Comparative Study of Thematic Choice and Progression on Text Written by Humans and AI Machine

Suharsono Suharsono; Ashadi Ashadi; Titik Sudartinah

doi:10.24071/joll.v24i1.6538

Comparative Study of Thematic Choice and Progression on Text Written by Humans and AI Machine

Suharsono Suharsono, Ashadi Ashadi, Titik Sudartinah

Abstract

The development of AI technology has enabled machines to carry out tasks that previously could only be done by humans. Scientists of AI have recently launched a tool called ChatGPT. It is a tool that can do whatever is ordered by humans, including making academic writing like an abstract. Thus, this study aimed to compare thematic choice and thematic progression on the text of research abstracts of undergraduate students of Teacher College and those by ChatGPT (AI machine). To analyze the data, this study employed the thematic structure of Systemic Functional Linguistics developed by Halliday & Matthiessen and thematic progression developed by Bloor & Bloor. The thematic choice was analyzed by observing the variety of themes appearing in the two texts, as well as the level of complexity and diversity used. Thematic progression was evaluated by examining how the themes are arranged and developed along with the development of the texts. The results of this study show that AI machine has reached a level of proficiency allowing AI to rival humans. Even though there are fundamental differences in thematic progression patterns between texts written by undergraduate students and ChatGPT, this study concludes that the two are not significantly different. Therefore, the researchers suggest that further research in a similar field may explore issues such as quality, creativity, and originality. Afterwards, this study also suggests that English teachers use this thematic structuring knowledge and skills to improve students’ writing skill. This study provides valuable insight into the capabilities and limitations of AI machine in imitating the human creative process of writing.

Keywords

Systemic Functional Linguistic; thematic structure; ChatGPT; abstract

Full Text:

PDF

References

Akin, F.K. (2023). The Art of ChatGPT Prompting: A Guide to Crafting Clear and Effective Prompts. from https://fka.gumroad.com/l/art-of-chatgpt-prompting?layout=profile.

Alyousef, H. S. (2021). The Status of Theme in Research Article Abstract in Seven Dentistry Subdisciplines: A Text-Based Study of Intradisciplinary Variations and Similarities in Thematic Choice and Thematic Progression Patterns. Journal of Language and Education, 7(1), 28-45. https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2021.10574

Arif, A., Shah, S. H. R., & Ali, A. (2020). An Investigation on Academic Writing Problems Encountered by Undergraduate Students of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University, Sanghar Campus. Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics, vol 68, 9-12. https://doi.org/10.7176/jlll/68-03

Ariyanti, A., & Fitriana, R. (2017). EFL Students’ Difficulties and Needs in Essay Writing. In International Conference on Teacher Training and Education (ICTTE), pp. 33-42. Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/ictte-17.2017.4

Babaii, E., Atai, M. R., & Shoja, L. (2016). A Comparison of Thematic Choices and Thematic Progression Patterns in the Research Articles of Well-established and Emerging Disciplines. Iranian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 19(2), 33–60. https://doi.org/10.29252/ijal.19.2.33

Bi, X. (2023). L1 Transfer in Chinese EFL Learners’ Use of Thematic Progression in English Argumentative Writing. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 13(2), 362–369. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1302.10

Bloor, Thomas, & Meriel. (2004). The Functional Analysis of English Second Edition. New York: Oxford University Press.

But, D., Fahey, R., Feez, S., Spinks, S., & Yallop, C. (1998). Using Functional Grammar An Explorer’s Guide Second Edition. Sydney: National Centre for English Language Teaching and Research, Macquarie University.

Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage publications.

Dashela, T. (2021). THE ANALYSIS OF THEME AND RHEME IN SHORT STORY OF SLEEPING BEAUTY WITH A SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL APPROACH. SALEE: Study of Applied Linguistics and English Education, 2(1), 11–28. https://doi.org/10.35961/salee.v2i01.201

Dos Santos, R. P. (2023). Enhancing Physics Learning with ChatGPT, Bing Chat, and Bard as Agents-to-Think-With: A Comparative Case Study. Available at SSRN: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4478305

