THEMES AND THEMATIC PROGRESSION IN STATEMENT OF PURPOSES FOR PH d SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION TO THE u s UNIVERSITIES = PHÂN TÍCH đề NGỮ và DIỄN TIẾN đề NGỮ TRONG các bài LUẬN cá NHÂN XIN học BỔNG TIẾN sĩ vào các TRƯỜNG đại học HOA kỳ

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF LINGUISTICS & CULTURES OF ENGLISH-SPEAKING
COUNTRIES

GRADUATION PAPER

THEMES AND THEMATIC PROGRESSION IN
STATEMENT OF PURPOSES FOR PH.D
SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION TO THE U.S
UNIVERSITIES

Supervisor: Nguyễn Thị Minh Tâm (Ph.D)
Student: Lê Thu Trang
Course: QH2017.F1.E1

HA NOI – 2021


ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI
TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ
KHOA NGƠN NGỮ VÀ VĂN HỐ CÁC NƯỚC NĨI TIẾNG ANH

KHĨA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP

PHÂN TÍCH ĐỀ NGỮ VÀ DIỄN TIẾN ĐỀ NGỮ
TRONG CÁC BÀI LUẬN CÁ NHÂN XIN HỌC BỔNG
TIẾN SĨ VÀO CÁC TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC HOA KỲ

Giáo viên hướng dẫn: Nguyễn Thị Minh Tâm
(Ph.D)

Sinh viên: Lê Thu Trang
Khóa: QH2010.F1.E1

HÀ NỘI - 2021


I hereby state that I: Le Thu Trang – Class QH2017.F1.E1, being a candidate for the
degree of Bachelor of Arts (B.A Honours Programme) accept the requirements of the
University relating to the retention and use of Bachelor's Graduation Paper deposited in
the library.
In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library
should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal
conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper
Signature

Date


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This thesis becomes a reality with the kind support and help of many individuals. I
would like to extend my sincere thanks to all of them.
First and foremost, I want to offer this endeavor to Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Tam (Ph.D),
my beloved supervisor. She was my teacher for “Functional Grammar” course, which laid
the foundation for my study. Given my first encounter with research in Linguistics, she
guided me through every step of conducting this paper with her highly selective and
enlightening consultation sessions. Moreover, her sense of humor and constant heartwarming encouragement really reduced my worry and boosted my spirit to handle the
heavy workload.
I would also like to acknowledge the Website from which my corpus was taken. Without
the availability of such materials, this study would not have taken shape.

Besides, I am immensely grateful to other fellow classmates for their sharing and
valuable clarification as well as explanation for my misgivings in the process of completing
this thesis.
Finally, my thanks and appreciation also go to my family because they are always by
my side and offer me the best physical and mental condition, which urged me to forge
ahead despite setbacks.

i


ABSTRACT
This research aims at investigating the frequency of Themes and Thematic Progression
(TP) patterns on three different disciplines (Natural Science, Social Science and Design
Science) of Statement of Purposes for Ph.D application. The data corpus consisting of 12
successfully accepted samples was analyzed using mainly qualitative method with the aid
of quantitative one as well as McCabe’s (1999) model of thematic progression. According
to the results of this study, concerning Theme type, Topical Theme is the most frequently
used one, followed by Textual and Interpersonal Theme. With regards to the frequency of
TP patterns, Simple Linear pattern is the most prevalent in the surveyed data, followed by
Split Rheme, Constant, Derived Hypertheme and Split Theme respectively. Such order of
distribution is generally in line with the existing literature from different genres because
the topic of Themes and TP patterns in Statement of Purposes for Ph.D application is under
research. The analysis reveals that the process of writing a SoP tends to serve the purpose
of a particular discipline rather than putting too much emphasis on the text’s cohesion.
Such realization also indicates the distinguishing features of SoPs as a genre itself: though
SoPs are pieces of academic writing, they are free-style products in terms of theme and
thematic pattern choices.
Keywords: Themes, Thematic Progression, Statement of Purposes, Ph.D application,
disciplines

ii


TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

i

ABSTRACT

ii

LISTS OF TABLES, FIGURES AND ABBREVIATIONS

v

PART 1: INTRODUCTION

1

1.

Rationale of the Study

2

2.

Research Aims and Objectives

2

3.

Significance

2

4.

Scope of Research

3

5.

Design of the Study

3

CHAPTER I

4

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW

4

1.1.

Systemic Functional Linguistics and the Metafunctions

4

1.2.

