Genre Analysis of Abstracts of Empirical Research Articles Published in TESOL Quarterly

Ebenezer Agbaglo,Peace Fiadzomor

doi:10.32996/jeltal.2021.3.7.1

Abstract

Research article (RA) abstracts constitute an important genre in higher education. Previous research on the RA abstract has often combined abstracts from journals from the same discipline, with the view of revealing possible intra/inter-disciplinary, cross-linguistic, cross-cultural, etc. variations. The present study analysed empirical RA abstracts from TESOL Quarterly, a well-recognised journal in Applied Linguistics, with the view of revealing their rhetorical structure and linguistic peculiarities. Hundred (100) empirical RA abstracts collected from the website of the journal constituted the data for the study. The data were analysed, with attention to the move structure (kinds, frequency, and sequencing of moves) as well as the linguistics realisation of moves. The study revealed that TESOL Quarterly empirical RA abstracts feature a five-move structure, with the Purpose and Product moves being Obligatory and the Introduction, Method, and Conclusion moves being core moves. It was also revealed that the abstracts were characterised by nine move sequences, with the five-move sequence (M1>M2>M3>M4>M5) dominating. The study also revealed that each move was characterised by unique configurations of linguistic features, particularly tense, voice, and grammatical subject roles. This study contributes to scholarship on RA abstracts. It also has implications for pedagogy and practice, and serves as a trigger for further studies.

Highlights

IntroductionThe research article (RA) has become a very important academic genre due to its role in disseminating current research findings to readers
1 The research article (RA), which started in the form of letters published in The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society in the mid-seventeenth century, is the principal site of disciplinary knowledge construction (Holtz, 2011)
2.2 Move Structure of RA Abstracts we critically review previous studies conducted on the rhetorical organisation of the abstract, first by considering studies that focused on individual disciplines and those that focused on two or more disciplines

Summary

Introduction

The RA has become a very important academic genre due to its role in disseminating current research findings to readers Another reason for placing premium on the RA is the practice of peer review as a way of filtering which beliefs should be transformed into knowledge. RA abstracts serve as a vehicle for projecting and promoting the news value of the accompanying article by encouraging the reader to read the article. This is achieved through the rhetorical organisation and the use of linguistic features which highlight originality and immediacy (Hyland, 2009)

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