Adolescents' production of complex syntax in spoken and written expository and persuasive genres

Analysing spoken and written language samples across different genres provides speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and educators with information about adolescents' production of complex syntax, an important socially and academically related language skill. However, researchers report that production of complex syntax is affected by genre and modality. Although the narrative and expository genres elicit a greater amount of complex syntax than conversational discourse, it is unknown whether differences in production of complex syntax exist between the persuasive and expository genres. The purpose of this study was to compare adolescents' production of complex syntax across spoken and written expository and persuasive genres. Spoken and written expository and persuasive language samples were elicited from 64 adolescents. Complex syntax was measured by calculating per cent of complex utterances and clausal density. Two repeated measures ANOVA revealed that complex syntax production was affected by genre and modality. Adolescents produced a higher percent of complex utterances and a higher clausal density in the persuasive genre than the expository genre. Adolescents produced a higher percent of complex utterances in the written modality than the spoken modality across genres; however, there was not a significant difference in adolescents' clausal density across modalities. There were significant interaction effects between genre and modality for percent of complex utterances and clausal density. The significant interaction effects suggest that differences in the production of complex syntax between the spoken and written modalities depended on the genre elicited. We discuss multiple implications and specific directions for future research.