An Analysis of Logical Relations in Academic IELTS Sample Essays

Abstract

The logical structure of clauses indicates the logical connection between experiential events, thus it brings smoothness and coherence to writings. There are two fundamental systems that need to be considered in the analysis of how clauses are related to each other: taxis and logico-semantics (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2014). The theoretical framework used to analyse the logical relations of the clauses employed in academic IELTS sample essays on which the present study is based is the Systemic Functional Theory developed by Halliday & Matthiessen (2014). By focusing on the logical manifestations of the clause complex, particularly the study of taxis and logico-semantics, this paper sheds light on the logical relations demonstrated in IELTS sample essays. This study was designed using descriptive, analytic and inductive research method. Data were 60 IELTS academic essays taken from published books and official IELTS websites with band scores ranging from 7.0 to 7.5. The findings indicate that the writers employ more hypotaxis than parataxis to establish logical connections between states of affairs, proving that the IELTS writers tend to support their arguments using some unequal status. The analysis of logico-semantic relation also reveals that the dominant relationship is expansion. It is expected that the study will enable IELTS candidates to take into account the salient logical features of high-quality essays to produce more effective pieces of writing.