Theme - Rheme System

5

1.3.

Thematic Progression

10

1.4.

Statement of Purposes as a genre

13

1.5.

Review of Previous Studies

14

CHAPTER 2

17

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

17

2.1.

Data Corpus

17

2.2.

Research Methods

17

2.3.

Data Collection and Sampling

17

2.4.

Analytical Framework

21

2.5.

Data Analysis Procedure

23

CHAPTER III

25

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

25
iii


3.1.

Findings

25

3.2.

Discussion: Answers to Research question

34

PART 3: CONCLUSION

41

1. Summary of the study

41

2. Implications

42

3. Limitations and Suggestions for Further Studies

42

REFERENCES

44

APPENDIX

51

iv


LISTS OF TABLES, FIGURES AND ABBREVIATIONS LIST
OF TABLES
Table 1.1: Three Metafunctions of language

4

Table 1.2: Types of Topical Themes

6

Table 1.3: Types of Interpersonal Themes

7

Table 1.4: Types of Textual Themes

8

Table 1.5: Generic element framework

14

Table 2.1: Sorting SoPs according to disciplines

17

Table 2.2: SoPs’ sorting criteria according to types

19

Table 2.3: Chosen SoPs in Natural Science category

20

Table 2.4: Chosen SoPs in Social Science category

20

Table 2.5: Chosen SoPs in Design Science category

21

Table 3.1: Proportions of three types of themes

25

Table 3.2: Proportions of three conjunctions ‘and,but,so’

26

Table 3.3: Proportions of three types of themes according to disciplines

27

Table 3.4: Proportions of Interpersonal and Textual theme types according
to elements

28

Table 3.5: Proportions of five TP types in the corpus
Table 3.6: Proportions of five TP patterns according to disciplines

29
30

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1: The system network of Theme selection and Theme range

9

Figure 1.2: Example of multiple Theme

9

Figure 2.1: Analytical framework of TP patterns

20

Figure 3.1: TP pattern of TP pattern of SoP no.24 (T-Units 64-67)

31

v


Figure 3.2: TP pattern of SoP no.21 (T- Units13-18)

31

Figure 3.3: TP pattern of SoP no.3 (T-Units 30-32)

32

Figure 3.4: TP pattern of SoP no.33 (T-Units 10-12)

32

Figure 3.5: TP pattern of SoP no.19 (T-Units 25-27)

33

Figure 3.6: TP pattern of SoPs no.17 (T-Units 51-53)

34

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
SoP

Statement of Purposes

TP:

Thematic Progression

SLP:

Simple Linear Pattern

CP:

Constant Pattern

SRP:

Split Rheme Pattern

STP:

Split Theme Pattern

DHP:

Derived Hypertheme Pattern

vi


PART 1: INTRODUCTION

1. Rationale of the Study
Statement of Purposes (SoP) or the graduate school application letter (Ding, 2007), is
considered an important academic promotional document required by in graduate application
process in most English-speaking universities (Luo, 2020). SoPs are important as they enable
applicants to stand out compared to their competitors (Luo, 2020). SoPs introduce applicants’
interests and experience to the admissions committee and provide insights that “may not be
covered in the other areas of the application” (Lee et al., 2008, p. 170). From a genre
perspective, SoPs are considered a highly complex academic genre (Chen, 2017) since they are
not used for within-group communication, but “a means of establishing a (credible) claim to a
scholarly identity” (Hyland, 2012, p. 72) to gain acceptance to their prospective discourse
communities. As a result, SoPs challenge the newcomers because they “have read few, and
written even fewer, documents of this kind” (Brown, 2004, p. 243), “have no adequate
knowledge of the context” (Ding, 2007, p. 387).
In SoP writing, non-native applicants face more difficulties and stand fewer chances
for the next-round selection (Max, Gelfand, Brooks, Beckerly & Segal, 2010). Their mistakes
of word choice, sentence structure and organization are easily detected since most of the

decision makers or ‘gatekeepers’ are native speakers (Crimson, 2004). Even when non-native
applicants employ correct grammatical structures, it might be considered as ‘awkward’ choices
owing to writers’ unfamiliarity with the English language and its culture. Furthermore, they are
expected from targeted audiences with a SoP “more shaped by local cultural values and national
academic traditions than is the case with more technical writing” (Swales & Feak, 1994, p.
229)
Besides above-mentioned difficulties, there remains one fact that some U.S universities
limit the word count of a SoP as Crimson (2004) stated in his book titled “50 Successful
Harvard Application Essays: what worked for them can help you get into the college of your
choice”, in which the word limit is specifically suggested as “500 words” (p. 3). This means
the overall organization mainly shown through text cohesion and coherence plays an essential
role in writing a SoP.

