Assessment on Coherence in Narrative and Persuasive Compositions

Cris D. Barabas, Jeanne Roujette Burdeos, Kenneth G. OpinaUniversity of San Carlos, Cebu City, The Philippines

INTRODUCTION

As one of the components of the four macro skills in English language learning, school authorities always put an emphasis on their writing programs. The students are exposed to writing as early as elementary years through composing paragraphs and the like. In the Philippines, in particular, where English functions as a second language, special writing courses in college are mandated to be taken by university students as part of their curriculum program. Despite the emerging courses in advanced composition or essay writing, only a few curricula are incorporating advanced composition in the course works.

One requisite in writing, particularly essays and correspondences, is coherence. As defined by Beaugrande and Dressler (1981) and Hatim and Mason (1990, in Perez, 1999), “coherence is the universal set of procedures that guarantee conceptual connectivity” in a text. Cohesive markers are used to ensure that a connection is made between sentences and paragraphs in a composition.

However, despite the thorough training given to students in writing, quite a number has not mastered the craft. Most students deemed writing as a difficult task. Based on the experiences of the researchers who themselves have taken writing courses in the undergraduate level, most of their classmates were not that interested in studying composition. The researchers have observed as well that most of the students submit compositions for the sake of compliance. In addition, one of the problems encountered by teachers in students’ outputs is that ideas are loosely organized which results in the production of a poor performance-based assessment output. The researchers have observed as well that most of the students were able to express their ideas through speaking than in writing. As stated by Almaden (2006, in Barabas and Jumao-as, 2009), it has been a common observation that students focus more on the lexical and sentence levels rather than on the discourse level. Accordingly, teachers find students using transitional links in their writing without really creating a coherent piece, and that more often than not, students turn out cohesive pieces of writing when they work more on the underlying coherence (i.e. thought progression) in relationship of ideas.

A problem may arise in assessing the students’ writing outputs because sometimes what coherence and cohesion mean are misinterpreted. According to McCulley (1985, in Strid, 1998), “cohesion is a sub-element of coherence….” Several studies have been conducted to determine the correlation that exists between cohesion and coherence. Strid (1998) quoted Witte and Faigley (1981) and Bamberg (1984) as claiming that cohesion and coherence are two different concepts. Thus, a text may be cohesive but not coherent or vice versa. With these ideas, there is a need for teachers handling writing classes to give emphasis on the area of coherence. There is a need as well to explain to the students how to use such transitional links in such a way that it will be able to create a coherent piece.

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This study in general was a replication of Strid’s (1994) earlier paper on the investigation of coherence in the narrative and persuasive writing of adolescents. However, in this paper, the researchers’ corpus was the writing outputs of the students who were enrolled in undergraduate and graduate schools. The randomly selected compositions were assessed in terms of the coherence markers used with emphasis on reference, substitution, ellipsis, conjunction and lexical reiteration and collocation (synonymy and antonymy) taken from Halliday and Hassan (1976, in Witte and Faigley, 1981).

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

There are several studies that deal with writing and one of the most important aspects of writing that is being dealt with by most of the researchers is coherence. Tribble (1997, in Sattayatham and Ratanapinyowong, 2008) emphasized that writing skill is much more important nowadays and that becoming a proficient writer is one of the major objectives of many students, especially those who want to become members of international business, administrative or academic communities.

Sattayatham and Ratanapinyowong (2008) further discussed in their paper that in terms of English as Second Language (ESL) or English as Foreign Language (EFL) instruction, writing helps students learn. As enumerated, writing reinforces the grammatical structures, idioms, and vocabulary that were being taught to the students. Another advantage of writing is that when students write, they have a chance to be adventurous with the language, and that is going beyond what they have just learned to say. Jones (2007) postulated that there is little doubt of the huge importance of writing skills in university study. This is because it is by one’s writing that the student is being assessed.

One of the most important aspects in writing that most college instructor’s assessed in their students’ writing outputs is coherence. However, according to Watson Todd, et al. (2004), among the many possible aspects to assessing writing, one of the most difficult is coherence. This proposition probably arose because coherence is by nature subjective. However, there are already several frameworks established to assess coherence such as the work of Lautamatti (1987), which is the concept of Topical Structure Analysis, Halliday and Hassan (1976, in Barabas and Jumao-as, 2009) in the publication of the book Cohesion in English, and Bamberg’s (1984, in Strid, 1998) Holistic Scale of Coherence.

Strid (1998) contended that coherence is still thought of as one of the key defining characteristics of the quality of writing. He further mentioned that coherence refers to the overall structure, plan or schema that orders the propositions. Smalley and Ruetten (1990) pointed out that coherence is another element that a paragraph needs aside from topic, controlling idea, support and unity. They further stressed that coherent paragraphs contain sentences that are logically arranged and that flow smoothly. Logical arrangement refers to the order of the sentences and ideas whereas smooth flow refers to how well one idea or sentence leads into another, which can be achieved through sentence combining and through the use of certain expressions, called transitions, that provide the links between ideas.

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Brandon and Brandon (2005) emphasized that coherence is being achieved by numbering or otherwise indicating, giving directions, using transitional words, using demonstrative pronouns and moving in a clear order. This is supported by Langan (2008) in his book by stating that all the supporting ideas and sentences in a paper must be organized so that they cohere or “stick together”. As previously mentioned, key techniques for tying together the material in a paper include a clear method of organization (such as fine order or emphatic order), transitions, and other connecting words.

A document from the University of West Florida Writing Laboratory contained the idea on the concept of testing coherence to form a unified whole paragraph. Moreover, the document sated the idea that coherence is the logical transition between the parts inside the paragraph. The connection springs from contents (the parts you choose and the way you arrange them) and from the use of various mechanical devices. Ways to achieve coherence is through subordination and coordination, through tense and pronoun agreement, through transitional words and phrases, through the repetition of key words, and through parallel structure.

Wong (1993) investigated the relationship between students’ control over the use of linguistic devices that contribute to textual cohesion and coherence in their writing and their ability to understand and interpret texts. This study delved into both aspects of reading and writing. In the case of the students’ control over cohesion and coherence in writing, this was measured by the frequency counts of cohesive devices. In this case, in addition to Halliday and Hasan’s Taxonomy of Cohesion and Bamberg’s Holistic Coherence Scale, Wong (1993) also employed the National Assessment of Educational Progress Holistic Cohesion Scoring Scale (1980). Wong (1993) concluded that his findings showed that “subjects who demonstrated a good command of the source of textually, including cohesion and coherence, in their writing tended to be proficient in reading and interpreting text as well”.

Halliday and Hassan (1976, in Witte and Faigley, 1998) specified five major classes of cohesive markers in the book Cohesion in English namely: reference, substitution, ellipsis, conjunction, and lexical cohesion. Witte and Faigley (1981) presented explanations on how each of these categories functions and are being used in the writings. As Witte and Faigley (1981) defined:

…substitution replaces one element with another which is not a personal pronoun, and ellipsis involves a deletion of a word, phrase, or clause. The effect of both substitution and ellipsis is to extend the textual or semantic domain of one sentence to a subsequent sentence….The categories of reference and conjunction contain ties that are both grammatical and lexical. Lexical reiteration and collocation is restricted to ties which are presumably only lexical. Reference cohesion occurs when one item in a text points to another element for its interpretation.

The following sentences exemplified the use of the cohesive markers that were previously stated (i.e. substitution, reference, conjunction, ellipsis, lexical

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reiteration and collocation). These examples were taken from the work of Witte and Faigley (1981):

Substitution(1) Did you ever find a lawnmower?(2) Yes, I borrowed one from my neighbor.

Ellipsis(1) Do you want to go with me to the store?(2) Yes, I do.

Reference Cohesion (Pronominal)(1) At home, my father is himself.(2) He relaxes and acts in his normal manner.

Reference Cohesion (Demonstratives)(1) We question why they tell us to do things.(2) This is part of growing up.

Reference Cohesion (Definite Article)(1) Humans have many needs, both physical and intangible.(2) It is easy to see the physical needs such as food and shelter.

Reference Cohesion (Comparatives)(1) The older generation is often quick to condemn college students for being carefree and irresponsible.(2) But those who remember their own youth do so less quickly.

Conjunctive Cohesion (Additive)(1) No one wants to be rejected.(2) And to prevent rejection we change our behavior often.

Conjunctive Cohesion (Adversative)(1) Small children usually change their behavior because they want something they don’t have.(2) Carol, however, change her behavior because she wanted to become part of a new group.

Conjunctive Cohesion (Causal)(1) Today’s society sets the standards.(2) The people more or less follow it (sic).(3) Consequently, there exists the right behavior for the specific situation at hand.

