Bonsu Emmanuel Mensah

PhD student (FT)

ORCID ID

Research Gate

Research ID

Biography

Chief Supervisor:

Prof. Guangwei Hu

Education and Academic Qualifications

MPhil in English Language (2021-2023)
University of Cape Coast (Ghana)
Thesis title: “Between Sociolinguistics and Literature: Address and Reference Terms in Post-Colonial Ghanaian Literature”

B. Ed (English and History) (2016-2020)
University of Cape Coast (Ghana)
Project work: “The English Language Teachers’ Written Feedback and the Perceived Influence on Senior High School Students’ Writing Skill in English Language in Kumasi Metropolis”

Academic and Professional Experience

Tutor for Non-Resident Course (2023 Nov - 2024 August)
College of Distance Education, University of Cape Coast
- taught Sentence and Its Parts and Forms and Functions of the English Clause
- coordinated online teaching and learning
- assessed and recorded students’ examinations

Tutor for 3-Semester Sandwich Programme (2023 Nov - 2024 Jan)
Institute of Education, University of Cape Coast
- taught Literary Criticism
- coordinated online teaching and learning
- invigilated examinations
- supervised and assessed students.

National Service Personnel (2020 Sept - 2021 July)
Department of English, University of Cape Coast
- Provided assistance during examinations
- Organised and taught students at tutorial sessions
- Assisted lecturers in teaching
- Provided technical assistance in conferences
- Edited and proofread academic writings.

Research Interests

Research

Title of thesis:

Disciplinary Variation in Value Arguments in Research Article Introductions

Description of thesis research:

Promotional language, as illustrated through metadiscourse, expression of emotions, schematic structure, and other lexico-grammatical resources is increasingly permeating academic writing (Hyland & Jiang, 2021; Wang & Hu, 2024). While several studies have explored promotional strategies from the aforementioned illustrations, scant attention has been paid to how researchers use value arguments (VAs) to construct value in their research article introductions (RAIs) and in a disciplinarily appropriate manner to enhance the impact and significance of their research. VAs are rhetorical constructions that consist of “a claim [about something important to study], a ground or reason supporting the claim, and a warrant, typically unstated, on which the claim and reason are based” (Carter, 2016, p.307). Despite recognising VAs as crucial in establishing the importance of research (Carter, 2016, 2021), their detailed examination within the context of rhetorical situations remains unexplored. Additionally, the only available studies on VAs have adopted descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages) which leave a significant methodological gap in addressing variation in the construction and function of VA across disciplines. Hence, the study builds a corpus of RAIs from four academic disciplines and two historical periods to investigate the construction, use, and function of VAs.

Publications

Journal Articles

Hu, G., Asafo-Adjei, R., & Bonsu, E. M. (2024). Visions and missions: Stance in the marketisation discourse of selected Ghanaian universities. Linguistics and Education, 80, 101291. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2024.101291
Bonsu, E. M., & Nkansah, S. K. (2024). Re-visioning Ayi Kwei Armah’s Fragments (1970) through Wmatrix. Íkala, Revista de Lenguaje y Cultura, 29(1), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.ikala.352656
Afful, J. B. A., Hesse, K. E., Agbaglo, E., & Bonsu, E. M. (2023). Persuasive strategies in grant recommendation letters written by senior faculty in a Ghanaian university. ExELL (Explorations in English Language and Linguistics), 11(2), 133-156. https://doi.org/10.2478/exell-2023-0009
Bonsu, E. M. (2023). ‘Trapping my way up’: A corpus-assisted discourse analysis of Black Sherif’s songs. Critical Discourse Studies, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405904.2023.2269276
Afful, J. B. A., Hesse, K. E., Agbaglo, E., & Bonsu, E. M. (2022). Move analysis of grant recommendation letters written by faculty in a university. Taiwan International ESP Journal, 13(2), 39-74. https://doi.org/10.6706/TIESPJ.202212_13(2).0002
Bonsu, E. M., Afful, J. B. A., & Hu, G. (2023). A corpus-based genre analysis of letters of regularization: The case of land institutions in Ghana. Iberica, 45, 215-241. https://doi.org/10.17398/2340-2784.45.215
Bonsu, E. M., & Baffour-Koduah, D. (2023). From the consumers’ side: Determining students’ perception and intention to use ChatGPT in Ghanaian higher education. Journal of Education, Society & Multiculturalism, 4(1), 1-29. https://doi.org/10.2478/jesm-2023-0001
Mensah, M., & Bonsu, E. M. (2022). A postcolonial feminist reading of JM Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians (2000). International Journal of Humanity Studies (IJHS), 6(1), 109-121. https://doi.org/10.24071/ijhs.v6i1.3937
Agbaglo, E., & Bonsu, E. M. (2022). The role of digital technologies in higher education during the coronavirus pandemic: Insights from a Ghanaian university. Social Education Research, 3(3), 45–57. https://doi.org/10.37256/ser.3320221402
Agbaglo, E., & Bonsu, E. M. (2022). Functions of reporting verbs in the literature review of master’s theses in the discipline of economics. ELT Worldwide: Journal of English Language Teaching, 9(2), 347-359.
Nkansah, S. K., & Bonsu, E. M. (2022). Foregrounding the verbal process: A corpus stylistic analysis of Adichie’s Zikora (2020). Linguistics Initiative, 2(2), 155–172. https://doi.org/10.53696/27753719.2250
Bonsu, E. M., & Afful, J. B. A. (2022). Genre analysis of abstracts of research articles published in Biostatistics. International Journal of Literature, Language and Linguistics (IJLLL), 5(1), 17-38. https://doi.org/10.52589/IJLLL-A94THVEW

