AN ANALYSIS OF RHETORICAL MOVES IN ABSTRACTS FOR CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS

Harison M. Sidek; Noor Saazai Mat Saad; Hazleena Baharun; Mohamad Muzhafar Idris

doi:10.18769/ijasos.80136

AN ANALYSIS OF RHETORICAL MOVES IN ABSTRACTS FOR CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS

Year 2016, Volume: 2 Issue: 4, 24 - 31, 22.04.2016

Harison M. Sidek Noor Saazai Mat Saad Hazleena Baharun Mohamad Muzhafar Idris

https://doi.org/10.18769/ijasos.80136

Cited By: 6

Abstract

An abstract plays a pivotal role because it represents the summary of the entire article. Therefore, it is the first thing that readers evaluate to determine if they should read the entire article. Hence, it is imperative for academics to provide an abstract that includes all essential rhetorical moves when writing an academic article. In lieu of this, the current study attempted to examine whether the abstracts provided in conference proceedings include the essential rhetorical moves and whether the moves are presented in the sequence according to the selected classification. The data for this study were collected using purposive sampling from 23 abstracts of empirical-based studies in nature from the selected conference. The abstracts were written in the English language and authored by academics in the field of language and education from higher institutions in various countries. Hyland’s (2000) five-moves classification of rhetorical moves was used as the coding in identifying the moves structure of the selected abstracts in this study. Other moves that emerged from the selected abstracts were added to Hyland’s (2000) classification. The moves structure data were analyzed using manifest content analysis while the sequence of moves data were analyzed using latent content analysis. The findings show that the majority of the abstract only partially contains the rhetorical moves as suggested by Hyland (2000) with a variety of moves sequence. Apart from Hyland’s (2000) five-moves, some authors included the theoretical aspect of their study in their abstracts. The implications of the findings were discussed within the context of professional development among higher institutions academics, particularly in academic abstract writing.

Keywords: Abstract, academics, academic writing, rhetorical moves, conference proceedings

Keywords

References

Bonn, S. V., & Swales, J. M. (2007). English and French journal abstracts in the language sciences: Three exploratory studies. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 6(2), 93-108. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2007.04.001
Bunton, D. (2002). Generic moves in Phd thesis introductions. In J. Flowerdew (ed.) Academic Discourse. (pp.57-75). Lon: Longman.
Bunton, D. (2005). The structure of PhD conclusion chapters. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 4, 207-224.
Cross, C., & Oppenheim, C. (2006). A genre analysis of scientific abstracts. Journal of Documentation, 62(4), 428-446. doi:10.1108/00220410610700953, http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00220410610700953
Hartley, J., & Benjamin, M. (1998). An evaluation of structured abstracts in journals published by the British psychological society. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 68, 443-456. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8279.1998.tb01303.x, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8279.1998.tb01303.x
Hongwei, R. & Yuying, L. (2011). A Comparison Study on The Rhetorical Moves of Abstracts in Published Research Articles and Master’s Foreign-Language Theses. English Language Teaching, 4(1), 162-166.
Huckin, T. (2006). Abstracting from abstracts. In M. Hewings (ed.), Academic Writing in Context (pp. 93-103). London: Continuum.
Hyland, K. (2000). Disciplinary Discourses: Social Interactions in Academic Writing. London: Longman.
Kanoksilapatham, B. (2005). Rhetorical studies of biochemistry research articles. English for Specific Purposes, 24, 269-292. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2004.08.003
Lau, H. H. (2004). The structure of academic journal abstracts written by Taiwanese PhD students. Taiwan Journal of TESOL, 1(1), 1-25.
Lorés, R. (2004). On RA abstracts: from rhetorical structure to thematic organization. English for Specific Purposes, 23, 280-302.
Pho, P. D. (2008). Research article abstracts in applied linguistics and educational technology: a study of linguistic realizations of rhetorical structure and authorial stance. Discourse Studies, 10(2), 231-250.http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1461445607087010
Samraj, Betty. (2008). A discourse analysis of master’s theses across disciplines with a focus on introduction. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 7, 55-67.
Samraj, Betty. (2005). An exploration of a genre set: Research article abstracts and introductions in two disciplines. English for Specific Purposes, 24, 141–156.
Santos, M.B.D. (1996). The textual organization of research paper abstracts in applied linguistics. Text,16, 481-499.
Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Suntara, W. & Usaha, S. (2013). Research articles abstracts in two related disciplines: Rhetorical variations between linguistics and applied linguistics. English Language Teaching, 6(2), 84-99.
Stotesbury, H. (2003). Gaps and False Conclusions: Criticism in Research Article Abstracts across the Disciplines. In Ken Hyland, & Marina Bondi (eds), Academic Discourse Across Disciplines (42, 123-148). New York: Peter Lang.

