A comparative discourse analysis of self-study materials produced by "celebrity tutors" and real-life texts : are pedagogically-created letters to the editor appropriate persuasive exemplars for HKDSE students?

Abstract

This research investigates the use of evaluative language in Letters to the Editor (LTEs) written by “celebrity tutors” in Hong Kong as pedagogical exemplars in comparison with that in the authentic ones printed in newspapers. Five LTEs written by “celebrity tutors” and five authentic LTEs retrieved from South China Morning Post were collected for analysis. By drawing on APPRAISAL theory, an extended analytical framework within Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) for interpersonal meanings, a comparative discourse analysis of the Attitudinal elements used in the two groups of data was conducted. Some salient patterns were observed: Appreciation, especially Valuation, is the most crucial element in LTEs because it evaluates the worthiness; Judgment, in particular Propriety, is also important as it expresses ethical issues and obligation, which are the main concerns addressed in LTEs; in contrast, Affect is less useful for construing persuasiveness because over disclosure of personal emotion might lead to personal and biased attitudes. The comparison of the Attitudinal resources in the two groups reveals that the pedagogical LTEs are of a high level of authenticity in terms of the construction of persuasiveness through Attitudinal evaluation and the features identified in the pedagogical texts mostly fulfil the requirement of effective LTEs documented in previous literature Thus, they could be considered as appropriate persuasive exemplars for HKDSE students. The findings, including typical Attitudinal patterns in LTEs, are valuable for material writers creating pedagogical persuasive exemplars.