1


With its crucial role in creating a cohesive and coherent piece of writing, the researcher
investigates in Thematic Progression (hereafter called TP) with the hope to partially assist
applicants in SoP writing. Regarding limited studies on SoPs TP in this aspect has been underresearched. Indeed, there exists a lacuna in the investigation into TP patterns in SoP writing,
which the present study aims to address.
All of the aforementioned conditions afford the researcher a chance to conduct a study
concerning ‘The Realization of Thematic Progression in Statement of Purposes for Ph.D
scholarship application to U.S Universities”.
2. Aims and Objectives of the Study
This research aims to investigate the realization of themes and TP of SoP for Ph.D
Students to top-ranking universities in America. To realize this aim, two research objectives
are set out, which are: (i) exploring the realization of Themes and TP in Ph.D Statement of
Purposes samples
In accordance with these aforementioned aims and objectives, the study seeks the
answer to the overarching question:

What is the realization of Themes and Thematic Progression in Statement of Purposes
for Ph.D scholarship application to US Universities?
In order to find the answer to this overarching research question, the thesis writer answer
these two sub-research questions:
1. How are themes and thematic progression patterns employed in the SoPs?
2. How are the employment of thematic progression different among disciplines?
3. Significance of the study
This study aims at investigating the TP patterns in successful SoPs to U.S high-ranking
universities. It serves four main purposes of the researcher. On a personal level, as a pre-service
teacher, the researcher hopes to gain deeper insights into TP - one important aspect of text
coherence and cohesion. With a considerable amount of time for this research and the
knowledge acquired, it is hoped that the findings of this thesis can help students improve their
writing texts with proper theme and TP pattern choices to achieve coherent text development,
especially when they want to write a SoP for a scholarship. On a larger scale, as writing SoPs
is considered a “tough thing” (Barton & Brown, 2004, p. 11), this study is expected to assist

2


scholarship applicants, especially Ph.D ones, to produce impressive SoPs by understanding
how they can arrange and develop their ideas effectively with their choice of TP patterns.
Thirdly, the findings of this study hopefully becomes a useful source of reference to help later
researchers, teachers and applicants with their academic purposes. Lastly, despite its limited
generalizability, this study is expected to address the current research gap in the literature
regarding realization of TP in SoPs.
4. Scope of the Study
The chosen data were taken from the book ‘Real Stories: 40 Successful Application
Cases to G-School’. This book is a popular source of reference for Vietnamese schofans and is
widely shared by famous scholarship fan pages. The corpus in this study is 12 SoPs in three
different disciplines, namely Natural science, Social science, Design science. The writers of

these SoPs were selected to be those with TOEFL paper scoring above 600/677 and GRE score
above 2000 in total (Including Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning and Analytical
Reasoning).
5. Organization of the Study
The study is divided into the following parts:
Part 1: Introduction is concerned with research problems and rationale for the research.
Moreover, it also presents research aims and objectives, research questions, significance, and
the scope.
Chapter 1: Theoretical Background and Literature Review provides an overview of the
theories and previous studies related to the research topic.
Chapter 2: Research Methodology discusses research methods, data corpus, analytical
framework, data collection and data analysis procedure.
Chapter 3: Findings and Discussion presents findings and discussion in accordance with the
research questions.
Part 3: Conclusion provides the summary and limitations of the study as well as offers some
suggestions for further studies.

3


CHAPTER 1
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW
1. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1.1. Systemic Functional Linguistics
Developed by M.A.K Halliday in the 1960s, Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) is a
language theory which puts its focus on the notion of language function. This approach views
language as a social semiotic system or “interrelated sets of options for making meaning”
(Halliday, 1994, p.15). Halliday and Matthiessen (2004) state that “when we analyse a text, we
show what meaningful choices have been made, each one seen in the context of what might
have been meant was not”. Hence, the notion of choice here is very essential since language is

inherently functional and “creates and expresses meaning” (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2004, p.
19). SFL concerns how language both acts upon, and is constrained by, a social context. In other
words, its main emphasis is how and why we use language in our daily lives (Thompson, 2013),
therefore, goes opposite to the notion of formal grammar where semantics, syntax or word
classes are of more importance. In his book, Thompson (2013) summarizes three main functions
of language we use as to:
●

represent our experience of the inner and outer worlds, to describe the involved
phenomena, states and entities;

