RHETORICAL STRATEGIES IN STUDENT PERSUASIVE WRITING - DIFFERENCES BETWEEN NATIVE AND NONNATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS

Peusuasive/argumentative writing is an important and difficult mode of discourse for student writers. It is particularly problematic for non -native speakers, who often bring both linguistic and rhetorical defic its to the task of persuasion in English. This study analyzed 60 persu asive texts by university freshman composition students, half of whom were native speakers and half of whom were non native speakers of Engl ish for 33 quantitative, topical structure, and rhetorical variables. The results showed clear differences between the essays of native and non-native speakers. These results and their implications for second l anguage composition instruction are discussed.