The textual organization of research paper abstracts in applied linguistics
语言学
应用语言学
社会学
哲学
作者
Marcos S. dos Santos
出处
期刊:Third Text [De Gruyter] 日期:1996-01-01卷期号:16 (4)被引量:271
标识
DOI:10.1515/text.1.1996.16.4.481
摘要
Research paper abstracts are an important site for the visibility of scientific endeavor. However, little research has been carried out on how abstracts can be characterized in terms of their textual organization and other key features. In addition, advice available in technical writing literature seems to be of little avail to the production of quality abstracts. To help remedy this deficiency, this study investigates the actual discourse organization of 94 s in three leading journals from the field of applied linguistics. A move analysis reveals that abstracts follow a five-move pattern, namely: Move 1 motivates the reader to examine the research by setting the general field or topic and stating the shortcomings of previous study; Move 2 introduces the research by either making a descriptive statement of the article's main focus or by presenting its purpose: Move 3 describes the study design; Move 4 states the major findings; and Move 5 advances the significance of the research by either drawing conclusions or offering recommendations. This descriptive analysis concludes that actual practice does not coincide with the advice available in manuals. The proposed pattern may serve as a pedagogic tool to help researchers in writing informative abstracts and, beyond that, in entering the mainstream of research debate.