Conjunctive Cohesion (Temporal)(1) A friend of mine went to an out-of-state college.(2) Before she left, she expressed her feeling about playing roles to win new friends.

Conjunctive Cohesion (Continuative)(1) Different social situations call for different behaviors.

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(2) This is something we all learn as children and we, of course, also learn which behaviors are right for which situations.

Lexical Reiteration (Same Item), (Superordinate), and (General Item)(1) Some professional tennis players, for example, grandstand, using obscene gestures and language to call attention to themselves.(2) Other professional athletes do similar things, such as spiking a football in the end zone, to attract attention.

Lexical Cohesion (Collocation)(1) On a camping trip with their parents, teenagers willingly do the household chores that they resist at home.(2) They gather wood for a fire, help put up the tent, and carry water from a creek or lake.

Strid (1998) used Bamberg’s (1984) Holistic Scale of Coherence. His study examined students’ narratives and persuasive essays to see if there was a difference in coherence between the two. His study focused on the high school students’ writings. His main goal was to look at how genre affects students’ coherence. His findings show that adolescents “were more coherent in writing persuasive than they were in narratives”. Strid (1998) recommended the possibility of breaking apart the criteria from the holistic scale and to rate the writing on each attribute. In other words, he suggested the idea of converting the holistic scale to an analytic scale. The researcher pointed out the issue on the skill level of the writers as well. According to Strid (1998), writers’ level is one of the factors which could have a bearing on coherence. The researchers believe that skill level is a significant area to look into as well since writers could also be categorized to different levels. And different levels have different ideas on what and how to write. This supported the idea of Bereiter and Scardamalia (1987, in Strid, 1998) that writers of variant skill levels react in different ways to knowledge telling and knowledge transforming tasks.

Bamberg (1984, in Strid, 1998) also emphasized the theory that differences exist between genres, and as quoted “…one of these differences may be the level of coherence found in narratives and persuasive written by adolescents”. Bamberg’s Holistic Scale of Coherence categorized students’ compositions through rating from zero (0) to four (4), with 4 as the fully coherent. The rating of three (3) was given to compositions that are deemed as partially coherent, two (2) for the compositions labeled as incoherent, one (1) as rating for compositions judged as incomprehensible and zero (0) for those writings being tagged as unscorable.

For this study, Haliday and Hassan’s (1976) classification of major cohesive markers (i.e. reference, substitution, ellipsis, conjunction, lexical cohesion) as presented in the earlier part of this paper was employed by the researchers in identifying the cohesive markers used in the selected compositions written by the student-participants. Bamberg’s (1994) Holistic Scale of Coherence was utilized in analyzing how genre would affect the coherence level of compositions.

THE PROBLEMStatement of the Problem

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This study aimed to assess the coherence in the narrative and persuasive compositions of selected Advanced Composition (English 101) students of the University of San Carlos.

Specifically, this study sought to answer the following questions:1. What are the cohesive markers used in the selected compositions of the

student-participants?1.1 Reference1.2 Substitution1.3 Ellipsis1.4 Conjunction1.5 Lexical cohesion

2. How does genre affect the coherence level of compositions based on Bamberg’s Holistic Coherence Scale?3. What is the relevance of educational attainment on achieving coherence in

compositions?

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This study used the descriptive quantitative type of research. It assessed the coherence of narrative and persuasive essays of selected Advanced Composition (English 101) students of the University of San Carlos. The researchers used the compositions written by the student-participants in class as the main corpus for data gathering and analysis. The student-participants were Advanced Composition (English 101) students of the University of San Carlos. There would be a total of 10 student-participants from one English 101 class observed for the study. Five of which were graduate students taking up Bachelor of Laws (LLB) while the remaining five were undergraduate students from various disciplines who were randomly selected. Halliday and Hasan’s classification of cohesive markers in Witte and Faigley (1981) would be used to determine the cohesive markers used while Bamberg’s (1984) Holistic Scale of Coherence in Strid (1998) would be the basis for analyzing coherence in the compositions. The researchers attended the writing activities of the students in their classroom as arranged with the teacher-in-charge. The compositions were photocopied and encoded for data analysis. The researchers identified the different cohesive markers used by the student-participants in their compositions using Halliday and Hasan’s classification of cohesive markers in Witte and Faigley (1981). These were tabulated according to the five major classes of cohesive ties. Bamberg’s (1984) Holistic Scale of Coherence in Strid (1998) was used to analyze the outputs to give insights on the effect of genre and educational level of writers on coherence.

PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

As mentioned in the previous chapter, this study aimed to assess the coherence in the narrative and persuasive compositions of selected Advanced Composition (English 101) students of the University of San Carlos using Bamberg’s (1984) Holistic Scale of Coherence in Strid (1998).

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Also, this study gathered sample cohesive markers used by the student-participants in both narrative and persuasive write-ups and were classified according to Halliday and Hasan’s System for Analyzing and Classifying Cohesive Ties in Witte and Faigley (1981). The effect of genre and skill of writers on coherence level of the compositions were looked into as well.

Table 1 presents the frequency of the cohesive markers used in the two genres of students’ compositions based on the classification of Halliday and Hasan in Witte and Faigley (1981).

Table I. Frequency of Used Cohesive Markers in the CompositionsCohesive Markers Frequency Total Percentage

(%)Narrative PersuasiveReference 36 142 178 35.5

Substitution 16 24 40 8Ellipsis 0 0 0 0

Conjunction 99 183 282 56.1Lexical Cohesion

(Collocation)0 2 2 0.4

TOTAL 151 351 502 100

The results of the study illustrated a total number of five hundred two (502) cohesive markers used in the narrative and persuasive write-ups. In the ten (10) narrative compositions, a total of one hundred fifty-one (151) cohesive markers were used and three hundred fifty-one (351) in the persuasive compositions. Cohesive markers were used in order to create a coherent piece by placing the cohesive markers at the sentential level.

Most cohesive markers used by the student-participants in both narrative and persuasive compositions fall under the category of conjunctions. The conjunctions used comprise 56.1 % of the total number of cohesive markers in the two genres of compositions followed by reference and substitution, respectively. This supported Witte and Faigley’s (1981) assertion that “a … major class of cohesive ties frequent in writing is conjunction”.

Conjunctions “express certain meaning which presuppose the presence of other component in the discourse” (Witte and Faigley, 1981) boundaries. In the compositions, the student-participants need coordinating conjunctions to create logical ties across sentence. As manifested in following paragraph, the writer used conjunctions to connect ideas from the initial paragraph to the succeeding paragraph:

Student-Participant 10 (Persuasive Composition)In addition to his service in the government and to the PNRC,

he has also become the salvation that this nation has been crying out for. His efforts are tremendous in terms of disaster rescue, relief, and rehabilitation efforts. He has sacrificed his own life as he is hands-on during rescue missions brought forth by killer quakes, the 1991 Pinatubo Eruption, and the latest being typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng.

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Reference is used to connect “one item…to another element” within a text according to Witte and Faigley (1981). Reference cohesive markers were used in the compositions to refer to the same idea or person which are the pronouns used in the persuasive essays to avoid constant repetition of words.

Student-Participant 3 (Persuasive Composition)…So obviously, this man has no moral values. I admire Gibo’s

credentials but he is not the man for the job. He is another one of Arroyo’s cronies. He was appointed by Arroyo to be Secretaty of Defense. So I believe he will be biased. He even said he is not a credible person to address to with regard to the issue of the Ampatuans. I find Gibo to be a coward since he will not fight the issues head on. Also, corrupt men of Arroyo, especially the first gentleman, Mike Arroyo, has “business” with Gibo. So if Gibo wins, it means corruption.

Moreover, substitution is the replacement of another word. To avoid redundancy, substitutions of terms were used by the student-participants in their compositions without neglecting the unity between sentences to form a coherent composition.

Student-Participant 4 (Narrative Composition)I was more concerned about experiencing everything, Thus I was

a student leader, an athlete and an above average student. But it was in my last year that I decided to be an excellent student. It wasn’t an easy journey, but surely I could say that exerting extra efforts to graduate as a Cum Laude is something I can be very proud of.

The frequent use of conjunctions in the compositions analyzed is due to the reason that classroom discussions and examinations on the concept of cohesion focused mainly on the different types of conjunctions as well as their uses and examples. Thus, the knowledge of students on the concept were applied in their written outputs to link their statements within their compositions.

On the other hand, the absence of ellipsis in the compositions is due to the fact that this type of cohesive marker is usually found in spoken discourse rather than formal written discourse as pointed out by Witte and Faigley (1981). Similarly, a study conducted by Ouk (2009) in editorializing paragraphs between American English and Cambodian English strengthened the findings of this study since no ellipsis were found in the write-ups produced by the participants who were native and Cambodian ESL speakers.

