Intertextuality practices in reading

English scientific texts

Nur Shahida Zakaria

Nadia Mifka-Profozic
University of York
BAAL Annual Meeting, York St John, 6 September 2018
 What is intertextuality?
Intertextuality
= “…has to do with linking
Linking /textual references:
texts” (Hartman, 1995,
p.523) within the text
with other texts
with the context

Drawing on:
 Literary theory
 Semiotics
 Interactive reading model
Theoretical background

Literary theory: a text as “a mosaic of quotations” (Kristeva, 1967)

Semiotics: Theory of sign and codes (expression and content)
Language - a linguistic semiotic resource system
“We never make meaning with language alone…Writing always deploys a
visual graphological-typological semiotics as well as that of language” (Lemke,
1998)
Interactive reading model
Reading is an interactive process – interaction between data-driven bottom-up
processing and concept-driven top-down processing (Rumelhart, 1977)
 What is new?

Current study Previous studies

 Scientific texts
 Reading for  Literary texts (Hartman, 1995; Chi, 1995;
academic purposes Manak, 2009)
 L2 readers  L1 readers (Bax, 2004; Johnson, 2011)
 PhD students  Undergraduates (Bax, 2013; Newman,
2011; Macmonagle, 2012)
 Research questions

How do ESL science

postgraduates employ
intertextuality when reading
English scientific texts in terms of

a) the types of b) the location

connections of the
they make connections
they make
 Framing the issue
Intertextuality as a
cognitive construction a) Linguistic or non-
in the reader linguistic signs (i.
e. videos, pictures,
utterances)
Texts

b) Ideas or
experiences stored
and created in the
d) Exists mind – “inner text”
interrelated c) Chunk of meaning (i.
to previous e., lengthy discourse, a
resources short statement,
theme, structure)
 Context of study

Malaysia
Education Science and Postgraduate
Blueprint 2015- technology studies
2025
 Scientific text
• Scientific discourse
• dense with information
• high usage of passive voice and nominalisation
• linguistically and conceptually domain-specific
• Comprehending scientific texts is challenging even for L1 students,
and it is more demanding to L2 students for it requires “not only the
knowledge of general English but also the language, rhetoric and
terminology of science” (Abdul Hamid, 2012)
 Methodology
• Qualitative method – a multiple case study
• Participants
• Purposive sampling
• 6 Malaysian ESL science PhD students (3 first-year students, 3 second-year
students)
• Research instruments
• Think-aloud protocols
• Retrospective interviews
• Materials
• 3 scientific texts
 Data collection procedures

3 reading sessions (video- and

audio- recorded)
Training session
1. Think-aloud protocols
2. Retrospective interviews
 Data analysis procedures Think-aloud
statement

Data transcription

Retrospective
interview
 Data analysis procedures

Data transcription
(think-aloud protocols
Think-aloud data 1. Segmenting
and retrospective
interviews)

Retrospective interview data

2. Coding using Atlas.ti 7
 Intertextual Patterns Definition of Links Codes
 
Association Reader simply mentions some aspects of past texts with a Assoc
current text without further explanation
 
Reader describes/explains a current text by applying their prior Intg
Integration
knowledge or previous textual experiences  
Reader assesses the information in a current text and generated
Evaluation Ev
their own views and conclusions
 
Reader makes predictions of the content of a current text
Projection Proj
Affirmation Reader checks the information from a current text or other texts Affirm
to confirm his/her understanding
Reader poses questions to some parts of a current text and finds
Query (question-and- answers to the questions Que
answer) 
Analysis Reader identifies links/relationships of some parts of a current Ana
text or to other texts
Reader revises his/her understanding of a current text by
Revision correcting errors in their interpretation of the current text Rev

Conflict Reader reasons with conflicting information in a current text Conflict

Intertextual Connections in Reading Three Scientific Texts
0.8 0.3

2.5
3.6
Integration
8.3
34.3%

9.0

Evaluation
18.6%
Association
22.5%

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Integration:
Excerpt 1

(from the title) Optical band gaps of organic semiconductor materials

Semiconductor… (underlining semiconductor materials)
…the Eg must be less than 4 ev (writing à Eg = < 4ev)
In my case, thiourea… thiourea the range is 3.8 ev. So this should be okay to be semiconductor
(writing à thiourea = 3.8 ev) (P22:4)

Excerpt 2

(from the text) Overexpression (of human ApoA-I suppresses the development of atherosclerosis either
in specific inbred or genetically engineered animals models, supporting a protective role of ApoA-I
during atherosclerosis progress
So, this means, [if there’s an] increase in ApoA-I, [this will] decrease the incidence of
atherosclerosis (writing à increase ApoA-I, decrease the incidence of atherosclerosis) (P19:38)
• Here, I was just explaining to myself, reinforcing with what this paper
is all about. And I think I can better retain the information when doing
that. (P17:41)
• I was able to refresh what I had done before. So basically, I was trying
to connect the reading with the things that I had done previously.
Mostly based on my previous reading. (P13:68)
• Something the sentences are lengthy, so I have to make it simple for
me to understand (P19:7)
Association:
Excerpt 1

(from the title) As the same dye concentrations were used for both cell types, a better cell wall
penetration of Nile Red in N-deprived compared to N-rich biomass was evident, as is indicated
in Fig. 5D by the more intense orange colour of the cells as a result of Nile Red stained lipid droplets
containing chlorophyll
Nile Red… Nile Red… I’ve seen this… in the other text… oh, flow cytometer! (writing à Nile Red
– flow cytometer)

Excerpt 2

(from the text) The unicellular green alga C. reinhardtii is a model organism
C. reinhardtii again…
 Locations of
intertextuality
Current text (content, figure, graph table)
Current text (text structure, headings, title, references) Intratextuality
Personal written notes
Intertextuality
Electronic materials (i. e, websites, electronic articles)
Printed materials (i. e., books, journal, magazines)
Discussion with peers
Discussion with supervisors
Event
Lab-work/calculation
Previous reading
Extratextuality
Seminar/workshop
Basic scientific knowledge
General knowledge Prior knowledge
Specific scientific knowledge
Visual materials (i. e., videos, pictures, graph, table,
diagram)
 Locations of intertextuality

Intertextuality11%

Extratextuality
28%

Intratextual-
ity61%

1 2 3