●

establish and maintain interactions as well as relations with other people, to influence
their behavior, to talk about our perspectives of the world, and to elicit or change theirs;

●

organize messages in such a way to make them cohere with the surrounding messages
and the broader context of interaction.
According to Halliday (1975), language has developed in response to three kinds of

social-functional ‘needs’, which are labelled into three metafunctions outlined in the table
below:
Table 1.1: Three Metafunctions of Language (Adapted from Halliday, 1975)
Metafunction

Definition

Ideational (Experiential Language is used to construe experience in terms of what is going on

and Logical)

around us and inside us

4


Interpersonal

Language is used to interact with the social world by negotiating
social roles and attitudes

Textual

Language is used to create messages with which we can package our
meanings in terms of what is New or Given

Among these metafunctions, Textual metafunction, whose major system is formed by
the choice of Theme and Rheme, as claimed by Forey (2002), is the main focus of this study.
However, the two other metafunctions will be still considered as the choice in textual
metafunction is closely linked to those of ideational and interpersonal ones in that it makes
speakers’ expression of experience and relation understood (Matthiessen, 1995).
1.2 Theme - Rheme System
1.2.1 Theme and Rheme definition
The Theme-Rheme structure is considered as “the basic form of the organization of the
clause as message” (Halliday, 1985: 53). It can be divided in two ways: Theme, and Rheme (Li,
2011) or Theme-transitional zone-Rheme (Erdmann, 1990).
There are various ways to define Theme (McCabe, 1999). For example, from a broad
scale, Theme is defined as the signal of “the relationship between the thought in the speaker’s
mind and its expression in discourse” (Vasconcellos, 1992:147), which is, in other words,

considered as Topic or “what the sentence is about” (Witte, 1983, p. 338). This is not supported
by Halliday (1994, cited in McCabe, 1999) as he points out that “The label ‘Topic’ usually
refers to only one particular type of Theme”. Meanwhile, Salih (2008) views Theme as “what
is known or grasped from the text”, which accords with Erdmann (1990) and Babby (1980, as
cited in Kopple, 1991). Firbas (2004), however, shares a different way of giving Theme a
definition: “the sentence element or elements, carrying the lowest degree of Communicative
Dynamism (CD) within the sentence”. Nevertheless, this study chooses to adopt the definition
of Halliday and Matthiessen (2013). This definition posits that Theme is “the point of departure
of message” (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2013, p. 89).
In accordance with this definition, Theme is positioned to be always in the first place of
the clause (Eggins, 2004; Halliday, 1994; Halliday & Mathiessen, 2004), “up to and including
the first Topical constituent” (Thompson, 2013, p. 165). Although this definition appears to

5


give Theme a strict position, it is chosen as the working definition in this research because the
“point of departure” offers more than just starting a sentence (Davies, 1997, cited in Wei, 2015;
Fries, 1983; Green et al., 200; Halliday, 1994; Hoey, 2012; Martin, 1992). To be specific,
Halliday (1994) highlights that this initial position gives Theme a ‘special status’ as it provides
the context for the rest of the message. In addition, the “point of departure” also acts as a means
by which the clause is organised as a message or initiates “the semantic journey” (McCabe,
1999, p. 62). Hence, “a wrong scent” and “a sort of correction and partial change of concept”
will be noticed (Bentham, 1839, p. 268) whenever a word is misplaced to express an original
idea.
Similar to Theme, Rheme is also defined in a variety of ways. It can be termed as “the
remainder of the message” (Halliday, 2004, p. 64) or “the rest of message” (Bloor & Bloor,
2004, p. 71). There is one agreement that its existence serves one main function: the carrier of
a clause’s message (Mulatsih, 2010) as “the part in which Theme is developed” (Halliday
& Matthiessen, 2014, p. 89). If Theme is understood as “what is known or given in the text”,

Rheme is known as “what the clause has to say about the theme” (Paltridge, 2006, p. 146). Once
the Theme of a clause is identified, then the rest of the clause is considered as the Rheme
(Thompson, 2006). In many stances, Rheme can typically contain unfamiliar or New
information (Eggins, 2004), while Theme is related to Given Information (Halliday, 1994:37).
1.2.2 Categorisation of Theme
In accordance with three metafunctions, Halliday (1994) divides the Theme into three types,
namely Topical (Experiential) Theme, Interpersonal Theme and Textual Theme.
1.2.2.1. Functional categorization of theme
●