Furthermore, the minimal presence of lexical cohesion with focus on collocation, a cohesive marker based on association of lexical items co-occurring regularly, is due to the student-participants’ lack of lexical resources.

MCully’s (1981, in Strid, 1998) contention that “cohesion is a sub-element of coherence” is supported by the finding of this study in the sense that cohesive markers were used to create cohesion at the sentential level and eventually produced a unified whole paragraph. The students were able to expound their ideas by connecting the succeeding sentences of their compositions to the initial

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sentence of the paragraph. Through this method of incorporating ideas, the students consequently were able to produce a coherent piece.

Table 2 shows the difference of the coherence ratings between the narrative and persuasive compositions of the student-participants using Bamberg’s (1984) Holistic Scale of Coherence in Strid (1998).

Table II. Coherence Rating between Narrative and Persuasive CompositionsCoherence Rating Frequency Total Percentage

(%)Narrative PersuasiveCoherent (4) 2 4 6 30

Partially Coherent (3) 4 5 9 45Incoherent (2) 4 1 5 25

Incomprehensible (1) 0 0 0 0Unscorable (0) 0 0 0 0

TOTAL 10 10 20 100

The coherence ratings of the students’ written outputs based on Bamberg’s Holistic Scale of Coherence in Strid (1998) showed that persuasive compositions were far more coherent than the narrative compositions. In addition, the written outputs of the student-participants were mostly partially coherent since errors were committed. The data gathered strengthen Strid’s (1998) findings that persuasive compositions were more coherent than narratives. Furthermore, the narrative composition was the first output produced by the student-participants while the persuasive composition was the fifth output.

Thus, as shown in Tables 1 and 2, the higher frequency of cohesive markers used in the persuasive compositions than in the narratives improved the coherence level of the outputs between the two genres since the markers ensured a smooth flow of the compositions by linking sentences and paragraphs within each written output making them coherent in the discourse level. Such data were in contrast to Strid’s (1998) conclusion that cohesion did not yield to coherence but clearly reinforced McCully’s (1985) claim in Strid (1998) that “cohesion is a sub-element of coherence”.

Notably, the instructions given by the instructor for the persuasive composition indicated that transition devices be used to increase coherence which was not found in the instructions for the narrative composition. It must also be taken into account that the narrative composition was given on-the-spot unlike the persuasive composition where students were given ample time to conduct a research for their topics before they were made to produce the write-ups. Also, the student-participants already honed their knowledge on coherence and skill in writing within the two-week gap of the production of the two genres. The two-week gap is the reason why there is a big development in the compositions in terms of coherence. This supports Almaden’s (2006) conclusion that skills in achieving coherence can be accomplished through constant use of the English language.

Table 3 illustrates the effect of the writers’ educational attainment on achieving coherence in compositions based on the results yielded from the analysis

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of the written outputs using Bamberg’s Holistic Scale of Coherence in Witte and Faigley (1981).Table III. Effect of Educational Attainment on Achieving CoherenceCoherence Rating Frequency Total

LLB1 UG2 LLB UGN3 P4 N P

Coherent (4) 2 3 0 1 5 1Partially Coherent (3) 1 2 3 3 3 6

Incoherent (2) 2 0 2 1 2 3Incomprehensible (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0

Unscorable (0) 0 0 0 0 0 0TOTAL 5 5 5 5 10 10

10 10 20Based on the twenty written outputs, graduate students (LLB) were more

coherent in their compositions for both narrative and persuasive genres. Undergraduate students were less coherent in their compositions in comparison to the graduate students.

Undoubtedly, educational attainment was a key factor in producing organized and smooth-flowing composition due to the fact that constant use of the English language and more exposure and practice on composition writing enhanced the writing skills of the students leading to the production of a coherent piece.

The results on the differences on level of coherence between the two groups of students strengthened the conclusion of Almaden (2006) that continuous use of the English language in writing can harness the skills necessary in achieving coherence in written outputs.

Legend:1LLB – Bachelor of Laws2UG – Undergraduate3N – Narrative

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4P – PersuasiveCONCLUSIONS

Cohesive markers, particularly conjunctions, are used in compositions in order to create cohesion or a logical connection of ideas between sentences and paragraphs. The use of cohesive markers in compositions aid in creating a coherent piece as concepts and ideas are properly tied since cohesion is a requisite element in achieving coherence. Accordingly, there is a higher frequency on the use of cohesive markers in persuasive compositions than in the narratives, the reason why the former are more coherent than the latter outputs.

Also, graduate and undergraduate students can write good compositions and are aware of using cohesive markers for the purpose of producing a coherent piece. However, educational attainment of writers affect the quality of their written outputs produced. Therefore, since these students were already enrolled in the higher academic institution, this means that these students have more exposure to writing.

BIBLIOGRAPHYA. Books

Brandon, L. and Brandon, K. (2005). Sentences, paragraphs & beyond: a worktext with readings. USA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 284.

Halliday, M.A.K. and Hasan, R. (1976). Cohesion in English. Np: Longman Publishing Group, 303-321.

Langan, J. (2008). College writing skills. 7th ed. New York, USA: McGraw-Hill, 15.Smalley, R. and Ruetten, M. (1990). Refining composition skills: rhetoric and

grammar for esl students. 3rd ed. USA: Heinle & Heinle Publishers, 19-21.B. Journals

Almaden D. (2006). An analysis of the topical structure of paragraphs written by Filipino students. The Asia Pacific Education Research. 15, 127-153.

Jones, J. (2007). Losing and finding coherence in academic writing. University of Sydney Papers in TESOL 2, 2, 125-148.

Lautamatti, L. (1987). Observation on the development of the topic of simplified discourse. In Connor, U. and Kaplan, R. (eds.) Writing across languages, analysis of L2 texts, reading. MA: Addison Wesley.

Ouk, D. (2009). Contrastive Rhetoric: Cohesive Devices and Topical Structure Analysis of Editorializing Paragraphs in American English and Cambodian English. Cambodia.

Perez, J. (1999). Theme, cohesion devices and translation. Estudios ingleses de la universidad complutense, 163-176. Retrieved April 29, 2010 from the World Wide Web http://revistas.ucm.es/fll/11330392/articulos/EIUC9999110163A.PDF.

Sattayatham, A. and Ratanapinyowong, P. (2008). Analysis of errors in paragraph writing in english by first year medical students from the four medical schools at Mahidol University. Silpakorn university journal, 8, 17-38.

Watson Todd, R. (2004). Measuring the coherence of writing using topic-based analysis. Assessing writing, 9, 85-104.

Witte, S. and Faigley, L. (1981). Coherence, cohesion, and writing quality.College composition and communication, 32, 189-204.

C. Published Research Papers

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Barabas, C. and Jumao-as, A. (2009). Topical structure analysis: the case of the essays written by the Cebuano multilingual students. Unpublished undergraduate thesis. University of San Carlos, Cebu City.

Strid, J. (1998). Coherence in the narrative and persuasive writing of adolescents. Talk presented at Illinois TESOL, Chicago, Il.

D. Internet SourcesImproving paragraph coherence. (2003). University of West Florida Writing Lab.

Retrieved April 29, 2010 from the World Wide Web at http://uwf.edu/writelab/handouts/documents/Paragraphcoherence.pdf.

Wong, T.Y. (1993). Textual cohesion and reading comprehension. Master of Philosophy in Education Thesis. The Chinese University of Hong Kong Graduate School Division of Education. Retrieved May 12, 2010 from the World Wide Web at http://www.fed.cuhk.edu.hk/en/cumphil/93tywong/abstract.htm.

Appendix ABamberg’s Holistic Scale of Coherence

4 = Fully Coherent-Writer identifies the topic.-Writer does not shift topics or digress.-Writer orients the reader by creating a context or situation.-Writer organizes details according to a discernible plan that is sustained throughout the entire essay.-Writer skillfully uses cohesive ties such as lexical cohesion, reference, etc. to linksentences and/or paragraphs together.-Writer concludes with a statement that gives the reader a definite sense of closure.-Discourse flows smoothly -few or no grammatical and/or mechanical errors interrupt the reading process.

3 = Partially Coherent-If the writer does not explicitly identify the topic, s/he provides enough details so that the reader can probably identify the specific subject.-Writer has one main topic but there may be minor digressions.-Writer provides some reader orientation, either by briefly suggesting the context or bydirectly announcing the topic.-Writer organizes details according to a plan, but may not sustain it throughout or may list details in parts of the essay.-Writer uses some cohesive ties such as lexical cohesion, conjunction, reference, etc. tolink sentences and/or paragraphs together.