Presenter, Assuring the public: Lexical bundles in police public relation reports. Presented at the 16^th Linguistics Association of Ghana Conference (LAG ‘24), University of Ghana, Ghana, 2024.
Resource Person, Workshop on Corpus Linguistics. Presented by Dr Matthew Gillings. Sam Jonah Library, University of Cape Coast, Ghana
Participant, American Association of Applied Linguistics Webinar Series “Language and the Law: Highlighting AAAL’s new strand”. Online, November, 2023.
Presenter, Indigenous place name: A literary toponomastics study of suburbs of Cape Coast (ID-56). Presented at the (Scopus/ ISI) SOAS Glocal Afala 2023 “Linguistic Landscapes, Cultural Climates”. University of Nairobi, Kenya, October, 2023.
Presenter, Construing the past: An analysis of evaluation in Ghanaian history textbooks. Presented at the West African Systemic Functional Linguistics Interest Group, Ghana (Online), October, 2023
Presenter, A sociolinguistic analysis of address terms in Ghanaian drama texts. Presented at the 15th Linguistics Association of Ghana Conference “Rethinking Language and Linguistics Research for Sustainable Development in the 21st Century”. Takoradi Technical University, Ghana, August, 2023.
Presenter, Graduate seminar series, Between sociolinguistics and literature: Address terms in Ghanaian play texts. University of Cape Coast, Ghana, June, 2023.
Co-Presenter, Graduate seminar series, Immigration: Foreign spaces and the African illusion. University of Cape Coast, Ghana, May, 2023.
Co-Presenter, Linguistic landscape in a Ghanaian university: A stylistic analysis of plaques on commissioned buildings. Presented at Conference in Honour of Distinguished Scholars in Language and Literary Studies “Celebrating Tradition and Transformation of Language and Literary Studies”. University of Cape Coast, Ghana, September, 2022.
Co-Presenter, Commemorating excellence through critical perspectives: The case of Nii Ayi-Kwei Parkes’ Tail of the Blue Bird. Presented at Conference in Honor of Distinguished Scholars in Language and Literary Studies “Celebrating Tradition and Transformation of Language and Literary Studies”. University of Cape Coast, Ghana, September, 2022.

Esteem Measures

Deans Award of Excellence for MPhil thesis (January 2024)
College of Education Studies Award of Academic Excellence (March 2018)

Others

2023 Aug.-Oct.: Teaching Assistant for Postgraduate Sandwich Programme at the Department of English, University of Cape Coast
- Assisted in teaching and learning Academic Writing for Graduate Students, Seminar in English Studies, and Advanced Research Methods (Language)
- Organised and supervised online classes
- Evaluated and graded postgraduate students’ assignments and examinations
- Spearheaded tutorial sessions for postgraduate students

2023 June-Oct.: Teaching Assistant for WASCAL Language Proficiency at the Department of English, University of Cape Coast
- Assisted in teaching English reading proficiency
- Coordinated online meetings and lessons
- Assessed the Proficiency of English language levels of learners
2023 Jan.-June: International Baccalaureate and Cambridge IGCSE Teacher at Morgan International Community School
- Supervised extended and higher-level essays
- Taught and assessed internal IB English Literature
- Assisted in prep supervision
- Taught and assessed national-level English Language
2021 Nov.-2022 Jan.: Teaching Assistant for WASCAL Language Proficiency
- Assisted in teaching English speaking proficiency
- Coordinated online meetings and lessons
- Assessed the Proficiency English language levels of learners

2020 April-Present: Secretary for Naa Oo Naa Foundation
- Proofread articles for online publications,
- Coordinating humanitarian activities,
- Keeping documentation records of the organization, and
- Registration of new members.
7th-9th September 2022: (a) Member of a subcommittee in charge of securing sponsorship for a departmental conference; and (b) Spearheaded the technical team in running online conference presentations.
July 2021: Served on a strong five-member team that offered technical assistance for the Linguistics of Ghana Association conference. University of Cape Coast, Ghana.