My Thesis

After 5 months of hardwork, dedication, and sacrifices, finally, a thesis is done! Let me share with you what our study is all about. Actually, this paper is already presented in an undergrad research conference last March 12.

Topical Structure Analysis: The Case of the

Essays Written by Cebuano

Multiligual Students

Cris Barabas

Degree: AB Linguistics and Literature

University of San Carlos, Cebu City, Philippines

Research Professor: Rowanne Marie Maxilom, Ph.D.

Research Adviser: Prof. Avelino Guatno

Panelist: Prof. Easter Londelyn Mendoza

ABSTRACT

This study attempted to describe and analyze the topical structure of paragraphs written by the Cebuano multilingual students enrolled in a selected English 2 class at the University of San Carlos during the second semester of the Academic Year 2008-2009. The students were asked to write a definition essay and by the use of purposive sampling, only the second paragraph of the essays that have at least 5 independent clauses were analyzed. Using the framework of Lautamatti (1987) which is the Topical Structure Analysis, the researchers investigated the types of progressions that were commonly used in the paragraphs, described how these progressions were carried out and established the common elements used in the paragraphs.

The findings of the study revealed that the majority of the students preferred to use the sequential progression in developing their topics. Parallel progression followed on the rank, while extended parallel progression was least used. This, however, suggests that in the initial and body parts of the paragraphs, students used either parallel or sequential progressions and tend to go back to their topical subject by employing extended parallel progression in the concluding clause. Nouns and repetition of these words were commonly used to connect their ideas, pronouns ranked second while noun phrases were least used.

The majority of the students could connect their ideas throughout the paragraph by employing parallel and sequential progressions. This would suggest that these students can write good paragraphs but there were some students also that have difficulty in achieving such coherence because of lack of lexical resources which can be attributed to their educational and socio-cultural background.

Defended last March 05, 2009 at 01:30 pm in CAS Graduate Conference Hall (Rm. # GR134A-MC) USC Main Campus.

revisiting multiply

Seems like a decade since I last visited this site. I haven't wrote anything here this past few months. No wonder my multiply site seems to be so archaic, like nobody's taking care of it. Well I'm back to share what happened in my life these past months. I'm sorry if this writing would somewhat be incoherent, it seems like my brain cells are not working that well after months of hardwork (sacrifices?) hehehe. Somewhat ironic, after all, my thesis topic is on writing coherently, hehehe... but I'm glad to say that I'm done with my thesis,... I'm done facing the most difficult phase of college life. And I'm proud to say that I got an excellent grade for my work, was able to defend it succesfully and done with all the editing stuffs, I'm now in the publishing phase.. hehehe ... With all the busy days and lots of work to do, I feel the tension of a graduating student. I don't know why I feel like I'm graduating when in fact I'm not.. heheh am i pre-empting the feeling? True to its nature, working on thesis isn't just a small task, I mean it really includes responsibility and dedication. During those times that I'm working on my thesis, it seems like my mind's also working if what field to pursue. I realized that thesis making has its advantages and disadvantages. For me, different personalities in one persona is revealed. It also gives me direction and made me more responsible in my academic life. And research is definitely one of the exciting fields in the academe. And now my undergrad thesis making is over, and I'm sure I'm gonna miss those times when it seems like the world's crashing me. Chasing adviser, revising, sleeping late,
being dependent on coffee, facing the computer overnight, spending money ( changing study location), I will definitely miss these things and activities... letting the time past while making something productive is really a worthwhile activity. I'm glad even for a while, I was able to forgot some of the nonsense problems that shouldn't be entertained (pretty nonsense).See? and its all because of my thesis. Now i realized how wonderful my classmates are for being with me in this endeavor. "How's your thesis?", "What part are you now?" "Are you done editing chapter bla bla bla?" These used to be each other's queries whenever we met in the lobby or anywhere. And the feeling was great. It seems like everybody's excited to listen each other's stories, each other's woes, each other's cries... heeheheheh... But after the paper presentation, it seems like a big heavy load on each other's shoulder is taken away. And i wouldn't have felt such wonderful feeling if i didn't enroll my thesis class... Bye!!!

January 11, 2008 Sunday

It’s Sunday. As usual, I immersed myself watching DVDs or if not, writing something. Now i’m trying to ponder if what’s happening in my life. I know life’s not fair. Yeah. You’ve heard it so many times. Life’s never been fair, it never was. It sounds so cliche. Yet for most, it remains one of the best mechanisms one could say when one is confronted with trials and failures. But life for me is still a nice thing to live. My life is productive. My life is doing great. I have great friends. I have good relationship with my family. I know I’m being loved and being cared of. And I love the people who loves me. I know my life is still on the go. I have great achievable plans. I set up realistic goals though I know they are no sure things. But I least, those are foundations.