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-Writer does not usually conclude with a statement that creates a sense of closure.-Discourse generally flows smoothly although occasional grammatical and/or mechanical errors may interrupt the reading process.

2 = IncoherentSome of the following prevent the reader from integrating the text into a coherent whole:-Writer does not identify the topic and the reader would be unlikely to infer or guess thetopic from the details provided.-Writer shifts topics or digresses frequently from the topic.-Writer assumes the reader share his/her context and provides little or no orientation.-Writer has no organizational plan in most of the text and frequently relies on listing.-Writer uses few cohesive ties such as lexical cohesion, conjunction, reference, etc. to link sentences and/or paragraphs together.-Discourse is irregular or rough because mechanical and/or grammatical errors frequently interrupt the reading process.

1 = IncomprehensibleMany of the following prevent the reader from making sense of the text:-Topic cannot be identified.-Writer moves from topic to topic by association or digresses frequently.-Writer assumes the reader shares his/her context and provides no orientation.-Writer has no organizational plan and either lists or follows associative order.-Writer uses very few cohesive ties such as lexical cohesion, conjunction, reference, etc.and sentences do not seem connected or linked together.-Discourse flow is very rough or irregular because writer omits structure words,inflectional ending and /or makes numerous grammatical and mechanical errors thatcontinuously interrupt the reading process.

0 = Unscorable-Essay consists of only one T-Unit.-Writer writes only to reject the task.

APPENDIX BComposition Instruction Sheets

English 101Journal Entry No.1 - Narrative Paragraph

I. Possible Topics: Choose only one. An in incident that happened on your first day of college A situation you witnessed or experienced on campus that made you

uncomfortable An experience that triggered a strong emotion on you: happiness,

sadness, relief, fear, regret, nervousness A run-in you had with someone in authority A major mistake you made that helped you learn a lesson A time you did something you are proud of A “first” experience: infatuation, love, fight, honor roll

II. Think about your story and about what you want to say to your readers in your narration.

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III. The following questions may help you in organizing your narrative

What experience or series of events do I want to write about? Why? What is important about this story? What was important about what

happened? What main point do I want to make about history? To convey my main point, what events do I need to tell about? What

details, examples, and facts will bring the events to life for my readers? Do I want to report anything that was said? Would using time transitions help my readers follow the sequence of

events more easily?

IV. Make a plan, and then write a clear, strong and convincing narration that gets your main points across to your readers.

Maximum of 250-300 words Use verdana 11 (font type and size) Double space Margin 1” Short bond paper Italicize the topic sentence Create a title for your paragraph

APPENDIX CENGLISH 101JOURNAL ENTRY NO.5 - EXPOSITORY PARAGRAPH - Persuasive (final paper)

I. Develop a topic sentence about your Presidential bet.

II. Organize and write an expository paragraph.

III. Use information, explanation, examples, facts, or illustrations to support a controlling idea/generalization.

IV. Use transitions to increase coherence.

V. Use the following questions to help you develop an expository paragraph.

Does your paragraph have sufficient details and examples? Does your paragraph have a clear, focused controlling idea/generalization? Are the generalization and supporting details logically arranged in your

paragraph? Is your paragraph unified; hat is, do all the sentences support the

controlling idea? Is your paragraph coherent? Do the sentences flow smoothly?

VI. Make a topical outline.

VII. Remember the following in making your final copy:

Italicize the topic sentence 250-300 words only (but not less that 250 words) Use Verdana 11 (font type and size) 1.5” margin all around Short bond paper

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Double space Formulate a title for your paragraph

APPENDIX DStudents’ Narrative Compositions

A. Graduate Students (LLB)Student-Participant 1“Becoming a CPA and an Accounting Instructor”

After graduating highschool, I immediately enrolled in Bachelor of Science in Accountancy in University of San Carlos. It was my long time dream to become a certified public accountant maybe because I was influence by my beloved father who is also an accountant. It was not really hard for me to adjust during my college years because I was very focus on my dreams or goals. I developed study habits and made many friends. I always endeavor to be a dean’s lister in every in every semester so that my parents will be proud of me. After 5 long years of patience, hardwork, determination, diligence and perseverance, I was able to graduate Magna Cum Laude. From that time on, I know that my dreams were starting be fulfilled.

After graduating College, I immediately took the CPA licensure examination. I did not anymore attend review classes because I felt that was already delayed because most of my schoolmates in high school were already professionals. The examination was scheduled last May 10, 11, 17 & 18 2009 in Southwestern University I could still remember that I was wearing white t-shirt and black pants. At first, I was a bit tense because I was thinking what will happen if I will fail in the examination, but when I saw my Instructors and friends, I started to feel relax and comfortable. Two days after the last examination date, result came out and luckily I was one of the passers. I immediately hugged and kissed my parents and thanked them for all the things they have done for me. I was very proud of myself and I know that I have to cherished it for the rest of my life.

Last June 2009, 1 month after I became an accountant, I applied as an accounting instructor in University of San Carlos and luckily, I was accepted. I owe y accomplishments to my Alma Mater, hence, I chose teaching rather than working in the government or audit firms. I greatly enjoyed interacting and sharing with my students. I am trying my best to mold them to be a better individuals for I strongly believe that “youth are the future of our country”.

Currently, I would say that I am going to the peak of success. Although I know there are still may goals to achieve and struggles to fight with.

Student-Participant 2“A Peaceful Death”

It was year 2000 that my father felt “something” in his abdomen area. He told us that a pingpong-sized ball is inside his stomach. A man who is very conscious, he wanted to have a check-up to know what it is. He and my mother decided to have it in Cebu, where I was studying.

When they arrived here in Cebu, we went to a family doctor to have a consultation. However, the doctor referred us to a doctor specialist whom my father also knew, we met Dr. Edgar Tan the next day. He conducted battery of tests like stress test, executive panel tests for the blood, and ultrasound for the whole abdomen. After getting the result, Dr. Tan adviced my father to be admitted in Cebu Doctors’ Hospital.

My mother was first hesitant. Eventually, after a short discussion, she agreed. In the hospital another battery or panel of tests were conducted. Stress test like ECG and thread mill, executive panel test for blood like lipid and hepatic panel and ultrasound for the liver and MIR. Afterwards, after a long week of stay in the hospital, we got the result: there was a small-sized tumor in the liver which SGPT about a normal AFP resulted, high FBS, cholesterol and SGOT.

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Before sending us home, my father’s attending physician adviced us or recommend to have a follow-up check-up for blood test every month and return after 3 months, drink the medicine regularly and eat healthy food like fruits and oatmeal. Also, to avoid fatty foods and high sugar content food.

Six years after, my father was admitted to Chong Hua Hospital. Another batch of tests were conducted: blood examination, ultrasound and MRI. And the diagnosis were tumor is growing, SGPT still high and more or less same result in other blood test.

2009, my father was admitted in Davao Doctors’ Hospital. The whole family was there, my mother, brothers and sisters, and my nices. The doctor said that the tumor is malignant and my father has four months to live.

Knowing of my father’s condition, we decided to go to our hometown, which is also my father’s request. He wanted to be with his relatives and friend. My father also received different ceremony for the dying from my brother priest. Eventhough he was bed ridden, still he manage to crack jokes.

June 24, 2009 my beloved father passed away. Many people attended the burial. My father was a principled man. He helped many people were pro bono. He was indeed good lawyer, a pro-poor.

Student-Participant 3“Something I Am Proud Of”

Life is so short and I don’t intend to waste even a second of my life. Back then, I had my own plans and goals. Because of my love for animals, I wanted to be a vet. I am a family person so that would mean that I couldn’t wait to get married and start a family of my own.

As expected, things didn’t happen the way I planned. My dad had other plans for me. He wanted me to graduate BS-Accountancy with honors. Then he expected me to be a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), then become a lawyer.

I hated it. I hated the course he forced me to take. I had no interest in Accountancy. I hate numbers very much. And to make things worse, I had a great dislike for my teachers. They had this attitude of always assuming that the class is very smart and so they skipped the basic concepts. One of my teachers, is very unprofessional. He made a move on me by asking me out and made some suggestive remarks. I just ignored him. Lastly, I hated the teacher’s tardiness.

Since I knew that I didn’t have much choice, I tooked up BS-Accountancy and graduated as cum laude. I took the CPA board exam and passed it. I am currently taking up law and I am loving every minute of it.

Things may not have happened according to my plans but I couldn’t help but feel proud of what I have accomplished and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Student-Participant 4“Sacrifices to be Proud Of”

In my elementary and high school years, I have been an above-average student. I would consider myself such rather than calling myself excellent as I always find myself a little short to be part of the honor roll list of the batch. But somehow things changed in college – not my entire college experience, rather, just when it was about to end. During my first three years in college, I wasn’t concerned about being a college scholar, The term for a dean’s lister. I was more concerned about experiencing everything, Thus I was a student leader, an athlete and an above average student. But it was in my last year that I decided to be an excellent student. It wasn’t an easy journey, but surely I could say that exerting extra efforts to graduate as a Cum Laude is something I can be very proud of.

