Moves in The Introductions of Problem-Solution Essays

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22364/BJELLC.01.2011.03

Keywords:

academic essay introductions, move analysis, the problem-solution pattern, undergraduate students majoring in English

Abstract

Structuring of texts is one of the major problems in essay writing for learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). However, there is little research on the distinction between the moves of a genre and the elements of the rhetorical pattern in essay introductions. The goal of this article is to investigate the use of moves and the elements of the problem-solution pattern in the essay introductions written by 35 undergraduate students majoring in English at a university of Latvia. The analysis of the problem-solution essays revealed that the students mainly used a one- or two-move sequence in the essay introductions, and more than half of the students did not provide the thesis statement. The analysis of the elements of the rhetorical pattern demonstrated that the essay introductions contained information about the problem, situation and/or solutions. It has been concluded that the students using the problem-solution rhetorical pattern neglect the moves typical of essay introduction. Thus, an analysis of the rhetorical pattern and generic features of essay introduction may help to determine the text correspondence to the expectancies of academic community.

References

Afful, J.B.A. (2006, February 21). Introductions in examination essays: The case of two undergraduate courses. Across the Disciplines, 3. Available from http://wac.colostate.edu/atd/articles/afful2006.cfm [Accessed on 6 March, 2008]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.37514/ATD-J.2006.3.1.05

Avilés, H.H. (2007) A genre analysis of students’ essay introductions. Memorias Del Iii Foro Nacional De Estudios En Lenguas (FONAEL 2007), pp. 148-162. Available from http://www.fonael.org [Accessed on 8 June, 2010].

Bhatia, V.K. (2002) Applied genre analysis. In A.M. Johns (ed.) Genre Classroom: Multiple Perspectives (pp. 279-283). Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Bhatia, V.K. (2005) Worlds of Written Discourse. London: Continuum.

Bhatia, V.K. (1993) Analysing Genre – Language Use in Professional Settings. London: Longman.

Flowerdew, L. (2000) Using a genre-based framework to teach organizational structure in academic writing. ELT Journal, 54 (4): 369-378. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/54.4.369

Halleck, G.B. and Connor, U.M. (2006) Rhetorical moves in TESOL conference proposals. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 2: 70-86. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2005.08.001

Hoey, M. (2001) Textual Interaction. An Introduction to Written Discourse Analysis. London and New York: Routledge.

Jordan, R.R. (1997) English for Academic Purposes: a Guide and Resource Book for Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511733062

Kaplan, R.B. (1966) Cultural thought patterns in intercultural education. Language Learning, 16: 1-20. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-1770.1966.tb00804.x

Karapetjana, I. (2009) Linguo-Functional Research Competence. Studies in Academic Discourse. Riga: RTU Publishing House.

Lee, D.Y.W. (2001) Genres, registers, text types, domains, and styles: clarifying the concepts and navigating a path through the BNC jungle. In Language Learning and Technology, 5 (3): 37-72. Available: http://llt.msu.edu/vol5num3/lee/default.html [Accessed on 20.12. 2001].

Paltridge, B. (2002) Genre, text type, and English for Academic Purposes. In A.M. Johns (ed.) Genre Classroom: Multiple Perspectives (pp. 73-90). Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Reid, J.M. (1992) Helping students write for an academic audience. In P. A. Richard-Amato and M. A. Snow (eds). The Multicultural Classroom: Readings for Content-Area Teachers (pp. 210-221). Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.

Swales, J. (1990) Genre Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Swales, J. and Feak, C. (2000) English in Today’s World: A Writing Guide. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.9059

Swales, J.M. and Feak, C.B. (1994) Academic Writing for Graduate Students. A Course for Nonnative Speakers of English. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

Downloads

Published

2011-11-01

How to Cite

Moves in The Introductions of Problem-Solution Essays. (2011). Baltic Journal of English Language, Literature and Culture, 1, 20–28. https://doi.org/10.22364/BJELLC.01.2011.03