scholarly journals A Comparative Genre-Based Analysis of Move-Step Structure of RAIs in Two Different Publication Contexts

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Sultan H. Alharbi

This genre-based study investigates the move-step structure of two sets of English-medium research article introductions (RAIs) in the field of applied linguistics using Swales’ (1990, 2004) Create a Research Space (CARS) model of move/step analysis. A corpus of 30 RAIs from two English-medium research articles (15 International and 15 Local) was selected. The international research articles written for an international readership were selected from the journal English for Specific Purposes, while the local research articles, written for local readers, were selected from Arab World English Journal. The findings indicated that although the three moves suggested by the CARS (Swales, 1990, 2004) model appeared in the two subcorpora, some variation was observed with respect to the range of moves employed in each subcorpus. As expected, Move 2 was not always found in texts in the Local subcorpus. In terms of steps and sub-steps analysis, the findings showed the three steps and sub-steps of Move 1 are conventional in the International and Local applied linguistics RAIs. Further, while M2-S1B is conventional and M2-S1A is optional in the Local subcorpus, these two sub-steps of Move 2 are conventional in the International subcorpus. There were no striking differences between the two subcorpora with regard to the employment of the proposed steps of Move 3. Limitations and the implications of the findings, as well as recommendation of some suggestions for future research are provided.

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-63
Author(s):  
Abdul Wahid Ibrahim Tocalo

Rhetorical move analyses of research article (RA) abstracts have established variations across disciplines and cultures. However, there is still a need for more explorations on Applied Linguistics discipline. Comparing native and other group of non-native speakers of English, such as Filipino users of the language, has also been a neglect in research as far as the researcher’s knowledge is concerned. Hence, this study investigated the rhetorical moves in the RA abstracts of American and Filipino writers who are published in two journals related to Applied Linguistics field. The study also explored the lexical verbs underlying each move in all the abstracts. Each abstract was then segmented into moves. Findings revealed that the moves Situating the Research (STR), Presenting the Research (PTR), and Discussing the Research (DTR) were obligatorily used by both groups of writers, while the moves Describing the Methodology (DTM) and Summarizing the Findings (STF) were obligatory only among Filipinos and optional among Americans. Filipino writers appear to develop their own conventions deviating from Americans who are considered native speakers and norm providers. The results also amplify the existence of cultural differences even in abstract writing. Further, the study details lists of lexical verbs that may be used to realize a rhetorical intent of each move. Hence, academic writing instructions may be informed by the rhetorical and linguistic realizations unveiled in this study. Directions for future research are likewise provided.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 259-293
Author(s):  
Isaac Nuokyaa-Ire Mwinlaaru

Abstract This study explores the benefits of a synergy between ESP research on genre and theoretical dimensions of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL). It models genre on SFL dimensions and employs this model to analyse 200 biodata written by Applied Linguistics scholars, 100 each from research articles and seminar posters. Data were analysed from contextual, logico-semantic and lexicogrammatical perspectives. The findings reveal five generic stages in biodata. The frequency distribution of these stages and the phases that realise them shows variation between research article bios and seminar bios. The most frequent logico-semantic (or rhetorical) relations identified among stages and phases are of the expansion type, namely addition and elaboration, Further, collocational frameworks are used in organising some generic phases into waves of meaning and in construing different identities. Finally, evaluative resources, in the form of lexical bundles, modification and circumstantial elements in the clause, are employed by writers to boost their professional achievements and promote themselves. These findings contribute to theoretical discussions on genre and the scholarship on the interface between identity construction and academic writing, and also motivate further research.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 9-25
Author(s):  
Yasir Bdaiwi Al-Shujairi

      The discussion section forms an integral part in the writing process of a research article (RA). Research authors find it difficult to write and produce a well-structured discussion for their findings. The reason could be due to the unawareness of the main components (rhetorical moves) that shape this section. Therefore, this paper aims to provide a review of the studies that have been done to analyze the discussion section of RAs over the last 36 years. Also, this review seeks to examine the discussion section of RAs across various scientific disciplines and different types of journals. The review showed that the rhetorical structure of RAs discussion section witnessed some changes over the course of time. New moves such as Research Implications and Research Limitations started to be parts of the discussion section of RAs. In addition, it was revealed that differences in writing the discussion section can be varied broadly across disciplines such as soft sciences (e.g., applied linguistics, sociology, psychology) and hard sciences (e.g., engineering, chemistry, biology) and slightly across types of journals such as ISI and local journals. In conclusion, this paper offered several suggestions for further research to be conducted in the area.  