My decision to start exerting extra efforts could be traced with how I got myself to believe that maybe I could graduate with honors. It all started when I took the Law Aptitude Exam of UP. To be able to take the exam, a lot of requirements were asked from us. One of these requirements was a certification from our school reflecting our overall general weighted average for the past sems that I took. I requested for the certifications I needed, and at that point, things were still the same as they wer – I was still involved with the

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different organizations. It was when I got to see the certification that I realized that my overall GWA was 1.8; not far from the 1.75 requirement to graduate as a Cum Laude. After absorbing such information, I was able to compute for the grades that I needed to have in order to reach the cut off. It was an exciting moment of my life considering that I only have one semester which I could really be in control of as the first sem has already started. After computing everything, I ended up with two options. The first was to force myself to do everything I have to have a G.W.A. of 1.5 for the last two sems and the second was to just let things be and leave it all to fate. I decided to choose the first one.

However, the first choice wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. Im a student who can make good grades despite all the organizations that I am in. But I have to admit that these organizations took some of my time for studies. Specifically speaking, I have to go for Soccer practice three times a week, and after practice, I go home and immediately rest – there was no room for review during those practice days. Thus, I eventually decided to quit the soccer team and devote such time to review my lessons and hope that I get better grades this time. And since I wasnt attending soccer practice anymore, also ended up having less time with my room mates and friends. I missed a lot of get togethers as well as the tornaments I wished my entire life to participate in. But giving up all these activities wasnt enough, I had to be in a battle against myself and change my study habits. I had to remind myself everyday that the reason I go home earlier this time was to review my lessons and not to have extra time watching the DVD series we have at home. Eventually I learned to have a checklist and a time table to ensure that I was still in the right track.

After all the sacrifices that I made, I ended up graduating as Cum Laude with a General weighted average of 1.739. I have made my parents very proud as they walked across the stage with me to claim my award. But this wasnt all that I got from my sacrifices, I was also able to get a one semester scholarship in the University of San Carlos Law School. True enough that in this journey I had encountered some loss times with some things and people that I equally love and treasure. But these sacrifices I made for academics had made me believe that although you don’t get the best of everything at one time, it can. on the other hand, give you that sense of pride you can always keep for your entire life.

Student-Participant 5“A Fight for Dear Love”

I have always considered my friends as life’s sweets. They are people who were once strangers to me. But with little good luck and twist, they became my family. And with little bad luck and wrong twist, they might just go back to being strangers. I once had these bad luck and wrong twists and it almost cost me a friend, it taught me the word “sorry” and it gave me a lesson a keep.

It all happened one extremely hot and boring afternoon. My two friends and I decided to watch some romantic films because these are the type of movies that are closest to our hearts due to lack or absence of romance in our lives. These movies help fill up the loneliness that we keep. We even call ourselves “Team Alone”. You know what they say, “misery loves miserable company”. While watching the movie, I brought up the topic about how excited I was with our company dates (triple date) with the boys who we bought in a human auction during valentines day. See how desperate we are? And then one of my friends suddenly said that she will not push through with it and my other friend agreed with the idea and decided not to go too. I thought there was a conspiracy between them and I can’t help but showed and expressed my disappointment. They, too, were disappointed in me for not being able to understand and respect what they want. So that was the root and cause of all the problem boys. Though it may be shallow, but the issues that came up are deep and heavy.

I will never forget that experience because it almost cost me a friend. She kept her distance from me and I did the same thing to her. The talks, chit chats and laughter were replaced with isolation and dead silence. That silence only meant that I was definitely alone.

The long silence made me deaf as it continued for a month. When you live too long in silence, it will eat you alive. I decided that I didn’t want it anymore, that I don’t want to be

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alone by my self, I want to be alone with my friends. I don’t know how I survived isolation, all I know is that I don’t want it anymore. So I acquainted myself with the hardest of all words: SORRY. It came out of my mouth and made wonders on its own.

I considered it a lesson to keep because it changed me. It was like a scar with a story behind it and I will always be reminded of how shallow and self-centered I have been, how I pushed my friend away and how I wanted her back.

For most people, sorry is just another word which you can loosely use when you accidentally stepped on somebody’s shoes. As for me, “sorry” was my white flag which made me win a losing fight.

B. Undergraduate StudentsStudent-Participant 6“A Shift in Perspective”

I am a shiftee. My first college course was BS Applied Physics. I was not satisfied with my life there. Life in Physics was tough and depressing, but in the end, I was grateful.

For four years in Physics, I always felt so sincere about my classmates. Most of them were graduates from reputable high schools such as University of the Philippines, Philippine Science High School, and other Science high schools. They were so intelligent. During discussions, they could answer correctly all of our teachers’ questions. Also, they always get high scores in exams. I always compared myself to them. I studied harder- I studied almost every dawn. Still, I only got low, but not failing scores. Gaining low scores despite studying almost endlessly was depressing. Receiving bad, bitter, and dismaying remarks from teachers contributed to my depression even more.

So, I decided to shift after my last semester there- hoping that I could find a place where I could be happy and satisfied. Indeed, I am even happier and more satisfied with my life now. I am also thankful that my tough experience when I was in Physics made me realize that life does not end in misery. I shifted my perspective from pessimism to optimism- that is “good life” after “bad life.”

Student-Participant 7(No Title)

Every Sunday, my friends and I jog early in the morning around Sam just around the compound. Then around 6 am after jogging in the compound we saw our neighbor calling us. We go towards hes house and say “Good morning sir” and he replied ‘Good morning to you too”. He ask us a favor that if we could watch over his dogs while his at work. We said to him “sure! No problem” then he smiled at us and rust to work.

When we first encounter to watch over the dogs, we though that it was easy job for us because we all know that dogs are very responsible and friendly to take care. After he left the house we called the dogs. There were four dogs two female and two male. They have desame breed, German shepherds. There names were Che, Missy, Miko and Brownie. Che and Missy are the two female dogs while Miko and Brownie are the two male dogs. The four dogs were friendly and fun to play with.

My friends and I planned that we will let the dogs go out of the house. We put them there collars and chains so that they cannot run anywhere and we can control their movements and actions. When we were all tired playing with the dogs we returned to the house and rest. My friends saw that the dogs are thirsty so he gave them water to drink. Some of us were laying down on the ground and some of us were just sitting down in the grass. The dogs were very tired as well. After an hours of rest, we couled the dogs for their food. We notice that only 3 dogs came to us and we wonder that their was lacking. So we called and called but nothing. We search around the house and my friend find the dog just behind the garden. We notice that he’s very weak and couldn’t move. My friends and I called the pet store and seek for help. We rush the sick dog in the pet store.

The doctor of the pet store said that the dog has a fracture on his leg. The doctor explains to us what could cause of the dog weakness. The dog has Cenio that enables the dog weak. We called the owner of the dog and explain. After knowing the situation he rush

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threw the pet store. After knowing the situation he rush threw the pet store. After few hours of surgery the doctor said to us that the operation was a success. Finally on the next day we apologize to our neighbor and seek forgiveness. The owner was angry but happy because the dog was save.

Student-Participant 8“A time you did something you are proud of ‘Pursuing the Goal’”

As a person there are so many things that we need to choose and want to achieve in life whether if it is bad or good. We tried to change our life as we could no matter what comes out at the end as long as we are happy and enjoy of what we are doing. Just like me before all I wanted is to pursue college after graduating in high school but sad to say my parents cannot afford to send me in college. So, I decided to go to Manila and seek a job in order to earn money for my studies. Fortunately, I found a job as a housemaid for almost nine months I’ve been working I’ve decided to go home because I realized I’m not happy with my job and nothing’s change of my life. I’m still longing and searching that will completely achieve my dreams and meet my contentmend and satisfaction that I’ve been looking for.

Until one day, my cousin approached me to accompany her in Cebu because she’s looking for a job and so I did. We lived in our aunties house. Luckily, my aunt helped me to find a job and I found one as a janitress here in the University of San Carlos. Being a janitress here is not an easy job, it made me uncomfortable or shall I say I am not proud of my job because I found myself being in the lowest I mean others will find it “lookdown” in our term. But I’ll never give up or stop of my job, I need this to earn money for my goal. God is good. He never leaves me, I realized that this is the beginning of my dreams or the bridge of my goal when I heard that USC was accepting working scholars who cannot afford for their education. So I decided to enroll here on summer so that the tuition I will paid not so expensive or big amount and I used my money that I earned. I’ve been working here for almost eight months. After I finished summer class, I passed all the requirements in HRMO and happily I accepted here as a working scholar thanks God. Now, I’m very happy that I pursue my goal to continue my studies and able to support myself that makes me proud of.

