Measuring the Coherence of Writing Using Topic-Based Analysis

Autor/inn/en	Todd, Richard Watson; Thienpermpool, Patteera; Keyuravong, Sonthida
Titel	Measuring the Coherence of Writing Using Topic-Based Analysis
Quelle	In: Assessing Writing, 9 (2004) 2, S.85-104 (20 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1075-2935
DOI	10.1016/j.asw.2004.06.002
Schlagwörter	Discourse Analysis; Writing Evaluation; Scoring; Evaluation Methods; Student Evaluation; Correlation; Interrater Reliability; Teachers; Evaluation Criteria; Evaluation Research; Grading + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Diskursanalyse; Bewertung; Schulnote; Studentische Bewertung; Korrelation; Interrater-Reliabilität; Lehrer; Lehrerin; Lehrende; Evaluationsforschung; Notengebung
Abstract	Among the many possible aspects to assessing writing, one of the most problematic is coherence. The problems with marking coherence arise because it is by nature subjective. However, the reasonable probability of several readers reaching a consensus concerning the coherence of a text suggests that it may be possible to assign relatively reliable marks for coherence. In this paper, topic-based analysis [Watson Todd, R. (1998). "Topic-based analysis of classroom discourse." "System, 26" (3), 303-318] was chosen as a method of evaluating coherence and the results of this evaluation were compared with teachers' marks for coherence. Topic-based analysis involves identifying key concepts in a text, identifying the relationships between these concepts, linking the relationships into a hierarchy, and mapping the text onto the hierarchy. Doing this allows several different measures of coherence to be generated. Comparing these measures against the teachers' scores, it was found that the number of moves between key concepts per 10 T-units correlated most closely with the teachers' marks. The results have implications concerning the basis of teachers' marks for coherence and the applicability of topic-based analysis as a method of assessing coherence of writing. (Contains 2 figures and 7 tables.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10