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 93
Author(s):  
Warunee Lapanachokdee ◽  
Nuttaporn Lawthong ◽  
Chatsiri Piyapimonsit

<p>This critique aimed to; 1) synthesize a body of knowledge of educational research methodology, 2) analyze and compare educational research methodology in Thai and international research articles, and 3) critique problems, strengths and weaknesses and put forward suggestions for standardizing Thai educational research methodology. Data were obtained from eight international textbooks, 95 articles and four Thai educational research methodology experts. Results revealed that the principles and international standards of educational research methodology included eight methodological categories which covered 34 characteristics. Findings from a comparison of Thai and international research articles indicated that Thai and international research articles were similar in 15 characteristics and different in five characteristics. Thai research articles had six problems relating to educational research methodology: information searching and English skills, educational research instruction, lack of experts in educational research methodology, research finding distribution, educational researcher development, and research article format. </p>


2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 09 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerannaz Zamani ◽  
Saman Ebadi

The structure of the conclusion sections in Research Articles (RAs) is of significance in academic writing. The conclusion section does not only provide an outline of the study, but also other important elements, such as recommendations, implications and statements of possible lines of future research. This paper reports on an analysis of the conclusion sections of Persian and English Research Articles (RAs) published in international journals. To meet this end 20 RAs were selected from the fields of Civil Engineering and Applied Linguistics. The Conclusion sections of the papers were examined for their moves based on Yang and Allison’s (2003) move model.  The frequency analysis of the moves showed slight differences among the moves employed and the Chi-Square analysis did not show significant differences between the moves used in Conclusion sections of RAs in Civil Engineering and Applied Linguistics as well as between Persian and English RAs. The study contributes to a richer understanding of the conclusion structure of research articles and offers ESP/EFL instructors and researchers, insights which can be used in the instruction of the conventions or expectations of academic writing. Novice writers and non-native students can benefit from it, mainly because it helps them eliminate their writing dilemmas and assists them to take part in international discourse communities.  Key Words: Conclusion section; Contrastive move analysis; Genre analysis; Research articles


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 89
Author(s):  
Sani Yantandu Uba

This paper investigates semantic categories of reporting verbs across four disciplines: Accounting, Applied Linguistics, Engineering and Medicine in research article genre. A general corpus of one million words and sub-corpus (for each discipline) were compiled from a total of 120 articles representing 30 articles from each discipline. In this study, two levels of analysis were conducted. Firstly, I randomly selected five articles from each discipline and read and reread each article identifying what reporting verbs are used, in what context are used and why such reporting verbs are used. This process enabled me to identify semantic categories of reporting verbs. Secondly, on the basis of the identified list of semantic categories of reporting verbs, I used the list in generating concordance output for quantitative textual analysis of each sub-corpus of the four disciplines, as well as the general corpus. The results of the study show that writers from both Accounting and Applied Linguistics are having a high frequency of reporting verbs than writers from Engineering and Medicine disciplines. It also shows that there are certain commonalities and differences between the disciplines. For example, all the disciplines are having frequency of the three semantic categories of reporting verbs but with certain degree of variations. The study recommends raising awareness of students on semantic categories of reporting verbs. The results could also help EAP/ESP teachers in designing course materials for discipline specific reporting verbs. It could also be helpful for textbook course designers in developing textbooks for teaching reporting verbs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 83 ◽  
pp. 191-204
Author(s):  
Muhammed Parviz ◽  
Alireza Jalilifar ◽  
Alexanne Don