Topical (Experiential) Theme

The Theme of a clause must include Topical or Experiential Theme and may also include
optional elements namely Textual and Interpersonal Themes. The table below illustrates three
types of Topical Theme:
Table 1.2: Types of Topical Theme. (Adapted from Halliday, 2014)

6


Type

Definition

process

any activity which is done - an equivalent of verb in are,

participant

Examples
give,

traditional terminology

reported

a person or thing involved in a process

they, this, I

circumstance a situation or surrounding in which the process occurs - an in
equivalent of adverb

is

Vietnam,

recently

As illustrated in the Table 1.2, Topical Theme is a component in a clause which can be
a participant, circumstance or process (Halliday, 1994; Halliday & Mathiessen, 2004). It
represents human experience, inner world or conceptions.
●

Interpersonal Theme
Interpersonal Theme refers to a vocative, a modal adjunct, or a finite verbal operator

(Eggins, 1994; Halliday & Mathiessen, 2004, p. 79) that exists before the topical theme.
Table 1.3: Types of Interpersonal Themes (Adapted from Halliday, 2014)

Type

Definition

Examples

vocative

any item, typically (but not necessarily) a personal John, Boys
name, being used to address

modal/comment

a word or group that expresses the speaker/writer’s surprisingly,

adjunct

judgement on or attitude to the content of the frankly, certainly
message
verbal the small set of finite auxiliary verbs that continues would,

finite
operator

primary tense or modality

can,

do,

does

Interpersonal Theme indicates the interaction between writers and speakers as well as
the point of view being taken in the clause (Paltrigde, 2006, p. 147). Besides, Interpersonal

7


Themes function to explicitly construe writer viewpoint and are realized by Modal Adjuncts,
which is then a concern of this study’s data corpus.
●

Textual Theme

A Textual Theme functions as a tool to arrange information in a certain order. It can be
realized into three ways including continuatives, conjunctions and conjunctive adjuncts.
Table 1.4: Types of Textual Themes (Adapted from Halliday, 2014)
Type

Definition

Examples

continuative

a small set of words that signal a move in a response or yes, no, well, oh,
dialogue, or a new move to the next point of the discourse now

conjunction

a word or group that either hypotically or paratactically and, or, but
links one clause to another

conjunctive

an adverbial group or prepositional phrase that relates a As

a

result,

adjunct

clause to the preceding sentence, signaling how the clause Alternatively
fits with the text

Textual themes in clauses are typically thematic since they support a text’s structure by
relating the clause to the preceding text and thus usually come first in order to realize this linking
role. Hence, they assist as a signal of the text’s coherence because they relate the meaning
expressed in one clause to that in another, and are thus textual in nature.
1.2.2.2. Structural categorization of theme
Another categorization is that Theme can be divided depending on its composition.
Among three theme types, only Topical Theme is obligatory and may be preceded by either
Interpersonal or Textual Theme or even both (Halliday, 2004). Theme is called “Simple
Theme” if it is constructed by only one element among those three, which always includes a
Topical element (Halliday, 1985). Within the “Simple Theme”, the Topical Theme might be
either unmarked or marked. Simple marked Theme refers to the case when a topical element is
chosen for foregrounding while simple unmarked Theme refers to that which is most usual.
“Multiple Theme” refers to the case in which a clause has more than one element of Theme. If

8


Interpersonal and/or Textual Themes occur before Topical Theme, it is also part of Theme and
is labelled as “Multiple Theme” (Thompson, 2013). There are three possible combinations of
‘Multiple Theme”, which are: (i) the combination of a Textual theme and a Topical theme; (ii)
the combination of an Interpersonal theme and a Topical theme; and (iii) the combination of a
Textual theme, an Interpersonal Theme and a Topical theme. Concerning Theme range, it can
either include a single Theme which consists of a topical (ideational) Theme or a multiple
Theme. The last case is “Clausal Theme” when a clause functions as the Theme. Figure 1 below
is the system network of Theme selection and Theme range (Thompson, 2014).