Dwivedi, Y. K., Hughes, L., Ismagilova, E., Aarts, G., Coombs, C., Crick, T., Duan, Y., Dwivedi, R., Edwards, J., Eirug, A., Galanos, V., Ilavarasan, P. V., Janssen, M., Jones, P., Kar, A. K., Kizgin, H., Kronemann, B., Lal, B., Lucini, B., Medaglia, R., Williams, M. D. (2019). Artificial Intelligence (AI): Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Emerging Challenges, Opportunities, and Agenda for Research, Practice and Policy Item Type Article. International Journal of Information Management, vol 57, 101994. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2019.08.002

Ebrahimi, S. F., & Ebrahimi, S. J. (2014). Thematic Progression Patterns In The IELTS Task 2 Writing. Journal of Advances in Linguistics, 3(3), 253–258. https://doi.org/10.24297/jal.v3i3.5219

Eggins, Suzanne. (2004). An introduction to systemic functional linguistics. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group.

Emilia, E., Habibi, N., & Bangga, L. A. (2018). An analysis of cohesion of exposition texts: An Indonesian context. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 7(3), 515–523. https://doi.org/10.17509/ijal.v7i3.9791

Faiz, A., & Kurniawaty, I. (2023). Edukatif: Jurnal Ilmu Pendidikan Tantangan Penggunaan ChatGPT dalam Pendidikan Ditinjau dari Sudut Pandang Moral. Jurnal Ilmu Pendidikan, 5, 456–463. https://doi.org/10.31004/edukatif.v5i1.4779

Feri, O. Z., Ashadi., Triyono, S., Pranowo, D. (2023). Thematic Structure in Students’ Writings: Implications on their Ideas Organization and Development. REGISTER JOURNAL, 16(01), 49–72. https://doi.org/10.18326/rgt.v16i1.49-72

Firaina, R., & Sulisworo, D. (2023). Exploring the Usage of ChatGPT in Higher Education: Frequency and Impact on Productivity. Buletin Edukasi Indonesia, 2(01), 39–46. https://doi.org/10.56741/bei.v2i01.310

Firat, M. (2023). How chat GPT can transform autodidactic experiences and open education. Department of Distance Education, Open Education Faculty, Anadolu Unive.

Fitriati, S. W., & Gayatri, N. M. (2021). Thematic Progression in EFL Learners’ Writing: A Literature Review. Lingua Cultura, 15(2), 257–262. https://doi.org/10.21512/lc.v15i2.7645

Fries, P. (1983). On The Status of Theme in English: Arguments from Discourse. In Jalilifar, A. & Alipour, M. (2017) A Comparative Study of Thematicity in The Argumentative Writing of University EFL Students and The Introduction Section of Research Articles. Journal of Teaching Language Skills (JTLS), 36(1), 85-110. https://doi.org/10.22099/jtls.2017.4043

Gunawan, W., & Aziza, F. (2017). Theme and thematic progression of undergraduate thesis: Investigating meaning-making in academic writing. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 7(2), 413–424. https://doi.org/10.17509/ijal.v7i2.8350

Hanafiah, R., Yusuf, M., & Aswani, A. (2018). Theme Markedness in EFL Students’ Recount Texts: A Systemic Functional Analysis. Southeast Asia Language Teaching and Learning (SALTeL) Journal, 1(1), 14–20. www.altsacentre.org

Hanh, N. T. (2021). Improving writing skills with systemic functional linguistic approach: The case of Vietnamese EFL students. World Journal of English Language, 11(2), 71–83. https://doi.org/10.5430/WJEL.V11N2P71

Hanusova, S., Dontcheva-Navratilova, O., Valisova, M. L., & Matulova, M. (2020). Process genre approach to l2 academic writing: An intervention study. XLinguae, 13(4), 30–51. https://doi.org/10.18355/XL.2020.13.04.03

Hasan, J., & Marzuki, M. (2017). An Analysis of Student’s Ability in Writing at Riau University Pekanbaru - Indonesia. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 7(5), 380. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0705.08

Hawes, T. (2015). Thematic progression in the writing of students and professionals. Ampersand, 2, 93–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amper.2015.06.002

Herdiawan, R. D. (2017). Thematic Structure and Thematic Progression in Background of the Study Section of Students’ Skripsi. International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, 8(12), 974–983. https://doi.org/10.14299/ijser.2017.12.006

Hsieh, H. F., & Shannon, S. E. (2005). Three approaches to qualitative content analysis. Qualitative Health Research, 15(9), 1277–1288. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732305276687

