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:: Volume 20, Issue 2 (9-2017) ::
IJAL 2017, 20(2): 195-228 Back to browse issues page
Move Structures in “Statement-of-the-Problem” Sections of M.A. Theses: The Case of Native and Nonnative Speakers of English
Soheila Parsa , Mohammad Hassan Tahririan
Sheikhbahaee University, Isfahan
Abstract:   (5539 Views)
Understanding how to structure the “Statement-of-the-Problem” (SP) section of a thesis is necessary for EFL students to develop a logical argumentation for a problem statement. This study intended to compare Move structures of SP sections of theses written by native speakers of Persian (NSPs) and English (NSEs). To this end, 100 SP sections (50 SP sections written by NSEs and 50 written by NSPs) of theses in the field of English language teaching (ELT) were selected and analyzed by the researchers based on Swales' (1990, 2004) CARS models. The analysis of the data revealed that Move structures of SP sections of the two corpora were similar. In both corpora, the three Moves of “Establishing a territory”, “Establishing a niche”, and “Presenting the present work” were considered obligatory. There were some differences in the Steps and many Move pattern variations in the two corpora. The results can broaden the understanding of the nature and function of this genre and can have important implications for EFL instructors.
Keywords: Genre analysis, Move structure, Statement-of-the-Problem sections, Cultural variations
Full-Text [PDF 798 kb]   (1958 Downloads)    
Type of Study: Research | Subject: Special
Received: 2017/01/26 | Accepted: 2017/07/11 | Published: 2017/08/28
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Parsa S, Tahririan M H. Move Structures in “Statement-of-the-Problem” Sections of M.A. Theses: The Case of Native and Nonnative Speakers of English. IJAL 2017; 20 (2) :195-228
URL: http://ijal.khu.ac.ir/article-1-2827-en.html


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Volume 20, Issue 2 (9-2017) Back to browse issues page
Iranian Journal of Applied Linguistics
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