On the negative side, it seems like I hate attending classes. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just really tired sometimes that I don’t even think of making assignments, well, I make last minute assignments though. But i think the only course that i’m serious about now is my thesis. It’s not that i’m serious on this ‘cause this would be my passport for graduation (though im targetting October this year) but it’s just that i love research writing. In fact, i always found myself immersed in looking for related studies and imagining my own finished product, a book.

As of now, i hate attending my poetry and fiction class. Well, our professor’s one of San Carlos’ best. Dr. Yu is such a brilliant researcher. She’s very prepared in her discussions and she knows a lot of thing. But i just really don’t like poetry. Sometimes i just end up murmuring in her class. And I’m very guilty about it. I don’t want to spoiled her class by not answering her queries but it’s just that i really have nothing to answer. I don’t like to read her compilation (the mandatory book). Jeez.. why am i majoring literature though? I love linguistics more. But there are times that i like literature courses such as Dr. Filipinas’ AmericanLit and those pre-requisite litt courses. But now, on the higher literatures, i just simply don’t like it. Well this is my last literature course so i really have to pass this. I can’t afford to fail one major course.

Ahm what else? I hate attending my logic class too. The course is interesting, the teacher is handsome but it’s just that he’s quite boring. There is less interaction in the class and honestly until now i don’t know where we are heading. Well, i really have little knowledge about logic, i think it’s related to my semantic class.. i was really so “naning” on that class so probably i was able to grasp some of the concepts there. But this logic thing? Hmpf. . . i really don’t like it... My business math class is ok... i have a very cool teacher who is one of us with the idea that business math is of no use to our course. Whew! He would even remind us that business math is nonsense for us linguistic majors.. cool.. and so we just end up not listening to his little discussion.. and me end up as a seasonal student...lolz... modern grammars? It’s ok... Dr. Rosal thinks she’s a pillar in liguistic in san carlos though.. let’s just give that old professor a chance... but honestly i don’t like her idea of giving execises every meeting... and jeez... it just reminded me of my regrets for taking this curriculum... my essay class ? well agent lyn xiao, abegz and me.. chena too have become seasonal students... hahayz... what happened to me? I am now so lazy attending classes... i just don’t feel like doing it.. the only subject that i like now is my thesis class.. and ironically my math too... oh jesus.. i really want to graduate already! Honestly im so tired.. but still .. at the back of my mind... there’s still that very delicate question.. what’s in store for me in the real world?

January 11, 2009 Sunday

Well it was a great experience. I don’t want to call it once in a lifetime. I just want to call it an experience turned into treasure worth keeping of. I don’t know if it was wrong or right. I don’t know if I would ever see that person again. I thought it was just out of pure enjoyment. But I was wrong. How could I long for him until now when all I want is to be with him for a single moment? That was our first meeting. And probably that could be the last as well. I don’t know.

Before, I long for people that don’t even give a damn about me. People whom I think don’t even know if I exist. There’s Ryan. There are those guys that I’ve been crazy of these past few months. I don’t know. Probably I’m just really prone to falling. And yeah, honestly Ryan has been the subject of my writings, the content of my blogs, I have pictures of him. And yeah, I have wasted time daydreaming about him. I thought he’ll be my inspiration. I still don’t know. And there’s come Dan. How I stop thinking about him when I’ve been with him even for a single moment.

I hate feeling this way, that feeling like you own that person. The feeling like you want to be possessed by him when in fact you know that what you two did was just out of pure pleasure and fun. But it seems like I don’t want to end just like that. Maybe I’m being selfish here and being imaginative as well. But all I want is to be with him right now, right at this moment. Well, alright, I’ve been just with him for a single night. I don’t know him exactly and I don’t know his real personality. But it seems like my intuition is saying that I’ll be happy with him, that he is the guy that I’ve been looking.

I told myself never ever to have regret. And I try to program my mind to stick to that. But sometimes I can’t help not to think that what happened only make MY situation worst. I know I’ll be longing him over and over again. How could you forget that person when it seems like you are able to smell him everywhere? How could you get rid of him when you two shared joyful memory together? How could you deny him to yourself when all of a sudden a portrait of his smiling face would just pop in your mind? And all you see is his innocent face that hides something. That makes it exciting. He is such an exciting character that I want to explore. Yet I don’t know if I will ever do it now. Now that I know he’s getting farther, getting unreachable.

