The expression of topic continuity by noun and pronoun phrasing and zero anaphora in first-year research

Using linguistic devices to build cohesion in writing has long been a challenge for students (Crossley & McNamara, 2010). This is a particular problem for learners of English as a Second Language (ESL), as languages vary in the devices used. Researchers in the field of contrastive rhetoric (e.g., Garing, 2014; Rogers, 2004) have explored varied rhetorical styles across languages, but to my knowledge, there has been no research on the use of nouns vs. pronouns vs. zero anaphora (Ø) to express cohesion by ESL students writing in English. Previous researchers of cohesion, such as Crossley and McNamara (2010) on ESL learners with varied native languages and Yang and Sun (2012) on native Chinese-speaking students, only focus on the use of multiple linguistic features in evaluating the overall quality of college essay writing. Based on the analysis of 50 participants’ research writing (25 native English speakers and 25 native Chinese speakers) from First Year Composition courses (FYC) and another 50 FYC participants’ (25 for each language) responses to an online questionnaire task, this dissertation explores the use of nouns vs. pronouns vs. Ø to refer back to an antecedent to build cohesion by expressing topic continuity (Givón, 1983). Preference hierarchies in the use of nouns (with or without determiners) vs. pronouns vs. zero for referring back to antecedents were discovered, and the similarities and differences across the NES and Chinese ESL participants are compared. Possible factors for the dispreferences for both groups of participants are discussed. This dissertation has implications for teaching FYC writing, English as a Second Language, and Chinese as a Second Language.