Pragmatic Analysis of Written Directives in English Examinations

Abstract

The study analyzed the directives in the English major examinations collated from Batangas State University. It covered the instructors extent of use of examination types. At the end of the study, a set of guidelines in the construction of directions was proposed. The descriptive method of research was utilized with the questionnaire as the main data gathering instrument. To get the pragmatic implications, the qualitative method was employed in analyzing the forms of directives under the lenses of Searle’s Speech Acts, Hyland’s Classification of Directives, indices of power, and directness. The results revealed that there were 97 forms of directives embedded in the tests with write, read, and identify as the top three most frequently used. In terms of power and directness, most directives were deemed firm and moderately direct. Using Hyland’s classification, the majority of the directives fell under cognitive acts, followed by the physical acts.