Graduation Year

2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Ph.D.

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Degree Granting Department

World Languages

Major Professor

Wei Zhu, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Amanda Huensch, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Nicole Tracy-Ventura, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Brandon Tullock, Ph.D.

Keywords

genre analysis, move-step analysis, research paradigm

Abstract

This study analyzed and compared the rhetorical structure of the Discussion – Conclusion sections from quantitative versus qualitative research articles (RAs) in the interdisciplinary field of Second Language Writing (SLW). Although Discussion and Conclusion sections are critical components in the RA genre that present a challenge to novice writers, little is known about the rhetorical organization of RA Discussion – Conclusion sections and how quantitative and qualitative research paradigms may shape the ways RA writers present and discuss their findings.

This corpus-based study analyzed the rhetorical structure of the SLW RA Discussion – Conclusion sections from quantitative and qualitative research paradigms at two levels: at the macro-level, the analysis focused on the rhetorical move and step structure, and at the micro-level it focused on the distribution of interactional metadiscourse categories within moves.

The study’s sample involved a corpus of 30 quantitative and 30 qualitative research articles published in the Journal of Second Language Writing. The well-recognized classification schemes from the field of genre analysis were adopted in this study for coding the rhetorical moves, steps, and interactional metadiscourse embedded within the RA Discussion – Conclusion sections (Boonyuen, 2017; Hyland, 2005). The study employed corpus-based genre analysis and quantitative methods to analyze the rhetorical move-step macro-structure structure and the distribution of interactional metadiscourse within and across rhetorical moves in the RA Discussion – Conclusion sections.

The study revealed both similarities and differences in the rhetorical choices made by SLW writers in the quantitative versus qualitative RA Discussion – Conclusions. The quantitative RA Discussion – Conclusion sections displayed a more pre-structured nature, incorporating a broader range of obligatory and conventional rhetorical moves and steps as compared to the qualitative counterparts. The results revealed prominent differences in rhetorical steps incorporated into the RA Discussion – Conclusion sections across quantitative versus qualitative sub-corpora. For instance, the quantitative RA Discussion – Conclusion sections more frequently incorporated the rhetorical steps of “Accounting for results,” “Judging results,” “Comparing results with literature” and “Indicating limitations.” The qualitative RA Discussion – Conclusion sections more frequently incorporated the rhetorical step of “Indicating study’s significance.” The revealed differences in rhetorical macro-structure across the two RA sub-corpora connected to the differing assumptions underlying quantitative and qualitative research.

The findings also revealed that both quantitative and qualitative writers mainly embedded interactional metadiscourse categories into argumentative and evaluative rhetorical moves, such as “Commenting on results” and “Making deductions.” The quantitative RA writers used significantly more hedges to mitigate their claims, particularly in the rhetorical move “Commenting on results,” which reflected the quantitative research paradigm's assumptions about how knowledge is created and should be presented.

This study contributes to genre analysis and academic writing by offering valuable insights into the rhetorical structure and cross-paradigmatic variations of the RA Discussion – Conclusion sub-genre. It carries implications for SLW writers, EAP instructors, L2 writers, and graduate students in understanding the multifaceted nature of the Discussion – Conclusion section and existing cross-paradigmatic variations in the rhetorical norms of discussing findings in the RA genre.

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