Semantic Gravity

Bibliography:

ALMEIDA, Leone A., SILVA JÚNIOR, Ademir de J. and SANTOS, Bruno F., 2021. Semantic Gravity and Contextualization in the Chemistry Questions of the Brazilian National High School Examination. IOSTE Letters. 2021. Vol. 1, p. 53–59. BORYCZKO, Marcin, 2022. Critical thinking in social work education. A case study of knowledge practices in students’ reflective writings using semantic gravity profiling. Social Work Education. 3 April 2022. Vol. 41, no. 3, p. 317–332. DOI 10.1080/02615479.2020.1836143.

BROOKE, Mark, 2019. Using semantic gravity profiling to develop critical reflection. Reflective Practice. 2 November 2019. Vol. 20, no. 6, p. 808–821. DOI 10.1080/14623943.2019.1682986. BROOKE, Mark, 2020. Applying semantic gravity wave profiles to develop undergraduate students’ academic literacy. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics. 11 September 2020. Vol. 43, no. 3, p. 228–246. DOI 10.1075/aral.19012.bro. Abstract This study draws on Legitimation Code Theory (LCT), particularly semantic gravity waving, as a strategy for academic literacies practitioners to conceptualise how knowledge in their field might be organised and presented. Students can be guided to notice meanings related to context-dependency at the discourse and lexico-grammatical levels through the presentation of semantic gravity waving profiles. For this study, semantic gravity waving profiles have been found useful for explaining the rationale of a genre pedagogy approach, the structure of an Introduction-Method-Results-Discussion (IMRD) genre, and teaching both lexical coherence for a theoretical framework section, and accurate use of determiners with non-count abstract nouns such as “research”. Therefore, semantic gravity profiling seems to provide explanatory power as a pedagogical tool in the classroom. Findings from a mixed method survey with sixty students as well as extracts from student texts before and after semantic gravity waving profile pedagogical interventions are provided.

CRANWELL, Philippa B. and WHITESIDE, Karin L., 2020. Investigation into the Semantic Density and Semantic Gravity Wave Profile of Teachers When Discussing Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution (SE Ar). Journal of Chemical Education. 13 October 2020. Vol. 97, no. 10, p. 3540–3550. DOI 10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00571. DAI, Yuanjun and WU, Zhiwei, 2021. Developing multimodal communicative competence: Insights from “semantic gravity” and the Knowledge Process framework. System. 2021. Vol. 100, p. 102561. MACNAUGHT, Lucy, 2020. Demystifying reflective writing in teacher education with semantic gravity. In: Building knowledge in higher education. Online. Routledge. p. 19–36. Available from: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003028215-2/demystifying-reflective-writing-teacher-education-semantic-gravity-lucy-macnaught [Accessed 30 September 2025]. MACNAUGHT, Lucy, 2024. Writing blog critiques in teacher education: Teaching students what is valued with semantic gravity and genre theory. In: Demystifying Critical Reflection. Online. Routledge. p. 145–165. Available from: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003177210-10/writing-blog-critiques-teacher-education-lucy-macnaught [Accessed 30 September 2025]. MUNN, David, 2021. Learning transfer from an in-sessional ESAP module to International Relations and Development students’ core disciplinary writing assignments: Teaching semantic gravity to support cumulative knowledge building. Journal of Academic Language and Learning. 2021. Vol. 15, no. 1, p. 187–213. STEENKAMP, Christine M., ROOTMAN-LE GRANGE, Ilse and MÜLLER-NEDEBOCK, Kristian K., 2021. Analysing assessments in introductory physics using semantic gravity: refocussing on core concepts and context-dependence. Teaching in Higher Education. 18 August 2021. Vol. 26, no. 6, p. 871–886. DOI 10.1080/13562517.2019.1692335.

See Semantic Gravity Wave Profiles