The paper titled "A Genre Analysis of Research Article Abstracts Written by Native and Non-Native Speakers of English" focuses on the rhetorical structures of research article abstracts in the field of Applied Linguistics. The primary research question investigates the differences in the use of rhetorical moves between native and non-native English speakers in their abstracts.
The purpose of the study is to compare and contrast the rhetorical structures of abstracts written by native and non-native English speakers to identify any significant variations. The study specifically examines the presence and frequency of five rhetorical moves: Introduction, Purpose, Method, Product, and Conclusion, as proposed by Hyland (2000). The scope is limited to the analysis of twenty abstracts, ten written by native speakers and ten by non-native speakers, selected from reputable journals in Applied Linguistics.
The methodology involves a genre analysis of the selected abstracts using Hyland’s five-move framework. The corpus consists of abstracts published between 2012 and 2015 in two journals, "Advances in Language and Literary Studies" and "The Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics." The study examines the frequency and distribution of the five rhetorical moves across the selected abstracts.
Key findings reveal that both native and non-native English speakers consistently use the Purpose, Method, and Product moves in their abstracts. However, there are notable differences in the use of the Introduction and Conclusion moves. Native speakers tend to include these moves more frequently than non-native speakers. The study suggests that these differences may be attributed to the varying levels of awareness and adherence to conventional academic writing practices between the two groups.
The conclusions drawn from the study highlight the importance of understanding genre conventions in academic writing, particularly for non-native speakers aiming to publish in internationally recognized journals. The findings emphasize the need for non-native speakers to become more familiar with the rhetorical structures commonly employed by native speakers to enhance their academic writing and improve their chances of publication in the field of Applied Linguistics.