A CHECKLIST TO ASSESS THE USE OF DISCOURSE MARKERS IN STUDENTS’ WRITING

Erma Sujiyani (Universitas Palangkaraya)
Atiqah Nurul Asri (Politeknik Negeri Malang)
Maya Rizki Fauzia (Universitas Brawijaya)
Nur Mukminatien (Universitas Negeri Malang)

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya
Vol 42, No 2 (2014)

Discourse markers (DMs) play a crucial role in writing as ‘linking words’, ‘linking phrases’, or ‘sentence connectors’ that bind ideas between sentences in a paragraph  or between paragraphs to  build  coherence  in a text.  DMs should be sufficiently but not overly used in writing. As EFL learners find it difficult to identify the types, functions, and positions of DMs to link ideas in their academic writing, this article attempts to share an instrument in the form of DMs checklist to help learners enhance their knowledge of DMs. The checklist can also be used as teacher/peer feedback form in the writing process.