Gateways into writing: a social-semiotic lens on eight to eleven year olds’ evolving modes of thematic progression

Abstract

Children’s evolving use of sentential theme position reflects the emergence of an individual writing style differentiated from their spoken language. Choice of theme position indicates both the linguistic tools available to the writer and the structure being imposed across the text. Previous research suggests that manipulation of theme position can be challenging to learn but is important for ‘knowledge-transformation’ (Bereiter and Scardamalia 1987). In the light of social-semiotic research suggesting that young writers ‘re-make’ (Kress 1996, 228) those conventions which become socially or intellectually meaningful to them, this article reports on longitudinal research which used an analysis framework informed by Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) to chart the evolution of theme use and modes of thematic progression in the writing of 24 children from the age of eight to eleven years. In particular, the research sought to identify potential ‘gateways’ (Halliday 1993) into new worlds of meaning afforded by alternative modes of thematic progression. Findings reveal interdependence between writer motivation, linguistic knowledge and content knowledge in the appropriation of established conventions for thematic progression. Writers’ active engagement with, and analysis of, content knowledge was identified as the driving force behind these transformations.