of
objectivity that should be applied. Also Hinkel (2001:1059) recognizes the apparent

28
emphatic relation to the content, which such projections suggest. These should be avoided
due to their informal character.
When taking a look at the AW2 sentence, the aspects highlighted in relation to the AW1
example do not correspond similarly. In this case, the student appears to highlight a finding
within an area, similar to the AW1 example. However, the AW2 example oppositely projects
an alternate objective construction, where the use of personal pronouns is excluded. To
demonstrate a feature which differs, two samples from the examples will be explained:

AW1: [] I locate pictures viewing elephants and lions []

AW2: [] the book also presents four main sections []

In the AW1 example, the use of I projects the student as present in the text (Melin & Lange,
2000:11-13). In this case, the student suggests that he, the writer, found something in the
investigated book. Hence, the student includes personal impressions in the context and
consequently, an informal subjective approach is upheld. In the AW2 example however, the
student upholds an objective approach, where it is simply described that within a book, four
main sections are presented. Through such formulation, it is expressed that regardless of who
might read the book, four main sections will be found. The student does in AW1 uphold a
subjective approach towards the described content, and support to these claims has been
found (Melin & Lange, 2000:11-13; Davies, 2012:7; Bjrk & Risnen, 2003:13-18). Also,
the occurrence per 1000 words is considerably higher in the AW1 than in the AW2. In
general, when including all conducted papers, it is also obvious that the occurrence of
personal pronouns has decreased considerably.

5.2.3 Detailed analysis of paragraphs

In this section an analysis of two paragraphs in one students papers will make the basis. As in
the previous sections, one example will be taken from AW1 and the other from AW2.

Table 9. Paragraphs consisting of references in the examples.

Measure AW1 AW2
Total number of paragraphs in the
6 12
papers
Number of paragraphs consisting
of references 2 (33%) 10 (83%)

29
Paragraph from AW1:
The English language is very dominant in the world and with all probability, I think it will
remain that way for many years to come. Because of the Internet, TV-show, music etc. the
language will probably continue to spread. Also, more and more people constantly learn
English around the world, which will make the development continue. English has grown
much over the last decades, and the most powerful countries have English as the mother
tongue. Therefore, there are no real threats against the language today. Talking about the
future however, it is hard to predict what will happen.

Paragraph from AW2:

However, Lundahl (2009) goes on by claiming that even though English should be used as
frequently as possible, there are situations where Swedish might be suitable or perhaps
necessary to use. Instructions regarding goals and grading in an English course are situations
of such character. The chance for pupils to understand exactly what to do is decreased if their
English skills are lower than the English level of which the instructions are told (Lundahl,
2009). When pupils are set to work with an assignment, they should know exactly what to do
and using their mother tongue eases the conditions for pupils to interpret tasks correctly.

When comparing the two examples, there is a considerable difference between how the
student expresses the message in each paragraph. In the AW1 example, the student expresses
statements which are based on own thoughts. In the paragraph, there are no visible sources
which provide any support to the claims. Hence, the student does in this case fail to adapt to
the academic skill which is highlighted in the guidelines of the course, namely to support
statements with sources (lnu.se). Also, adaption of the ability to communicate beyond the
limitation of own thoughts (Bjrk & Risnen, 2003:13-18), is a feature that the student has
failed to uphold in the particular paragraph. Bjrk and Risnen (2003:272) also highlight the
importance to support statements with sources within the academic context. Mainly, such a
factor is important to apply an objective approach. In this paragraph, the student fails to do so.
Instead, the personal idea on the matter is projected, which both Melin and Lange (2000:11-
13) and Davies (2012:7) describes as a subjective and informal feature.
In the AW2 paragraph however, the student relies solely on a source to support the
expressed claims. In contrast to the AW1 example, the features of formality connected to
Bjrk and Risnens (2003:272) as well as Daviess (2012:7) claims are upheld. In this case,

30
the student has obviously adapted to the use of a construction which projects the claims
through the support of a reliable source. Hence, an objective approach is applied. If perceiving
the scores of both papers within this measure, the student applies sources to a considerably
higher number of paragraphs in AW2 (83%), compared to AW1 (33%). This indicates that the
student has developed skills to, in an extended way, project statements and claims through the
use of references rather than own ideas. By doing so, the approach to the text becomes
objective (Bjrk & Risnen, 2003:272).

