A Contrastive Study of Theme Types and Patterns in Medical Research Article Abstracts Written in English by Native and Saudi Scholars

Abstract

Abstracts of research articles are dense in nature and require authors to pack information in a concise cohesive paragraph. One principle of cohesion is employing various theme types and thematic progression patterns. The study conducted qualitative contrastive analyses of these aspects in medical research article (RA) abstracts written in English by native and Saudi scholars. The findings revealed the predominance of constant and linear thematic progression patterns. Whereas the two patterns are almost equally used in the native scholars’ data, the constant pattern prevailed in the non-native scholars’ data. Non-native authors tended to simplify complex subject matter by using shorter clauses to exert less effort in processing them. They also relied on cohesive ties to achieve cohesion rather than using various thematic progression patterns. Due to the factual nature of the medical abstracts, unmarked topical and textual themes were the most used instead of interpersonal themes. Multiple themes were minimally employed due to the generic features of abstracts. The study findings may have implications for novice RA scholars of medicine, English for specific purpose instructors, and researchers interested in both second language acquisition and cross-cultural variations. Future studies could investigate themes in medical RA abstracts written in other languages.