Hůlková, I., Dontcheva-Navratilova, O., Jančaříková, R., & Schmied, J. (2019). Intercultural variation in academic discourse: Theme zones and the build-up of coherence in research articles. Topics in Linguistics, 20(2), 33–53. https://doi.org/10.2478/topling-2019-0008

Jalilifar, A. & Alipour, M. (2017). A Comparative Study of Thematicity in The Argumentative Writing of University EFL Students and The Introduction Section of Research Articles. Journal of Teaching Language Skills (JTLS), 36(1), 85-110. https://doi.org/10.22099/jtls.2017.4043

Jeblick, K., Schachtner, B., Dexl, J., Mittermeier, A., Stüber, A. T., Topalis, J., Weber, T., Wesp, P., Sabel, B., Ricke, J., & Ingrisch, M. (2022). ChatGPT Makes Medicine Easy to Swallow: An Exploratory Case Study on Simplified Radiology Reports. Available at http://arxiv.org/abs/2212.14882

Krippendorff, K. (2004). Content Analysis_ An Introduction to Its Methodology. Sage Publications.

Lo, C. K. (2023). What Is the Impact of ChatGPT on Education? A Rapid Review of the Literature. Education Sciences, 13(410), 410. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13040410

Lund, B. D., & Wang, T. (2023). Chatting about ChatGPT: How may AI and GPT impact academia and libraries? Library Hi Tech News. Available at https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4333415

M. A. K. Halliday, Christian M. I. M. Matthiessen. (2004). Introduction to Functional Grammar. USA and Canada: Routledge.

M. A. K. Halliday, Christian M. I. M. Matthiessen. (2014). Halliday’s Introduction to Functional Grammar. USA and Canada: Routledge.

Martin, J. R., Matthiessen, C. M. I. M., & Painter, C. (2010). Deploying functional grammar. Commercial Press.

Mccabe, A. (1999). Theme and Thematic Patterns in Spanish and English History Ttext. Doctoral Thesis of School of Social Sciences and Humanities. Available at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267420335

Naderi, S., & Koohestanian, F. (2014). Thematic Structures in Conference Papers by Persian EFL Scholars. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 118, 351–356. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.02.048

Na-On, R., & Jaturapitakkul, N. (2017). Identifying Thematic and Rhetorical Patterns in Research Project Abstracts of Thai EFL Engineering Undergraduates. Journal: Language Education and Acquisition Research Network Journal, 10(2), 71-89.

Nugraha, D., & Ridwan, S. I. (2022). Recount Text in EFL Vocational School: A Thematic Structure Analysis. Elsya : Journal of English Language Studies, 4(3), 290–297. https://doi.org/10.31849/elsya.v4i2.9983

Nugraha, D. S., & Mbato, C. L. (2022). Abstract in Undergraduate Thesis: a Study of Linguistic Realizations of Rhetorical Moves and Thematic Patterns of Indonesian EFL Students. Eralingua: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Asing dan Sastra, 6(1), 82-102. https://doi.org/10.26856/eralingua.v6i1.28487

Nurdianti, D., Pahamzah, J., & Fargianti, Y. (2022). Theme-Rheme Organization of Background Section in Research Proposal Introduction. Journal of Linguistics, Literacy, and Pedagogy, 1(2), 71–76. https://jurnal.untirta.ac.id/index.php/JLLP

Nurkamto, J., Djatmika, & Prihandoko, L. A. (2022). Students’ Problems of Academic Writing Competencies, Challenges in Online Thesis Supervision, and The Solutions: Thesis Supervisors’ Perspectives. Teflin Journal, 33(1), 123–147. https://doi.org/10.15639/teflinjournal.v33i1/123-147

Park, K., & Nam, D. (2015). Analysis of Thematic Structure in L2 Writing: A Systemic Functional Perspective. SNU Open Repository and Archive.