Figure 1.1: The system network of Theme selection and Theme range (Thompson, 2014)

From Figure 1 above, and as affirmed by Halliday and Matthiessen (2014), Theme can
consist of only one of three the three elements. In other words, Theme and Rheme will be
distinguished right behind the first constituent that is either participant, circumstances or
process. Figure 1.2 illustrates 2 combination of themes in clauses with Multiple themes.
Figure 1.2: Examples of multiple Theme.
9


(Adapted by Halliday & Matthiessen, 2004, p. 86)

1.3 Thematic Progression (TP)
1.3.1 Definition
Theme and thematic progression (TP) is a major aspect of “how speakers construct their
messages in a way which makes them fit smoothly into the unfolding language event”
(Thompson, 2014, p. 117). The notion of TP was first proposed as a theory by Frantisek Daneš
in 1974. Marfuaty (2015) regards TP as a notable aspect in the study of Systemic Functional

Linguistics for its function as a cohesive tie which plays a crucial role in tracing the focus and
the flow of information in a text (Carter-Thomas, 1999; Paltridge, 2006; Sade, 2007). Moreover,
TP also gives “the clause its character as a message” (Halliday, 1994, p. 37; Halliday &
Mathiessen, 2004) and indicates the distribution of information as well as the incorporation of
these organizational patterns in a text (Kuo, 1995; Lee, 2002a).
Regarding TP definition, Daneš (1974) proposes the term ‘Thematic Progression’ as:
…the choice and ordering of utterance Themes, their mutual concatenation and
hierarchy, as well as their relationship to the hyperThemes of the superior text units
(such as the paragraph, chapter…), to the whole text and to the situation. Thematic
progression might be viewed as the skeleton of the plot (p.114).
However, this study adopts the simplified definition of TP introduced by Paltridge
(2006), which refers to “the way in which the Theme of a clause may pick up, or repeat, the
meaning from a preceding Theme or Rheme” (Paltridge, 2006, p.148).
1.3.2. Categorization of Thematic Progression
Since TP has been the interest of many scholars, many ways of categorisation schemes
for TP have been proposed in the existing literature. For instance, Danes (1974) classifies TP

10


into three main types: (1) simple linear theme (TP with linear thematization of rhemes), (2)
constant/continuous theme, and (3) multiple theme or split rheme (TP with Derived T’s)
(Rørvik, 2003; Paltridge, 2006). Meanwhile, Dubois (1987) reduces Daneš’ three types to two
main ones, including themic and rhemic, each of which may be simple or multiple, contiguous
or gapped. Eggins (2004) labels three patterns of TP as Re-iteration pattern, Zig-zag pattern and
Multiple-Theme pattern.
This study employs McCabe’s (1999) model of thematicity and definition of TP, which
is a revised version of Daneš’s (1974) model. These patterns include: Simple Linear, Constant
Theme, Derived Hypertheme, Split Rheme and Split Theme. “The rationale for the selection of
the above classifications was that they are more plausible, attestable, and complete than the

other categorizations used for analyzing theme and TP patterns in texts” (Martínez, 2003, p.
108). Below is the definition and example of 5 types of TP adopted in this study:
(i) Simple Linear Progression (SLP): The Rheme of the previous clause becomes the theme
of the following clause.
Example:
Children may work for many reasons. The most important and common reason of children’s
work is poverty (Official IELTS practice material, 2009).
(ii) Constant Progression (CP): The theme of the previous clause is the same as the theme of
the following clause. In other words, the theme of the first clause is selected as the theme of the
subsequent clauses as well.
Example:
In many countries children are engaged in some kind of paid work. Most of these children work
because they don’t have any other choice (Official IELTS practice material, 2009).
(iii) Derived Hypertheme Progression (DHP): The Themes in subsequent clauses are derived
from a hypertheme or from the same overriding Theme in the previous clause.
Example:
Children’s education is a more important way to achieve their goals in their life. We understand
that working is an obstacle to education and spoils their opportunities. This attitude does not
pay attention to children’s moral standards and also overlooks their capacity of working
(Official IELTS practice material, 2009).

