The Recycling of Objective Move in English Research Articles’ Discussion Sections

Abstract

While numerous studies have scrutinized the rhetorical structures of Research Articles (RAs) through move analysis, it appears that Move Recycling (MR) across RA sections has received little attention. The current study sought to fill this gap by investigating whether the recycling of Objective move (study purposes/questions/hypotheses) in RA Discussion sections, which was previously used in the Introduction, is vulnerable to disciplinary differences. To achieve the study’s objective, 600 English RAs published between 2006 and 2018 in six Soft Science disciplines, with an equal number in each discipline were selected. The move model developed by Weissberg and Buker (1990) served as a road map for analyzing RAs. After identifying the Objective move in RA Introductions, the frequency of its recycling in RA Discussions was calculated and compared across disciplines. The data analysis revealed that disciplinary variations do not result in variations in the recycling of this move in the RA Discussions. It was concluded that the recycling of the Objective move has been established in the sample RA Discussion sections to achieve certain rhetorical functions. The findings may help students, novice researchers, and English for Academic Purposes (EAP) writing instructors understand how Objective move spans in Soft Science RA Discussions.