Purba, G., & Pasaribu, A. N. (2021). Thematic Progression in Students’ Descriptive Text. PROJECT: Professional Journal of English Education, 2(2), 227-233. https://doi.org/10.22460/project.v2i2.p227-233

Qomariah, N. (2021). Theme and Rheme in Students’ Writing. Annual International Conference on Language and Literature (AICLL), Volume 2021, 502–515. https://doi.org/10.18502/kss.v5i4.8707

Rahman, K., & Arsyad Arrafi’, M. (2017). Thematic Progression Patterns in ELT Journal Abstracts. Journal of English Language Teaching, 4(2), 72. http://doi.org/10.33394/jo-elt.v4i2.2447

Rahmawati, R. V., & Kurniawan, E. (2015). Thematic Progression Analysis in Indonesian EFL Students’ Thesis Abstracts. Indonesian EFL Journal, 1(1), 81–87. https://doi.org/10.25134/ieflj.v1i1.617

Rakhman, A. N. (2013). An Analysis of Thematic Progression in High School Students’ Exposition Texts. Passage, 1(1), 65-74.

Rind, S., A. (2020). Identifying Academic Writing Problems Faced by Undergraduate Students at Shah Abdul Latif University Ghotki Campus. Research on Humanities and Social Sciences, 10(2), 62-73. https://doi.org/10.7176/RHSS/10-2-07

Salih, N., & Ridha, A. (2014). Theme and Rheme: Types and Problems in EFL University Students’ Written Texts. Available at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311855713

Sari, E. D. P., & Agustina, M. F. (2022). Thematic Development in Students’ Argumentative Essay. IDEAS: Journal on English Language Teaching and Learning, Linguistics and Literature, 10(1), 166–174. https://doi.org/10.24256/ideas.v10i1.2563

Septarica, N. H. G., Hartono, R., & Suwandi, S. (2021). Cohesion and Coherence in Final Project Abstracts Written by Non-English Department Undergraduate Students. English Educational Journal (EEJ), 516(4), 516–527. http://doi.org/10.15294/eej.v11i1.47453

Setiawan, A., & Luthfiyani, U. K. (2023). Penggunaan ChatGPT Untuk Pendidikan di Era Education 4.0: Usulan Inovasi Meningkatkan Keterampilan Menulis. JURNAL PETISI (Pendidikan Teknologi Informasi), 4(1), 49–58. https://doi.org/10.36232/jurnalpetisi.v4i1.3680

Suherman, R., & Mahdi, S. (2018). Thematic Progression Analysis of Self-Introduction Paragraph Written by EFL Students in Indonesian. Proceedings on Social Science and Humanities. Available at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347117095

Suleiman Alyousef, H., & Ahmed Alzahrani, A. (2020). A Functional Analysis of the Thematic Organization in Electrical Engineering Research Article Introductions Written in English By Native and Saudi Scholars: A Comparative Study. Arab World English Journal, 11(2), 114–141. https://doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol11no2.9

Susnjak, T. (2022). ChatGPT: The End of Online Exam Integrity? http://arxiv.org/abs/2212.09292

Suwandi. (2016). Coherence and cohesion: An analysis of the final project abstracts of the undergraduate students of PGRI Semarang. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 5(2), 253–261. https://doi.org/10.17509/ijal.v5i2.1349

Wang, I. (2007). Theme and Rheme in The Thematic Organization of Texts: Implications for Teaching Academic Writing. Asian EFL Journal, 9(1), 164-176. https://doi.org/10

Wang. (2014). Theme in Translation: A Systemic Functional Linguistic Perspective. International Journal of Comparative Literature and Translation Studies, 2(4), 54. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijclts.v.2n.4p.54

Wei, J. (2016). Effect of Instruction on Chinese College Students’ Thematic Choice in Academic Writing. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(14), 60-68.

Yuned, R. O., Azwandi, A., & Arono, A. Thematic Progression of the 2015 Teflin Article Abstracts in Applied Linguistics. JOALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literature), 1(2), 95-115. https://doi.org/10.33369/joall.v1i2.4207

Yuned, R. O. (2016). Coherence Analysis of The 2015 International Conference Article Abstracts in Applied Linguistics. Proceedings of ISELTS FBS Universitas Negeri Padang, 4(2), 199-209.

Zhai, X. (2022). ChatGPT: Artificial Intelligence for Education. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.35971.37920

Zhou, L., & Li, J. (2023). The Impact of ChatGPT on Learning Motivation: A Study Based on Self-Determination Theory. Education Science and Management, 1(1), 19–29. https://doi.org/10.56578/esm010103

Zirar, A., Ali, S. I., & Islam, N. (2023). Worker and workplace Artificial Intelligence (AI) coexistence: Emerging themes and research agenda. Technovation, 124, 102747. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2023.102747

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24071/joll.v24i1.6538