11


(iv) Split Rheme Progression (SRP): The Rheme of a clause contains two or more ideas which
are picked up in following clauses. In other words, the Rheme of the first clause is split into
two items which in turn become the Theme of the subsequent clauses.
Example:
I myself do agree with this idea because of two main reasons: taking responsibility, and
standing on their own feet. The first reason for doing paid work for children is that they should

take responsibility in their life. The second one that persuaded me to agree with the idea of
doing paid work by children is standing on their own feet (Official IELTS practice material,
2009).
(v) Split Theme Progression (STP): The theme of the first clause is composed of two or more
items, each of which is considered a theme in the following clause.
(See more in 2.4)
1.3.3. The role of TP in a text
TP plays a significant role in text quality, particularly in terms of cohesion and
coherence. To be specific, Danes (1974) states that the organization of a text’s information is
determined by the progression in the sequence of utterance of themes and their corresponding
rhemes. He implies that TP represents the coherence and cohesion between different parts of a
text as it shows the “concatenation and hierarchy” of themes in relation to the previous one, to
the text as a whole or to the surrounding circumstances. Halliday (1985) shares the same idea
when he regards TP as an essential method of discourse organization. This can be explained by
the fact that TP is actually a main aspect of “how speakers construct their messages in a way
which makes them fit smoothly into the unfolding language event” and it “propels the text to
develop forward and provide continuity in discourse” (Kang, 2016, p.1). His view is also agreed
by Ma (2001), Mellos (2011), Naderi and Koohestanian (2014, in Nguyen and Nguyen, 2018),
Ren et al. (2009, as cited in Rakhman, 2013), Rakhman (2013) and Wang (2010). Ebrahimi and
Ebrahimi (2014) emphasize the role of TP patterns as a guide for readers throughout a text
which is logically constructed by the choice and ordering of Themes. For all the aforementioned
reasons, it is likely that writings with TP employment reach a higher level of cohesion and
coherence. For instance, in a research of Wang (2010) on the application of TP in low-, middleand high-scoring essays of students, he finds out that the effectiveness of TP use is closely

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related to the coherence of a writing. The more effectively TP patterns are employed, the more
coherent the writing is, hence the higher score. Ho (2009)’s study shows the same result as
writings composed after training sessions about TP achieve a considerably higher degree of text

coherence and cohesion compared to the pre-training ones.
In contrast, the insufficient or inappropriate use of TP in writings also leads to certain
problems, which have been researched in many studies such as Jing (2013), Khedri and
Ebrahimi (2012), Wang (2007) and Wei (2015). For example, in a research on a university
student’s writing, Wang (2007) finds out the lack in the TP patterns with only 4 cross-referential
links overall. This lack is then claimed to be a contributor to the problematic coherence and
cohesion of the writing itself.
1.4. Statement of Purposes as a genre
Several studies on the SoP genre have attempted to reduce its opaqueness by
interviewing graduate admission committee members (Brown, 2004; Samraj & Monk, 2008;
Chiu, 2015). Two continuous questions emerge from the reported interviews. The first one is
whether the construction of ‘personal-self’ should be paid special attention. Though some
disciplines related to humanistic epistemology might follow this advice, others such as
psychology and electronic engineering have a preference toward scientific epistemology
without much excessive personal details. Another question refers to what extent a SoP decides
the success of a scholarship application document. Through the interviews with 19 faculty
members in education, Chiu (2015) finds that the evaluative processes of SoPs has a broad
association with the epistemological assumptions and the bureaucratic admission procedures of
specific discourse communities.
Despite different findings offered by the previous studies on SoP genre, they still have
two main limitations. Firstly, the data sets, with only 20 to 35 samples from few disciplines, are
insufficient for the generalizability of the findings. Secondly, these studies have put their
emphasis on the SoP genre’s macro features such as functional move structure and generic
structure, meanwhile, the micro ones like Theme and Thematic Progression have been largely
neglected.
1.4.2. Structure of SoPs

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Due to the lack of knowledge or familiarity with the SoP format (Brown, 2004; Swales,
1996; Swales et al., 2004), applicants may find it challenging to produce a cohesive text in each
section. Hence, the researcher decides to investigate its generic structure in accordance with the
TP patterns’ allocation. One typical framework is proposed by Chiu (2016), which contains five
moves and 22 steps. This is also viewed as a suggested structure or flow for a SoP. From the
perspective of Systemic Functional Grammar, the term ‘move’ will be adopted but understood
and replaced as ‘generic element’, which is henceforth employed in this research.
Table 1.5: Generic element framework. (Adapted from Chiu, 2016)
Element

Content

1

Applicants’ introduction: personal background, research interest or generalization
about the discipline

2

Introduction of relevant background: academic achievements and experiences,
work experiences, research interests, language and cultural proficiency and
background (travel, family and personality)

3

Reasons for application: consists of five steps, namely gap in applicant background,
personal ambition, programme and university attributes/understanding, selfreflection, and disciplinary or research reasons.

