2 authors: Eman Awni Ali University of Jordan 7

Moreover, some professors are hard to deal with especially when it comes to their treatment on the personal level. They put a great pressure in the students and make them feel that they shouldn’t be here. (Advanced)

In sum, the intermediate learners used relatively a more restricted set of elaborative DMs in their essays and relied heavily on the DM ‘and’ to compensate for their unfamiliarity with the other elaborative markers. Likewise, Martinez (2004, p.76) came to the conclusion that in the compositions that she analyzed, a varied set of elaborative markers were effectively used in the development of ideas by more proficient writers, whereas less proficient writers tended to repeat a restricted set of elaborative markers which resulted in a lower quality of writing.

2. 
   The variety of temporal markers
   

Temporal DMs serve the function of signaling structural relations between the segments that host them and prior discourse segments. They are, hence, extremely useful in organizing the structure of spoken and written discourse. The frequency of the temporal DMs in the learners’ expository writing is presented in Table 4.

Table 4 indicates that a variety of temporal DMs was used by the intermediate and the advanced learners. With the exclusion of some instances of using informal temporal markers (e.g. now), intermediate and advanced EFL learners managed to use temporal DMs properly. Asassfeh, et al., (2013, p.24) attribute EFL learners’ ability to use temporal markers properly to the fact that EFL learners are explicitly instructed to use this type of markers in essays that “adopt an organizational pattern of logical division of ideas.”

However, it is observed that each group of learners employed a varied set of temporal markers which is different from the set employed by the other group. The advanced learners, for example, used frequently the temporal markers ‘first’ and ‘first of all’ to introduce initial points whereas the intermediate learners relied on ‘firstly’ to signal initiality. In addition to the DM ‘finally’, the advanced learners employed ‘eventually’ to introduce concluding signals whereas ‘in the end’ was used by the intermediate learners. Examples (4-5) illustrate the use of temporal markers in the advanced and intermediate data, respectively.

4. 
   First of all, students suffer usually from the process of registration because they cannot find the courses they want. Secondly, students are always complaining from the high prices of hours. Finally, a lot of students face a problem to find a quite place where they can relax themselves after classes. (Advanced)
   
5. 
   Firstly, I faced as a major problem smoking. The students are smoking everywhere. It is making medical problem for the smokers and the other students. Secondly, our university facing crowded. The numbers of the students are very huge. And we need more facilities. Finally, we faced hard subjects to study. (Intermediate)
   

3. 
   The variety of inferential markers
   

Despite the fact that the inferential makers had a slightly lower frequency in the intermediate EFL learners’ data, a deeper analysis indicates that the intermediate learners used a restricted set of this category in comparison with the advanced learners. The analysis of the occurrences of the inferential markers in the learners’ essays is presented in Table 5.
The analysis reveals that the intermediate and the advanced learners relied heavily on the DMs ‘so (that)’ and ‘because (of)’ to signal a relationship of inference between discourse segments. This result is in line with the research conducted by Vickoυ and Djiunoυić (2011, p.270) who observed that these markers are the most frequently employed inferential markers by EFL learners. In spite of the overreliance on ‘so (that)’ and ‘because (of)’, the advanced learners employed relatively a varied set of inferential markers in contrast to the intermediate learners who neglected the use of other markers that are grouped under the inferential category of DMs.
The inferential markers (as a conclusion, consequently, in conclusion, in this case, since, then, therefore and thus) occurred in the advanced learners’ essays, whereas the taxonomy of inferential markers used by the intermediate learners only included ‘so (that)’ and ‘because (of). Similarly, the results of the study conducted by Asassfeh, et al., (2013) reveal that the DMs ‘because’ and ‘so’ represent 93% of the inferential markers employed in the intermediate students’ essays. Examples (6-7-8) represent the use of inferential markers by the advanced learners.

6. 
   One of the most common problems facing students is the university poor management and lack of proper communication between departments and between different sections. Consequently, students fall victims of such shortcomings. (Advanced)
   
7. 
   The number of professors does not suffice to cover students’ needs, therefore students may have to content themselves with unqualified professors. (Advanced)
   
8. 
   As a conclusion, students find that problems are deep and it would take time to change them. (Advanced)
   

4.