Structure of Moves in Research Article Abstracts in Applied Linguistics

Seden Can,Jingjing Qin,Erkan Karabacak

doi:10.3390/publications4030023

Seden Can, Jingjing Qin + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/publications4030023

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Journal: Publications	Publication Date: Jul 18, 2016
Citations: 40	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Yeditepe University, Zayed University

Abstract

An abstract summarizes the accompanying article in order to promote it. While many move-analysis studies of abstracts in applied linguistics (AL) have used similar coding frameworks and demonstrated similar rhetorical organizations, their findings have not yet been aggregated to show the overall picture. The present study aimed to both examine move structures in AL abstracts and compare the results with previous studies both synchronically and diachronically. Fifty abstracts were collected from articles published in the journal English for Specific Purposes (ESP) between 2011 and 2013. Sentences were coded using a five-move scheme adapted from previous studies. Combining the results from previous research and the present study showed that most AL abstracts give information on the purpose, methodology, and findings of the associated article, while about half of the articles omit introduction of the topic and discussion of the findings. It was also found that authors frequently violate the move sequence expected by current schemes. These findings consistent with previous research suggest that future researchers informed by move analyses should explore the connection between the findings of move analyses and teaching materials for academic writing.

Highlights

Swales [1] stated that the abstract is both a summary and a ‘purified’ reflection of the entire article, while Bhatia refers to the informative function of abstracts, claiming that they present “a faithful and accurate summary, which is representative of the whole article” [2] (p. 82)
The present paper reports a study of the distribution and arrangement of move patterns in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) journal abstracts published between 2011 and 2013
This study examined the move structures of 50 abstracts from a single applied linguistics (AL) journal, ESP, results were consistent with previous studies using data from a variety of AL journals

Summary

Introduction

Swales [1] stated that the abstract is both a summary and a ‘purified’ reflection of the entire article, while Bhatia refers to the informative function of abstracts, claiming that they present “a faithful and accurate summary, which is representative of the whole article” [2] (p. 82). Swales [1] stated that the abstract is both a summary and a ‘purified’ reflection of the entire article, while Bhatia refers to the informative function of abstracts, claiming that they present “a faithful and accurate summary, which is representative of the whole article” [2] Hyland [3], for example, maintains that it provides a decision making point for readers to judge whether the entire article merits further attention or not. 5) pointing out that “there are few scholarly journals that do not require an abstract to be sent together with the original paper” [6] Unlike their accompanying articles, abstracts are freely available online, while many articles written in languages other than English have

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