Consistency of Semantic Meaning with Structure and Context in English Writing

【Abstract】The ability of English writing is an important aspect for English learners. This paper will discuss the relationship between semantic meaning and context， the structure in English writing， and tries to discuss the consistency of semantic meaning with structure and context in English writing， so as to help English learners develop good writing habits and improve the ability of English writing.

【Key words】English； writing； consistency

【作者簡介】夏春紅（1991- ），女，漢族，山東淄博人，魯東大學外國語學院，研究生，教育碩士，研究方向：學科教學（英語）。

Introduction

Good English writing should have some characteristics such as the beauty of music， the beauty of architecture and the beauty of painting. English writing should pay more attention to the consistency of semantic meaning with structure and context in English writing. This paper will analysis the relationship of semantic meaning and English writing， structure and context in English writing， explain the importance of consistency of semantic meaning with structure and context in English writing.

1. The Semantic Meaning and English Writing

As an important component of English writing， discourse is not simple accumulation of irrelevant sentences， but rather an inner relations and connection between meaningful groups， thus forming meaningful and coherent chapter. Semantic meaning refers to the meaning of language sign， that is， the content of specific symbols of specific language. Cohesion and coherence are the basic means to achieve other standards of discourse. Cohesion is an important content for the feature of the discourse. Coherence refers to the relevance of the semantic in the discourse. They should be the core content in the teaching of English Writing. However， semantic meaning expresses different meanings in different contexts. The expression of semantic meaning has a close and important connection to English Writing.

2. The Influence of Context in English Writing

Context plays a vital role in English Writing. English Writing is a process of communication， which determines that the use of language must rely on the context. If the readers are children， the writer should choose easy words and simple sentences； if the readers are strangers， the passage should be written in formal style； if the readers are familiars and families， the writer should choose the intimate style. Therefore， different contexts constitute different semantic meanings， which make the structures suit to the readers.

3. The Importance of Structure in English Writing

Structure is very important in the construction of English discourse. Halliday points out that “discourse is structured； it is a semantic structure， not grammatical structure.” Word choice， sentence fluency， and the writers voice—all contribute to the style of a piece of writing. Many sentence patterns make the discourse looks more artistic and diverse. A well-designed paragraph has three characteristics： completeness， unity and coherence. This kind of paragraph will usually fall into one of three patterns： coordinate structure， subordinate structure and mixed structure.

4. The Importance of Consistency of Semantic Meaning with Structure and Context in English Writing

The semantic meaning， context and structure should be consistent， and they relate to each other. The context refers to the feelings of the paper， the semantic meaning have different meaning according to the different contexts. Structure makes the English writing exquisite and logical； context and semantic meaning make the discourse more accurate. These three items are all conditions for good English writing. Therefore， the semantic meaning with structure and context should be consistent， only these three items are combined to write English writing well.

5. Conclusion

The nature of the development of English writing competence for English writers thus involves integrating sentence patterns， structure and context. To write authentic English compositions， the most important problem is the consistency of semantic meaning with structure and context. Semantic meaning is the first thing to be considered， it is related to the context. Whats more， the structure is the basis of the discourse， making the discourse logical. English writing should pay attention to the combination of the semantic meaning， context and structure. Only by insisting on good writing methods can the writing level and quality be improved.

References：

[1]胡壯麟.語篇的銜接與連貫[M].上海外語教育出版社，1994.