**7.4.4 Category #4 – Assertions**

226 International Perspectives of Distance Learning in Higher Education

instances where there were actually no additional meaning-words in the text, the decision to

One example of this was the decision to include MP39 in the Overview category and MP17 in this category. Both verb extensions are almost identical and the term 'ways' appears to perform the same function in both. The reason for the different classification was that in MP39, the phrase 'two major ways' was regarded as a credible indicator of follow-up

Ultimately, even though acknowledging the need to justify classification of these borderline cases, one can also argue that even within the Overview category, some terms may have

Verb extensions included in this category were viewed as providing specific details relative to the overall topic or theme of the annotation. In an ideal situation, such details would hinge on indicators identified in the Overview. For the purpose of this analysis however, there was no backward linkage and extensions were included in this category based solely on the criteria outlined above. It should also be noted that in all cases the entire verb

**Specific detail: …** facts that persons are giving up their landline phones for mobile

**Specific detail: …** that the advent and use of cell phones have broken down the

**Specific detail:** … how younger teens use the mobile phone to create their external

**Specific detail:** … [the notion] that percentages of households with no landline phones are on the increase across major European countries.

**Specific detail:** … how individuals responded to the availability of telephones whether

It is likely that some or all of the segments that were identified for this category were extracted verbatim from the source material. While this sort of reproduction is not to be encouraged, it should not detract from the fact that specific details were considered as important elements to be included in the construction of the annotation. Two other points

The first relates to the absence of the other key terms of the essay topic from these verb extensions. This is in sharp contrast to those classified in the other two where there were a

social networks from home.

privately owned or for public use.

boundaries that once separated work and family affairs.

locate the segment of text in one or other category was a judgment call.

specifics, while 'ways' in MP17, was not.

**7.4.3 Category # 3 – Detail** 

extension constituted the detail.

**Data ID: MP6** 

**Data ID: MP75** 

**Data ID: MP88** 

**Data ID: MP119** 

**Data ID: MP143** 

deserve attention.

**Exhibit 6: Analysis of Category #3 text** 

phones.

been more efficient follow-up indicators than others.

Items included in this final category are essentially assertions or generalizations that convey a clear position and were presented as if the writer was convinced that they could not be challenged. In this regard, even though the identity of the author was not usually revealed in the assertion, one can conclude that assertions represented the personal position of those who articulated them.

Preliminary analysis of the data set suggested three attributes inherent in this form of language use.

First, the agent of the verb was the entity about which the assertion was being made. It therefore stood out since, in the typical structure of the sentence in an annotation, it is the author of the source material, or the material itself that was the agent carrying out the act embodied in the verb. Secondly, the verb itself was in the present tense, or present perfect, conveying a sense that the claims made were timeless and universally relevant. Thirdly, there was no link to any source to substantiate the claims made.

While in the preceding categories, the verb extension was sufficient to represent the core attributes of the language type, in the case of assertions, the entire meaning unit was required, since the agent of the verb was needed to complete the meaning, as discussed above.

#### **Exhibit 7: Analysis of Category #4 text**


An Analysis of the Search Skills of Online Graduate Students as

strategies used warrant further investigation.

acknowledged relationship between the two.

family and friends. (Overview)

with their families. (Detail)

meaning of the details of the source material.

participants in a social network. (Detail)

that was of a higher standard than that exhibited by the other writers.

taken from a single annotation:

**Data ID Meaning Unit** 

search.

**8. Discussion of emergent themes: Secondary level analysis** 

the Basis for the Development of Appropriate Instructional Strategies 229

Further analysis of the data was carried out to determine what they revealed about the overall annotation-writing strategies of the students. Five such strategies were detected.

The first pertains to the approach adopted for identifying and selecting source material on which to write the annotations. Given the vast difference in terms of usage between the term 'mobile phone' and the other four, one may infer that the dominant search strategy employed highlighted that term above all the others. It is beyond the scope of this chapter to investigate how students approached the task of identifying key terms that would guide their search, and more specifically, how they decided which terms to include for the

A close examination of the essay topic seems to suggest that the term 'mobile phone' was in the dominant position at the beginning of the topic statement and that this, coupled with its heightened popularity in the wider society may have influenced the greater attention it received from students. What ever may have been the factors, it is evident that the search

As noted earlier, the tasks of writing overviews and highlighting perceived relevant details were generally well represented in the data set analysed. Given that these are widely regarded as core components of the more complex task of writing a summary, one may infer that students had knowledge of and were practicing these two summarizing techniques. However, as noted earlier, students' knowledge did not seem to extend to the

One exception to this general pattern was observed in the following three meaning-units ,

MP89 Chen discusses the results of a survey questionnaire … designed to assess the

MP90 The results reveal that the mobile phone is helpful for students to gain

MP91 Chen's research also shows that, contrary to initial expectations that the

The writer of this annotation was displaying a competency level in the writing of summaries

Looking at the overview in particular across the entire data set, it appeared that at times, this element served as a default strategy when students found it difficult to draw out the

motivation of college students who use the mobile phone to connect with

mobile phone would lead to isolation and independence of young people from their families, it seems to increase the involvement and socialization

socialization skills, coordinate with their families, and remain vibrant

Data MP70 was recognized as a member of this category, in spite of the somewhat tentative nature of the verb. The decision to include it was based on the fact that other attributes of the assertion were evident and the strength of the second part of the verb phrase could be viewed as overshadowing the caution in 'seem'. Data MP108 was also acknowledged as a member of this category, notwithstanding the inclusion of 'the writer' as the apparent source. One wonders whether there was any evidence in the source material to support this 'categorically' stated fact.
