Going from oral to written discourse

What is it about?

This study investigates the extent to which 31 persuasive texts written by Norwegian sixth graders contain typical ‘oral grammar patterns’, which most children have experience with. The data material was obtained from the Norwegian Norm Project (2012–2016). Our main findings are that the written texts contain typical oral grammar characterized by intricate clause complexes and few elaborated nominal groups. We discuss whether this oral writing style may be connected to the writing practices in the schools where the texts were collected and, more generally, to the Norwegian writing culture, where spoken language traditionally has been a model for writing.

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Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash

Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash

Why is it important?

In a Norwegian context, we know relatively little about the degree to which grammar is linked to writing in classroom instruction (Blikstad-Balas & Roe, 2020; Haugen, 2019). We also have limited knowledge on how and to what degree teachers emphasize grammar and wording in assessments of student texts (Matre & Solheim, 2014). There are some studies of persuasive writing in general (e.g., Igland, 2007; Øgreid, 2008, 2017) but no recent studies specifically on grammatical patterns in persuasive texts written by Norwegian students. Our study is a contribution to this field.