6.0 Conclusion & Discussion

In this section conclusions based on the analysis will make the first part. Both the information
packaging in the papers as well as the subjective projections will make the basis to such
conclusions. Furthermore, discussions regarding the results and the analysis will take shape.
These discussions are based on the theories used but will also include assumptions regarding
circumstantial factors which might have affected the outcome of both results and analysis.

6.1 Conclusion
This thesis is aimed towards investigating students papers and shed light on the students
development of academic awareness within the first year of English studies. Within the two
courses AW1 and AW2, 50 papers are investigated and certain features are used as measures
to analyse such possible development. In this case, the features analysed are the information
packaging as well as subjective projections in the papers.
Through the conducted analysis, there are several conclusions that could be found. The
two initial investigations of the material included an analysis of the information packaging in
the texts. The general results did show that within both the NQ as well as the LD-score, the
students have developed skills to construct text that contain a higher level of information
packaging. Theory has shown that both NQ and LD are valid measures to use when
calculating the information packaging in texts. Certain features have been appreciated as
important to uphold and in the AW2 example, these characteristics have been applied in a
more convenient way than in AW1. Through a detailed analysis, additional depth to these
showings has been provided by highlighting several features that point in such direction. Both
the general as well as the detailed analysis of the measures have shown proof of development
during the time between the AW1 course and the AW2 course. Overall, the conclusion that
could be drawn in accordance to these findings, is that the twenty-five students have

31
developed their skills to construct text that contain a higher level of information packaging.
This is a feature that theory has highlighted as highly formal and academic. Hence, the
students academic awareness has in relation to this feature of formality improved.
Regarding the subjectivity in the papers, the analysis has shown that within the
investigated papers in general, there has been a considerable decrease of subjective
projections. Theory has shown that within the academic context, it is important to uphold an
objective approach. Through the investigation of personal pronouns and references in
paragraphs, such features have been analysed. Both these features have in accordance with the
theory as well as AW1 guidelines been highlighted as important characteristics. The general
analysis of both these measures shows that there has been a considerable decrease of personal
pronouns in the students papers and an increase of paragraphs consisting of references.
Through the detailed analysis, examples have also shown that the approach towards the
expressed content has changed between the AW1 and AW2 course. The examples show that
the students uphold a higher level of objectivity in the AW2 papers than in the AW1 papers.
Both the general and detailed analysis show that the subjective projections have decreased
during the months between the courses. Hence, the academic awareness among the twenty-
five students has within this measure of formality, improved overall.
To summarize the conclusions that could be drawn within this thesis, all the measures
investigated show proof of development among the students. The students academic
awareness has hence, within the limitation of the conducted calculations, overall improved
during the months between the AW1 course and the AW2 course.

6.2 Discussion
The conclusions found in the thesis do correspond with the displayed results as well as the
conducted analyses. Although all the measures used are general, they all show proof of
improvements. This fact makes it possible to state conclusions based on the calculations,
despite the general inaccuracy of the measures. Mainly, this depends on the unanimous
findings in the papers which all do point in the same direction. Hence, the conclusions found
in this thesis are reliable in the sense that all calculations suggest similar improvements,
within the measures for both information packaging as well as subjective projections. In
relation to this, it is a valid claim to state that within the investigated features, the students
have improved their academic awareness. However, it cannot be claimed that all students
have improved. Also, it cannot be guaranteed that none of the students in fact has failed to

32
develop at all within these measures. Hence, the conclusion does correspond with the aim of
this study, namely to investigate the general development among the 25 students, rather than
investigating every student per se. Considering these factors, the general conclusion of this
thesis is reliable.
It is important to highlight that the investigation does not correspond with extensive
dominant features of academic writing, but merely a few smaller characteristics. This fact
delimits the investigation to a fraction of academic writing, which disables the possibility of
stating broad conclusions. Although this research has found that the students have improved
their academic awareness within the investigated features, it cannot be perceived as a general
improvement of the students academic writing skills. There are numerous other features
which relate to this formal context of writing. However, such features have in this thesis been
excluded, consequently delimiting the conclusion to a smaller part of academic writing.
In all, it is valid to claim that within the measures investigated in this thesis, the students
have in general developed their academic awareness. Both the level of information packaging
and the level of objectivity have improved. However, stating claims that stretch beyond such
conclusion should be avoided in relation to this investigation. This depends on the general
measures, along with the limited number of investigated features. Still, the conclusions
correspond with the analysis and the displayed results, which in turn are supported by reliable
theory. Thus, the students have developed their skills within this particular area of academic
writing.

33
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