4

Extra-curricular information

5

Conclusion: future success prediction, self-promotion, expression of proposed
study’s understanding, praise for the institution, possible contribution to the course

The understanding the overall structure and main focus of a SoP through this genrebased analysis is important to the study of TP as “the need to conflate GS (Generic Structure)
with Theme seems even more pressing when one considers the role that is played by Theme in
organizing discourse and method of development of text” (Farrokhi, Ansarin & Khalili, 2016).
Plus, the structural manipulation or corrections also heavily influence the patterns’ continuity,
often “linking back up a sequence of T-units disrupted by inappropriate lexico-grammatical

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choices” in a text (Farrokhi, Ansarin & Khalili, 2016). Hence, the researcher decides to adopt
the Move-step Framework by Chiu (2016) to categorize the generic elements of SoPs in the
corpus for the convenience and systematic purpose.
1.5. Review of the previous studies
1.5.1. Previous research on instructions in SoP writing
There is a consensus among researchers regarding the role of Theme and Thematic
Progression in text cohesion and coherence (Halliday, 1994; Ma, 2001; Mellos, 2011; Naderi
& Koohestanian, 2014; Rakhman, 2013; Ren et al., 2009; Wang, 2010). From the perspective
of Hallidayan Functional Grammar, TP is crucial in creating a cohesive and coherent piece of
writing. To be more specific, TP patterns help “enhance connectivity between ideas” and “guide
readers through the logical paths constructed by the writers” (Ebrahimi & Ebrahimi, 2014). In
the case of SoP writing, the writers ultimately aim at persuading the admission committee to
accept them as a scholar (Dejica & Superceanu, 2004) by inherently presenting their points and
supporting ideas using many techniques, among which is the choice and positioning of sentence

parts. Different parts in a SoP can successfully form a coherent section if the information is
structured in a way that preserves consistency with the topic and the logical links between the
items (Dejica & Superceanu, 2004). Therefore, the study of Theme and TP is worthwhile as it
analyses the contributing factors to the making, and persuasive import of a text (Rørvik, 2003).
Accordingly, the analysis of TP in these SoPs can highlight certain features related to Theme
and TP choices that can influence and be adopted in SoP writing.
Despite its significance, White (2015) states that non-native English speakers show
difficulties in selecting appropriate themes to the culture of a particular academic field. Zhang
(2004) and Cheng (2002) point out one typical problem of this group regarding using Themes
which is not connected to the preceding or following themes, leading to a lack of cohesion.
They are found to often have to contend with language transfer from their mother tongue when
trying to select themes and build TP (Melios, 2011). Thus, to succeed in constructing a coherent
and cohesive text by using Theme and Rheme, they need to be introduced both which types of
Themes are most common to a particular discipline and be able to apply these in certain
disciplinary-specific patterns of TP.

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As the chosen SoPs belong to three different categories, with each of them containing
different disciplines, the study of previous research on Theme application in disciplinary
differences may play an important role in predicting the future findings. A comparative research
on article abstracts in Engineering and Applied Linguistics carried out by Ebrahimi and Khedri
(2011) shows that abstracts of the former employ both interpersonal (14% to 5%) and textual
(27% to 23%) more than the latter’s. The study also finds that SLP and CP are more used in the
Chemical Engineering abstracts. After comparing different article abstracts from 30 different
disciplines, Ghadessy (1999) notes that Geography articles use more simple Themes than
Finance (84.6% to 47.4%), while Finance applies more multiple Themes than Plant Pathology
(52,6% to 10%) and Sociology employs more unmarked Themes than Film and Cinema Studies
(100% to 70.6%). Regarding the genre textbook, Taylor (1983) and Lovejoy (1998) both find

out that Topical Themes are more common in history textbooks, and in case of Lovejoy (1998)
also Psychology textbooks, as compared to those of Natural Sciences. This is also the findings
of North (2005) as she sees a higher employment of Topical Themes in Arts writings in
comparison to Natural Sciences’. This is explained as the former has “a greater tendency to
present knowledge as constructed and contested, rather than as a plain matter of fact” (Ibid., p.
449). North concludes that “variation in disciplinary culture is reflected in academic writing,
leaving its trace in the linguistic and rhetorical features of disciplinary texts” (North, 2005, p.
431).
Considering all aforementioned findings above, the researcher decides to work on an
under-research field to contribute to SoP writing process, which is analyzing TP in SoP writing
based on Systemic Functional Linguistics approach.

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