TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 RATIONALE
1.2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
1.2.1 Aims
1.2.2 Objectives
1.3 THE SCOPE OF THE STUDY
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1.5 DEFINITION OF TERMS
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
1.7 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
2.1 THE REVIEW OF PRIOR RESEARCH
2.2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
2.2.1 Discourse and Discourse Analysis
2.2.2 Genre Analysis and Approaches to Genre
2.2.3 The Systemic-Functional Approach to Language Study
2.2.4 Overview of Admissions Essay
2.2.5 Summary
CHAPTER 3: METHODS AND PROCEDURES
3.1 METHODS OF THE STUDY
3.2 DESCRIPTION OF SAMPLES
3.3 DATA COLLECTION
3.4 DATA ANALYSIS
3.5 PROCEDURES
3.6 RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY
CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS
4.1 DISCOURSE STRUCTURE OF ADES
4.1.1 The Title
4.1.2 The Introduction
4.1.3 The Body
4.1.4 The Conclusion
4.2 LEXICO-GRAMMATICAL FEATURES OF ADES
4.2.1 Transitivity
4.2.2 Mood
4.2.3 Thematisation
4.3 SUMMARY
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
5.1 CONCLUSIONS
5.2 IMPLICATIONS
5.3 LIMITATIONS
5.4 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH