Abstract
This paper analyses the thematic structure of the Method and Discussion section of biology research articles. A corpus of 30 journal articles was analysed using the categories of Systemic Functional Linguistics and a semantic categorisation for unmarked themes realised by subject. The study revealed differences in the thematic construction of the sections. The Method section was dominated by simple themes, realised by subjects that predominantly represented objects of research. The few textual themes found were mainly temporal external themes. The simple themes of the Discussion were mainly realised by subjects that represented abstractions, particularly epistemic concepts. In this section, there was an important proportion of textual and interpersonal themes. The differences found may be attributed to the different rhetorical purposes of the sections, which materialise in descriptive texts in the Method section and in argumentative texts in the Discussion section. The information provided by this research may contribute a tool for teachers to help learners construct sentences that are appropriate for the genre.
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