Move analysis of research article abstracts in the field of ELT: A comparative study

Abstract

This study aims to make a comparison between two article groups written in the field of English Language Teaching (ELT) by Turkish scholars and non-Turkish scholars living and working in Anglophone countries to find the rhetorical structure they employ in their abstracts. To achieve this purpose, 390 research article abstracts, 195 abstracts from each group, were analyzed. To analyze the abstracts, Hyland’s (2000) model with five moves was employed. In addition to the descriptive statistics, Chi-Square test was used to find whether there are any statistical differences between two writer groups in terms of move use. Results showed that there are no statistically significant differences in terms of moves between the two groups. However, three moves (purpose, method, product) occur more frequently in Turkish writers’ abstracts while foreign writers include four moves (purpose, method, product, conclusion) more commonly in their abstracts. These findings have some implications for researchers, particularly for developing teaching materials and course instructor skills in terms of the content of academic writing that can guide scholars to successfully participate in the international discourse community.