Using Corpus Linguistics in the Development of Writing

Abstract

Corpus linguistics has its adequate justification in the teaching of writing skills since it can reveal patterns of authentic language use through analyses of actual usage. The aim of this paper is to list the most common corpora and explore useful, inexpensive and user-friendly software programmes, such as the WordSmith Tools or TextSTAT, exploited in the development of writing skills. In addition, the author provides several practical examples on how corpus linguistics can be applied to the development of writing skills. For instance, the concordance enables to see any word or phrase in context so that one can see what sort of company it keeps. Thus, students can, for example, see the differences between the words they often confuse (e.g., excited vs. exciting).