Being poor is not the hindrance of success it is a beginning of a new journey in our path. It is a matter of perseverance and self-discipline.

Student-Participant 9“The first time I fall inlove it changed my life forever”

I had my first boyfriend when I was on my fourth year of high school. He was someone I’ve least expected to be the first boy I would be infatuated with. He was someone I’ve known for a long time. A player of our very own soccer team, he was quite famous. A lead guitarist of a band known for having silliest members. He was known not for being intelligent, but for being wise.

Before he told me that he had feelings for me, he courted another girl. I was the one helping him to get closer to that girl since that girl is a good friend of mine. I was teaching him how to win her heart. We talked and texted each other for many nights about that girl. I once adviced him “Before you decide if you would continue courting her, get to know her better and you’d find more reasons to like her”. I also adviced and gave him some tips for him to get close to the girl, such as bringing her things to the locker, helping her out on her school works and waiting for her after school.

After those days that we talked and texted each other, I was surprised to know that she stopped courting that girl and of course I was a little happy and nervous at the same time. Could it be because of the words that I have said that’s why he stopped courting her? I asked myself. We hadn’t had a communication after that.

The one day an unregistered number texted me. And to my surprise, it was him. He began talking and texting me again. He was asking a lot of things about me. We were getting to know each other more. We started hanging out together and before we knew it, we were closer than before. Then after those days, he asked me if he could court me, then I

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answered hin “yes you can but I can’t promise you a “yes.” After weeks of thinking, I answered him with a “yes”.

After 11 months of being together, we decided to split up and end our relationship. I learned a lot from him and he learned a lot from me. Memories were all that’s left between the two of us now.

Student-Participant 10“18. Birthday. Bash. Love”

I was born a day after Christmas and birthday parties weren’t always a big deal for me since they seemed pointless and redundant after much celebration has already been done. When I was about to turn eighteen, I decided that things were going to be different. But the thought of gowns and over-flowing cakes (not to mention tears), and entertaining a hundred guests scared the corny out of me, I decided to settle for a simple thanksgiving dinner that would gather my closest family and friends.

The entire night turned out to be a roller-coaster, but no matter how whirl-wind the ride off, I got off with the greatest happiness that I could ever feel.

The night wasn’t off to a good start, getting a taxi cab was so difficult. I was going to be late for my own party. On the way to the venue, I was already thinking of I how I going to explain to my guests why I was late but to my surprise, no single guest was around upon arriving at the restaurant. After a few moments, I I started to hear foot steps and started to feel better and I was even more pleased to see that my college friends came in with a surprise of roses and chocolate cakes.

From then on, I thought that things were going to go smoothly but I started to panic when I realized that the food may not be enough. So, I ordered more food with my Ate’s assurance that we had the credit card to pay for more food. But I still wasn’t feeling relieved knowing that a close personal friend and mentor who promised to come still had not arrived and the night was quickly coming to close. I started to feel better when he decided to catch up later that evening.

The dinner ended great and we were ready to party till dawn. But with a crowd of 20 on a Friday night, it was difficult to find a good place to accommodate us. When we finally found a place, a few of my closest friends left without notice; but at that moment, I knew I didn’t care because some of the closest people I have were still there and did not bail on me.

Drinks were over-flowing and the dancing was non-stop; I even cried because of too much happiness (and too much alcohol).

At the end of the night, my feet hurt like hell, I looked like a zombie from washed-up make-up, I was tipsy, I smelled like an ash-tray, I was broke, but I was happy.

And to top the experience all of, with some of the people I loved most in the world, I watched the sunrise to a brand new happy day.

Appendix EStudents’ Persuasive Compositions

A. Graduate Students (LLB)Student-Participant 1“Maria Ana Consuelo ‘JAMBY’ Abad- Santos Madrigal”

Sen. Jamby Madgrigal belatedly joined the 2010 presidential race. She announced her candidacy on 31 July 2009 and filed her certificate of candidacy on December 2009 as an Independent candidate without a vice-president and a senatorial slate.Sen. Madrigal comes from an old-rich clan. She was born on April 26, 1985 in Quezon City, Manila, Philippines. She is married to Eric Jean Claude Dudagnan Valade but unfortunately they have no children.

Sen. Madrigal studied basic and secondary education from the Assumption College of San Lorenzo, Village, Makati City. She eventually finished high school in Sacred Heart School in Menlo Park, USA. She obtained degrees I Economics and French from Sta. Clara University

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in California, USA. She pursued higher education in International and Development Economics in Yale and a masters from French review supervisor. She took up a special course on trade and Sharing from the Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.

In 1999, President Estrada appointed Madrigal as head of the newly created office of the Presidential Adviser for Children’s Affair. In 2001, under President Gloria Arroyo’s government, she became undersecretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. In 2003, she became spokesperson for the youth-based kontra Pulitika Movement (KPM) which champions education, protection for the environment and economic empowerment through livelihood programs. In 2004, Madrigal ran for and won a Senate seat largely due to the endorsement of popular actress Judy Ann Santos. In 2007, Madrigal joined the Genuine Opposition Political Party which she still belongs up to the present.

In her term as a Senator, Madrigal filed a total of 43, of which 7 were signed into law. The approved bills authored by Madrigal focused on environment civil, social and cultural/ religious issues. Among these bills are Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2008; Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2009, Anti- Racial and Religious Discrimination Act; Philippine Tax Academy and Child Legitimation Born to Parents Below Marriage Age.

Sen. Madrigal is affiliated as a Spokesperson of Kontra Pulitika Movement (KPM). She is also the founder and Chairperson of the Abad Santos Madrigal Foundation Inc; ABLE FOUNDATION; Books for Barangay Foundation Inc.; Sycamous Holdings Inc. and Unitera Holdings Inc.

Student-Participant 2“Gordon: The Transformer”

It was in 1997 when I first met this man. “Sincere” is the first word that I can describe him, and for me, that is the first and foremost character that a leader should possessed. When I heard he is running for the 2010 Presidential election, I believed Richard J. Gordom is the right man for the job. The man who has the attitude and the capacity to transform the country.

Senator Gordon is the person responsible for changing the Olongapo’s “Sin City” image into a model city. Through the effective programs he implemented like involving an active citizenry in solving crime, ensuring police accountability, efficient garbage collection, proper health and sanitation, and orderly public transport and traffic, he achieved his dream for the Olongapo. His track record in publiuc service speaks for itself, First, in 1980 – 1986 he became the Mayor of Olongapo City and also in 1988-1996. Second, he was the founding Chairman and Administrator of Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) from 1992 to 1998. Third, he served as Secretary of Tourism in 2001 – 2004. Now, he is one of the brilliant Law maker in the Senate. These are only to name a few.

He graduated in Ateneo de Manila University in his Bachelor of Arts, Major in History and Government and his Bachelor of Laws in University of the Philippines. (In addition) Senator Gordon is also the recipient of many awards in public service such as the Silver Humanitarian Award if the Philippines National Red Cross and the Ten Outstanding Young Men Award, In addition, he is passed significant lawas that our people are now enjoying. He authorized the Election Automation Act of 1997. HE co-authored the Biofuels Act of 2006 and Magna Carta of Women of 2009.

After knowing his background and achievements, certainly Senator Gordob can do more for the betterment of our beloved nation. His platform for the government is all for the people. He will lead our country in national development, to compete in the new global economy by his plan to prioritize education, enhance tourism to create more jobs, for there will more investors to come. He has a program on economic development in Mindanao, by fixing the moral, legal and the physical infrastructure. Protecting and preserving the environment is also one of his main agenda for our prosperity by implementing strictly our laws and punish those who break it, whoever and whenever.

Our country needs a man who can truly deliver the service our people deserve. The man who has the character and capacity to lead. Gordon is the man.

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Student-Participant 3“Yellow!”

It is time for change. So why yellow? First, we need a leader by example. Someone who can be brave for the country and stop corruption. Born in February 8, 1960, Benigno “Noynoy” Aguino II was elected to the House of Representatives in 1998 and he served there until 2007. He was also elected as Senator in May 2007, seeking to curb attempts by Arroyo to Amend the constitution. He is the only son of former president Corazon Aquino & Former Senator Benigno Aquino Jr.

A president serves and not steals. I am for Aquino because he is the man to stop corruption in the Philippines. One way is to punish the corrupt and to set an example to defer the would be corrupt officials. Aquino is the brave leader who is willing to have Arroyo convicted for being so corrupt. Nobody but Aquino will stand up against Gloria and nobody else is competent to stand up for our county & stop corruption.

Second reason why I choose Aquino is by the process of elimination. I will not vot for Erap because we all know he stole from us and he was pardoned by Arroyo. This man does not have integrity and obviously he will just let Gloria get away with it. I will not vote for Villar because this man is evil & corrupt. All he wants to do is get rich & he hopes to win by buying votes. His supporters are mostly smugglers. So obviously, this man has no moral values. I admire Gibo’s credentials but he is not the man for the job. He is another one of Arroyo’s cronies. He was appointed by Arroyo to be Secretaty of Defense. So I believe he will be biased. He even said he is not a credible person to address to with regard to the issue of the Ampatuans. I find Gibo to be a coward since he will not fight the issues head on. Also, corrupt men of Arroyo, especially the first gentleman, Mike Arroyo, has “business” with Gibo. So if Gibo wins, it means corruption.

We all need to vote for noynoy because a vot for noynoy is a vot to punish the plunderous Gloria and a vote to punish Gloria is needed for our country’s political maturity in that we just do not let crooks get away with it. We need noynoy, so let’s go yellow!

Student-Participant 4“Richard Dick Gordon – My Presidential Bet”

My presidential bet is someone who has a good track record, who stands by his principles and creates opportunities to empower his fellow Filipinos – My presidential bet is Richard “Dick” Gordon.

Dick Gordon has an established track record, which makes him suitable and deserving for the Presidential position. Just like his parents, James Leronard T. Gordon and Amelia Juico Gordon. Dick became the Mayor of Olongapo City for three terms. His first term started on the year 1980. During his term as Mayor, Olongapo became a highly urbanized ciy by the year 1983. Under his leadership, Olongapo city which was at the past known as a “Sin City” became a “model city” by raising police accountability through I.D. systems, proper health and sanitation, waste management & the strict observance of color coding in public transport. In the year 1991, Gordon started a campaign for U.S Naval Base in Subic. He led a nationwide rally for the retention of U.S. Bases in the Philippines. He had done such as he believed that the U.S. naval base in Subic Bay was a major income generating client of Olongapo City. However, in September 16, 1991, the Philippines Senate voted 12-11 to reject the extension of a bases treaty. Because of the withdrawal of Americans from the U.S. naval base in Subic, over 40,000 jobs for Filipinos were lost. To resolve such problem, Gordon led the citizens of Olongapo to mobilize and lobby for the inclusion of a free port concept into the national legislation for the conversion of the U.S. bases. It was in the year 1992 that Gordon was appointed as the chairman of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority. On the same year, the U.S. Navy completed its withdrawal from the facility and its conversion for civilian and commercial use began. Volunteerism and the high civic spirit of the host community boosted and market the pioneering efforts at conversion. But these weren’t all as Gordon was later appointed as Secretary of the Department of Tourism during 2001. With his experience as a former brand manager of Proctor and Gamble Philippines and chairman of SBMA, Gordon paved the way for the Philippines in the international tourism

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map by __ marketing the country in several tourism expositions and \read shows with the WOW Philippines campaign strategy. He also encouraged domestic tourism by holding regional events and having provincial destinations showcased at intramuros and the Nationalization of Holiday Economics. Aside from Tourism, Gordon was also elected as governor of the Philippine National Red Cross, taking active roles in rescue, relief and rehabilitation in various disasters. As a senator, Dick Gordon’s contributions are likewise exceptional. He insisted on the lawful process of charter change any according to the process set for in the constitution. He also preserved the separation of powers in government and asserted the Senate’s constitutional right and duty to conduct inquiries in aid of legislation. Further, he was also responsible for the Automated Election System to obviate cheating and post election controversies mad the Veteran’s bill which now allowed Filipino Veterans to receive any form of benefit from any foreign government without losing the benefits given to them by the Philippines government. Lastly, he was the principal author of the National Tourism Policy Act of 2009, declaring a National Policy for tourism as an engine of investment and employment, growth and national development.

Aside from his competence as proved by his past works, Gordon is also known for his integrity. He is known to stand by his principles no matter what. Gordon is not afraid to let the Filipinos know their weaknesses. Despite the fact that he knows that his statements are hurting to others, he is not swayed by this as he believes that being transparent is what would make the Filipinos improve and drive themselves to change. Dick Gordon envisions that we Filipinos must have dignity and validate our principles with good works.

If given the chance to be president, Gordon assures the Filipinos that he will fulfill his platforms and create opportunities to empower every Filipino. Dick Gordon believes that education is one clear solution to empower the Filipinos. He advocates for the modernization of education in the Philippines and plans to allocate and provide 17 million students with an Amazon Kindle, a device that allows a user to read electronic books as well as other digital media. Aside from that, Gordon also plans to increase the teacher’s monthly salary to P40,000 saying that an increase in salary will help attract skilled graduates to the teaching profession that can raise the academic performance of students in the country.

Student-Participant 5“An expository paragraph on Richard ‘Dick’ Gordon”

What does it take to be the next president of the Philippines? From an ordinary citizen’s point of view, I would have to say it’s “Love for the Country”. But love for the country is such a broad term, it is even much easier said than done. Though a broad term, I have a very simple explanation for that term, and that would be Richard Gordon. He is a man who has so much love to give for the country and the hopeful Filipinos. Because of this oozing love, he has achieved countless achievements are often forgotten if now neglected. So this paragraph would serve as a reminder in favor of the man of positive change.

Richard Gordon got his elementary education from Lourdes Catholic School. He graduated high school from Ateneo de Manila University and also got his college education from the same school wherein he took up BA History and Government. He took up Law from University of the Philippines and passed the bar. He was elected as the delegate of 187 district of Zambales to the 1971 Constitutional Convention. He was the youngest delegate in the said convention. He was elected mayor of Olongapo City wherein which under his leadership, Olongapo City was converted from being a ‘Sin City’ into a ‘Model City’ by raising police accountability through I.D systems, proper health and sanitation, waste management and strict observance of color coding in public transport. The withdrawal of the Americans from the US naval base in Subic meant loss of jobs for Filipinos. To address the problem, Gordon led citizens of Olongapo to mobilize and lobby for the inclusion of a free port concept into the national legislation for the conversion of U.S. bases. The effort was successful, with the inclusion establishments of Subic Bay Freeport Zone. Volunteerism and the high civic spirit of the host community marked the pioneering efforts of the conversion. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo appointed Gordon as Secretary if the Department of Tourism. With his experience as a former branch manager of Procter and Gamble Philippines and Chairman

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of SBMA, Gordon placed the Philippines in the international tourism map by actively marketing the Philippines in several tourism expositions and road shows. WOW Philippines Campaign Strategy won awards at ITB ad WTM. Since 1986, Gordon was elected governor of the Philippines National Red Cross, taking active roles in rescue, relief and rehabilitation in various disasters from shipwrecks, typhoons, 1990 earthquake in Cabanatuan, 1991 Eruption of Mount Pinatubo, 2004 landslide in Aurora, Quezon, Southern Leyte mudslide and Philsports arena stampede. Currently, he is the Chairman as well as the member of the Governing Board of International Federation of the Red Cross. He is also principal author of numerous bills which were passed into law like the Tourism Policy Act of 2009 creating unified and strengthened tourism policy for the country, The Gordon’s Veterans Bill which eliminated the prohibition against our veterans receiving benefits from the United States government. There is also the Automated Election Law which brings hope to the dirty and old electoral process.

Whatever position that Gordon occupies and even outside politics, he is able to bring positive change to the country. He is actively seeking for change, longing for it, not for himself but for the people. Whether or not he wins in this election, for sure he would still continue what he has started, for this man is not hungry for power, he is only hungry for change. And if you stand for change, you’ll stand to Gordon.

B. Undergraduate StudentsStudent-Participant 6“The Transformer”

Richard “Dick” Gordon has done so many things is his hometown Olongapo City and in the nation as well. In the past, he served as Mayor of Olongapo City, Chairman of the Red Cross, Secretary of Tourism, and Senator.

When Gordon served as Mayor of Olongapo, ex Gapo in short, he imposed a lot of progress in the city. One of these is the Public Transport Color Coding Scheme. This progress aimed to solve traffic problem in his city and provide protection to commuters. This meant that jeepneys and tricycles in the city were designated a particular body color to indicate destination while the numbers are conspicuously inscribed on that rides and on the rear portion for easy identification incase of accidents and complaints by passengers. This scheme has since been replicated in other urban areas ion the county such as Metro Manila, where the MMBA resorted to color-coding and odd-even scheme along EDSA. Gordon also imposed the Integrated Garbage Collection & Disposal System, created Rgional Science High School and University of the Philippines Extension Program, modernized hospital services, and other health and security programs.