Year 2016, Volume: 2 Issue: 4, 24 - 31, 22.04.2016

Harison M. Sidek Noor Saazai Mat Saad Hazleena Baharun Mohamad Muzhafar Idris

https://doi.org/10.18769/ijasos.80136

Cited By: 6

Abstract

References

Bonn, S. V., & Swales, J. M. (2007). English and French journal abstracts in the language sciences: Three exploratory studies. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 6(2), 93-108. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2007.04.001
Bunton, D. (2002). Generic moves in Phd thesis introductions. In J. Flowerdew (ed.) Academic Discourse. (pp.57-75). Lon: Longman.
Bunton, D. (2005). The structure of PhD conclusion chapters. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 4, 207-224.
Cross, C., & Oppenheim, C. (2006). A genre analysis of scientific abstracts. Journal of Documentation, 62(4), 428-446. doi:10.1108/00220410610700953, http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00220410610700953
Hartley, J., & Benjamin, M. (1998). An evaluation of structured abstracts in journals published by the British psychological society. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 68, 443-456. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8279.1998.tb01303.x, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8279.1998.tb01303.x
Hongwei, R. & Yuying, L. (2011). A Comparison Study on The Rhetorical Moves of Abstracts in Published Research Articles and Master’s Foreign-Language Theses. English Language Teaching, 4(1), 162-166.
Huckin, T. (2006). Abstracting from abstracts. In M. Hewings (ed.), Academic Writing in Context (pp. 93-103). London: Continuum.
Hyland, K. (2000). Disciplinary Discourses: Social Interactions in Academic Writing. London: Longman.
Kanoksilapatham, B. (2005). Rhetorical studies of biochemistry research articles. English for Specific Purposes, 24, 269-292. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2004.08.003
Lau, H. H. (2004). The structure of academic journal abstracts written by Taiwanese PhD students. Taiwan Journal of TESOL, 1(1), 1-25.
Lorés, R. (2004). On RA abstracts: from rhetorical structure to thematic organization. English for Specific Purposes, 23, 280-302.
Pho, P. D. (2008). Research article abstracts in applied linguistics and educational technology: a study of linguistic realizations of rhetorical structure and authorial stance. Discourse Studies, 10(2), 231-250.http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1461445607087010
Samraj, Betty. (2008). A discourse analysis of master’s theses across disciplines with a focus on introduction. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 7, 55-67.
Samraj, Betty. (2005). An exploration of a genre set: Research article abstracts and introductions in two disciplines. English for Specific Purposes, 24, 141–156.
Santos, M.B.D. (1996). The textual organization of research paper abstracts in applied linguistics. Text,16, 481-499.
Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Suntara, W. & Usaha, S. (2013). Research articles abstracts in two related disciplines: Rhetorical variations between linguistics and applied linguistics. English Language Teaching, 6(2), 84-99.
Stotesbury, H. (2003). Gaps and False Conclusions: Criticism in Research Article Abstracts across the Disciplines. In Ken Hyland, & Marina Bondi (eds), Academic Discourse Across Disciplines (42, 123-148). New York: Peter Lang.

There are 18 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language	English
Journal Section	Articles
Authors	Harison M. Sidek Noor Saazai Mat Saad Hazleena Baharun Mohamad Muzhafar Idris
Publication Date	April 22, 2016
Submission Date	April 21, 2016
Published in Issue	Year 2016 Volume: 2 Issue: 4

Cite

EndNote	Sidek HM, Mat Saad NS, Baharun H, Idris MM (April 1, 2016) AN ANALYSIS OF RHETORICAL MOVES IN ABSTRACTS FOR CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS. IJASOS- International E-journal of Advances in Social Sciences 2 4 24–31.