The present study aimed at exploring how research article writers from two academic disciplines exploit phrasal complexity features (PCFs) to verbalize the results sections of research articles with the eventual aim of assisting advanced EFL writers with their composition strategies. To this end, following a manual search, 200 empirical research articles in the fields of Applied Linguistics and Physics were comparatively examined. Due to the low rate of success of tagging programs in identifying the occurrences of PCFs, the datasets were also manually analyzed. The results revealed that the research article writers drew upon three high-frequency phrasal complexity features, namely, pre-modifying adjectives, post-modifying prepositional phrases, and nominalizations. The study also revealed that the results sections of research articles included different amounts of exceedingly complex patterns of pre-modification, a hybrid of novel appositive structures, and great reliance on hyphenated adjectives. Overall, we believe that these findings can be used to heighten the awareness of academic writers and instructors regarding the linguistic characteristics of academic writing and of the variations of how such phrasal features of compression are constructed in different academic subjects.


Author(s):  
Xiaoyu Xu ◽  
Hilary Nesi

Abstract This article investigates differences in evaluative style in introductions to research articles written by scholars from China and Britain. A corpus of 30 research article introductions in applied linguistics was analysed in terms of Appraisal Theory and genre analysis, using the UAM Corpus Tool. Findings from this analysis suggest that both the Chinese and the British authors were aware of the need to argue for their own opinions and maintain good relationships with their readers. However, the Chinese writers made more categorical assertions, supported by lists of references to prior studies, while the British writers were more likely to acknowledge the existence of alternative views within the research community, and were more explicit about their own attitudes towards the research topic, prior studies, and their own work. The findings, and the illustrative examples, can inform the design of programmes to help novice researchers publish internationally, and might also usefully raise the awareness of journal article reviewers and editors regarding cultural variation in approaches to stance-taking.


2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Mohammadi Darabad

<p>The present paper aims at investigating the formation of research article abstracts in terms of their rhetorical structure. To this end, three Applied Linguistics, Applied Mathematics, and Applied Chemistry journals have been selected. The main focus of the analysis was put on the rhetorical structure – the moves and steps employed in each specific abstract. The authors' self-mention, voice, and tense of the verbs included in each move were also inspected. Therefore, a total of 63 abstract (21 published abstracts from each field) from credited international journals were randomly selected and assigned for analysis. The Five-Move Model by Hyland (2000) was chosen as a basic model for the analysis. Accordingly, the constituent moves and steps were examined and recognized in the categories of selected abstracts. The obtained results were scrutinized and consequently the leading move patterns of each discipline, specific moves and steps, voice and tense of verbs hired in each move, and the authors' self-mention alternations were identified. Finally, the pedagogical implications for the expert teachers working in the fields of Discourse analysis (DA), English for Academic Purposes (EAP), and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) are presented.</p>


Author(s):  
Udi Samanhudi ◽  
Aisling O'Boyle

This paper examines the similarities and differences in the use of rhetorical citations in research articles in two journal publication contexts in the field of Applied Linguistics, namely Indonesian Journals aimed at a local audience, and International Journals aimed at a global audience. Fifty Discussion Sections from published research articles were taken from the two publication contexts.  Results of the analysis indicate a dominant use of integral citations especially verb-controlling type in the Indonesian local corpus. It is suggested that this citation type requires less demand on synthesising various sources cited while Discussion Sections in the International corpus make greater use of non-integral citations which indicates a succinct synthesis of various sources. In terms of function, referring to literature is the most salient function in Indonesian local corpus while attribution is the most dominant function found in the International corpus. Accompanying the textual analysis of citation practices in these journals, Indonesian academics as part of the community of the discipline were interviewed. Their perspectives indicate urgency for results of genre analysis studies to be transformed into teaching materials to assist especially novice writers in the field of Applied Linguistics in understanding English research article writing conventions better.


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