When he served as Red Cross Chairman, be seat relief and assistance for a number of victims of calamities and catastrophes. He led a response team of the local Red Cross Chapter in Neuva Ecija is rescuing the people when a fire broke out at a public market in Palaura, Nueva Ecija.. He also joined the local Red Cross in Tarlac during the relief and rescue operations for the Culibangbang Dike collapse in Paniqui, Tarlac. In addition, he initiated relief and rehabilitation efforts of 3,000 families affected by Typhoon Mileng in the Southern Tagalog and Bicol Region. And then this doesn’t stop here. Gordon also led innumerable assistance during his service as Red Cross Chairman.

As Secretary of Tourism, Gordon implemented a number of tourism-related projects. He supported Puerto Princesa City, Davao City, General Santos City, and Kononadal City to boost morale and to ensure the public of the safety; he instituted the holiday economic scheme; he transformed Intramuros into a thriving center for tourism and livelihood; and he revived the neglected Paskuban Village in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga into Wow Northern Philippines Hilaga.

During his term as senator, he authored and co-authored 79 bills and 29 resolution , advocating political reform, justice, job creation, education, and disaster preparedness. He is also primarily responsible for passing two significant bills: the new automated election system law and the tourism bill. He passed a number of laws such as Republic Act 9333, which is fixing the regular elections in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.

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Truly, Richard Gordon has transformed a lot of communities in the Philippines. There are still numerous “transformations” that are left unwritten in this writing by all Gordon’s transformations are significant. If Gordon will win in the Presidential elections, Philippines will benefit change.

Student-Participant 7“Gilberto Eduardo Gerardo Cojuangco Teodoro Jr. (Gilbert/Gibo)”

Gilbert Teodoro Jr. is the current Secretary if National Defense of the Philippines, having assumed the post in August 2007. From 98 to 2007 he was a member of the House of Representatives, representing the First District of Tarlac province. He is the only child of former Social Security Sytem Administrator Giblerto Teodoro Sr. and fomer Batasang Pambansa member Mercedes Cojuangco – Teodoro. He the nephew of Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr. chairman of San Miguel Corporation and also the founder of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) party. Also, Secretary Teodoro holds distinct membership in the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, UP Alumni Association, UP Law Alumni Association, Harvard Alumni Association and the Harvard Law Alumni Association, is also licensed commercial pilot and a Colonel in the Philippine Air Force Reserve.

Teodoro spent his elementary and high school years at Xavier School. Shortly after completing high school, he attended a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce from Dela Salle University in 1984. He completed his law studies at the University of the Philippines where he was awarded the Dean’s Medal for Academic Excellence. For seven years, he honed his skills as a lawyer in the EP Mendoza law firm. He went to the Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts for his Master of Law and completed it. From 1998 to 2006 he was a congressman representing the First District of Tarlac province. He assumed the position of Assistant Majority Leader in the 11th congress and head of the Nationalist People’s Coalition house member.

In August 2007, Teodoro was appointed Secretary of the Department of National Defense at the age of 43, the youngest person to ever hold the position. In March 2009 he announced his intention to run for President of the Philippines in May 2010 elections. I personally vote him as president of the Philippines because I believe that through his achievements and skills he can be the next president of the Philippines. Comparing the candidates of Presidency, Noy-Noy, Erap, Villar, Gibo, Bro. Eddie, Gordon. Noy-Noy lacks of experience and leadership. Erap Estrada our former president corrups since his last position as president. Villar can manage but I don’t think people want his as the next president. Gordon has more experience and achievements against the top 3 next president. Finally, I hope people will vote wisely and will choose who will be the next president.

Student-Participant 8(No Title)

Joseph “Erap” Estrada gained popularity as a film actor, playing the lead role over 100 films in an acting career spanning 33 years. He used his popularity as an actor to make gains in politics, serving as mayor of San Juan for seventeen years, as Senator for one term, then as Vice President of the Philippines under the administration of President Fidel Ramos. Estrada was elected President in 1998 with a wide margin of votes separating him from the other challengers, and was sworn into the presidency on June 30, 1998. He assumed office amid the Asian financial crisis and with agricultural problems due to poor weather conditions, thereby slowing the economic growth. The economy recovered on 1999 and 2000. In 2000 he declared an “all-out-war” against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and captured it’s headquarters and other camps. However, allegations of corruption spawned a railroad impeachment trial in the senate and in 2001 Estrada was ousted from a coup after the trial was aborted. In 2007, he was sentenced by a “special court” to reclusion perpetua for plunder, but was later granted pardon by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. But despite

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of all the failure that he made he contributed a big help during his term especially to the poor. Like, the prices of the basic needs are being low and it really help the Filipino people. Erap is a big help for our country.

Student-Participant 9(No Title)

In a time of great change, a beacon is needed to guide the Filipinos. Gilbert, known as “Gibo”, Cojuangco Teodoro Jr. can be that beacon. Gibo is the only child of former social security system administrator Gilberto Teodoro Sr. and also former Batasang member Mercedes Cojuangco-Teodoro. In elementary, Gibo was the tall lank, and curly haired kid who wore teeth and back braces. But the young Gibo was exceptionally smart and genial. He may have come former a prolific family, but Gibo was neither sheltered nor a snob. Growing up, he had an early taste of politics and he showered great interest fir public service, which are some qualities of a great leader to possess.

He completed his grade school and highschool education at Xavier School. HE attained a Bachelor’s Degree in Cimmerse from de la Salle University in 1984. In 1989, he comleted his law studies at the University of the Philippines where he was awarded tge Dean;s medal for academic excellence. And in the same year, he topped the Bar exam here in the Philippines. Subsequently, he passed the New York State Bar Examinations in 1997. Gibo completed his master’s degree at the Harvard Law School in Massachusets and just early this year, he was given the first honorary doctor of laws degree by West Negros University of Bacolod.

Teodoro practiced his profession for seven years at the Estelito Mendoza Law Firm until his congressional candidacy in 1998. By his own merits, Gibo won and became Tarlac’s first District Representative for three terms, which means for straight 9 years. While in Congress, Gibo was a proponent of human rights, economic development and progress.

He is the 34th and youngest department of National Defense Secretary. Gibo is headstrong on preserving the security of the country. AS the concurrent chairman of National disaster Coordinating Council he is proactive and involved in disaster Management.

Gilbert Teodoro holds distinct membership in the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, UP Alumni Association, Harvard Alumni Association, and the Harvard Law Alumni Association. He is a licensed pilot. Aside for that, he also holds rank as the Colonel in the Philippine Air Force Reserve Force.

If I am on the right age to vote already, I would surely cast a vote fir Gibo Teodoro. I believe that he has the capacity and the potential to uplift the lives of the Filipino people from the miserable situations they are in. His concerns for progress, economic developments, human rights and his active involvement in disaster management is what we badly need. His early involvement in the world of politics proved that he is a great leader. He is the hope of our county and the hope of all.

So what are you all waiting for? Lets vote for him, for a great change.

Student-Participant 10“The Transformer”

A lot of people believed that Senator Richard “Dick” Gordon has the ability to be good president, but they also believed that he had no good ion chances of winning. How do you make your choice of presidential win if you keep the mentality for a second option?

In a country almost losing hope for real economic and political emancipation, change is a mere cliché epitome of trial and error. But to dick Gordon, change is still the key to transforming a nation. With the background, education, experience, a clear mission, and the heart to father an ailing county, Dick Gordon would have been the president his country needed.

Among all the presidential platforms his was the greatest because he aimed to salvage the most significant resource of the Philippines: it’s people. As a matter of fact, he pointed out that what this county needs in not a change of men, but a change in men. He

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leads the nation to this change by being its perfect model through his work as an honest government official and as the Chairman/CEO of the Philippine National Red Cross.

In addition to his service in the government and to the PNRC, he has also become the salvation that this nation has been crying out for. His efforts are tremendous in terms of disaster rescue, relief, and rehabilitation efforts. He has sacrificed his own life as he is hands-on during rescue missions brought forth by killer quakes, the 1991 Pinatubo Eruption, and the latest being typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng.

But he does not only connect with the people of this country, but with the enemies for the nation as well. He is the only official who can successfully negotiate the release of hostages of Muslim Terrorists groups without having to pay ransom, these including the release of 18 Filipino hostages from the Abu Sayyaf in 2000, the May 2001 Dos Palmas kidnapping, and the OFW stranded in Lebanon incident. In as much as he protects the victims of these attacks, he also understands the side of the rebels and why they do what they do. In one of his interviews he even said, “Pagawa mo and mga infrastructure noon[referring to GMA]. Bakit hindi sila magrerebelde? Kung ako noon magrerebelde din ako”.

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