What if I never met him? What if I never knew him? Would life still be the same? Or am I just being so OA here that I forgot to view it in different perspective?

December 22, 2008 Monday

I don’t know where i am heading. I don’t know if i’m on the right track. I don’t know neither if what i achieved so far are what i wanted in life. I always thought of h ow ironic life is. Sometimes, i want to do the things that i want, things that i thought would give me happiness, but at the end of the day i just end up thinking if i really found satisfaction, if i was really happy for those things and would it matter in my life. Sometimes, despite such doubts, i comfort myself saying that what i did was what i wanted. That i did the right thing, that to avoid having regrets before enjoy what i think is enjoyable so far. I keep asking myself when would i find satisfaction? After each laughter, after those loud voices, a single room for myself is what i wanted. It sounds so ironic and weird but that’s what i feel.

I know am still young, and that i shouldn’t be taking things seriously. I don’t know.. but my greatest fear in life is not to achieve the things that i wanted to do, things that i wanted to have... but then i keep on reminding myself that i know i’ll still have doubts.

There are so many factors in my life now that i’ve been trying to overcome. Fears, baggages, especially emotional ones. I know how vulnerable when it comes to things like this. I know how i tried to be brave enough despite the fact that i have my own fears, that i am being coward to some things sometimes.

Sometimes, i can’t help not to compare myself to other person. i tend to ask myself if what would it be like if im in their shoes. I tend to envy the things that they have, envy how close they are in their family, envy them for how easy they can get what they want in life. I know being envious is bad, but then would it still be bad if i’m going to use it to pursue and achieve my goals in life? But believe me, there’s never been any guarantee. Probably work hard and live well. How could you combine the two? I’ll try.

December 22, 2008 Monday

I’m supposed to go home today, i really wanted to go home after a year of absence from my hometown. I’ve been looking forward to see old friends and hear each other’s story. My last visit home was December last year. I celebrated Christmas and New Year with mom and dad. But i don’t know why it sounds like i don’t want to go home this Christmas. It’s not that i don’t want to spend the holiday with old friends and mom and dad but it seems like something’s bothering me. Well, some of my friends are already going home and yeah, Ryan’s already in Butuan since the other day. I don’t want to put the blame on him why i don’t want to go home and to my friends either. Some of my friends are just in the city since they’re really from here. I don’t know.. i still want to party with them and spend some time with him. But that’s far from being possible. Actually on the night of the 20th, that ‘s the night of my birthday, i would have went to party with lyn and jorge but then lyn thought of not going cause she’ll be going home the other day. And yesterday, lyn wasn’t able to buy ticket and so she was stuck in Cebu, she invited me to go to mango with bing... yeah, we actually did this before,,, just trio.. lyn, bing and me and it was full of fun... Ahm i didn’t heed to lyn’s invitation because i was still at SM by that time and having a last minute shopping with my family here in ubec. And i was supposed to go home last night... but until now im still in the city... huhuhu... i don’t know.. i know it would be hard to find internet cafe’s there and i don’t want to go surf the net at internet cafes. And for sure, it would be difficult for me to make my assignments, yeah i still have assignments due before the end of the year. And thinking about the thesis will just exhaust me...and with all these things in mind without a pc and internet connection at home, are total burdens.

December 22, 2008 Monday

I just celebrated my birthday two days ago. It was a heck of memorable day with so many events happening. I never thought such day would be a very significant day aside from the fact that it’s the date of my birth.

For me the event started during the christmas party of the english majors at hotel asia. It was not a very nice place but people were all dressed like they’re going to a major event of the year. Well, it was really a major event. You would find yourself immersed in a crowd where people wearing like goddesses, riot girl, new yorker and hunks. And we have a photographer that really has a talent. He’s name’s mike. He’s actually a nursing student and he’s cool. We actually spend the rest of the night with him and his expensive cam...

After the party, as part of my birthday celebration, together with abegz, bing, jorge, lyn, mike, julius, stacey, ana and efren we went to marco polo and spent some time there. After enjoying the view of the city from the roof top, we went to moon cafe at IT park. I never thought my birthday celebration would be as grand as that. I never expect it and it all flows spontaneously.

It was the first time that stranger crowds sang happy birthday with us. And what is funny is that from the other table, somebody is also celebrating his birthday and we just end up being bullied by the groups.. hahhaha... we exchanged gifts there and at the same time i received gifts from my true friends. Too bad some of the guys weren’t around.

I would love to narrate how our being delusional agents were tested and proven but then it would make this story long.... what is nice from that experience is that we were able to help a friend and we were being supporltive. It was really a long night and a very significant day for all of us... i never thought such day would be very productive.