摘要：The present study set out to compare the use of conjunctions and references in electronic mails and paper-based letters produced by Iranian EFL learners. Based on this purpose, the researchers used a mixed methods research and selected a sample of 54 university students majoring in English Language Translation. All the participants were asked to write a letter in a paper-based method. After two weeks, the same participants produced letters in the form of electronic mails. After data collection sessions, the researchers compared the two sets of data on the basis of the use of three types of conjunctions, i.e. coordinating, correlative and transitional conjunctions and also three types of references, i.e., anaphoric, exophoric and cataphoric. Actually, the researchers used Paired-samples t-test to estimate the amount of conjunctions used in electronic emails and paper-based letters. They, further, used the same statistical test to analyze the use of references in the two mediums of letter writing. In contrast to the use of conjunctions which presented a statistically significant difference, the use of references was not significantly different in electronic mails and paper-based letters. The research findings have several implications for language instructors and university students.
