Genre Analysis of Thesis and Dissertation Abstracts Written by Thai Students

Main Article Content

Yanatchapim Pasavoravate
Raksangob Wijitsopon

Abstract

Recently scholars have been interested in the genre of abstract writing because of its growing significance. One approach used to analyze abstract writing is genre analysis. However, most of the studies on genre analysis of abstracts focus on research article abstracts, and mostly in the scientific and medical fields rather than in other social science fields. This present study thus proposes to analyze thesis and dissertation abstracts in the field of linguistics written by students in Thailand. The data used in the corpus are 25 abstracts from four different universities. The data are analyzed in five different aspects: frequency of moves and steps, sequence of moves, repetition of moves, move embedding, and generality and specificity of moves. The findings from this study provide some insight into the organizational and rhetorical structures of thesis and dissertation abstracts in linguistics written by students in Thailand.

Article Details

Section
Articles
Author Biographies

Yanatchapim Pasavoravate

Yanatchapim Pasavoravate is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the English as an International Language Program, Graduate School, Chulalongkorn University. She is also currently a special lecturer at the Department of English, Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University.

Raksangob Wijitsopon

Raksangob Wijitsopon is a lecturer at the Department of English, Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University. She received a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from Lancaster University, UK. Her research interests include stylistics, corpus linguistics and discourse analysis.

References

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

Cross, C., and C. Oppenheim. “A Genre Analysis of Scientific Abstracts.” Journal of Documentation 62.4 (2005): 428-46.

Fedrickson, Kirstin, and John Swales. “Competition and Discourse Community: Introductions from Nysvenska studier.” The Construction of Professional Discourse. Eds. Britt-Louise Gunnarsson-Per Linell-Bengt Nordberg, 1994. 9-22.

Giannoni, D. S. “Worlds of Gratitude: A Contrastive Study of Acknowledgement Texts in English and Italian Research Articles.” Applied Linguistics 23 (2005): 1-31.

Hyland, K. Disciplinary Discourses: Social Interactions in Academic Writing. Singapore: Pearson, 2000.

Kanoksilapatham, B. “Generic Structure of Research Article Abstracts in Sciences.” Journal of English Studies 4 (2009): 95-111.

---. “Rhetorical Structure of Biochemistry Research Articles.” English

for Specific Purposes 24 (2005): 269-92.

---. “Writing Research Article Abstracts in Engineering: Linguistic Perspective.” Proceedings of the International Conference on Science, Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Well-Being (STISWB), July 23-24, 2009. Mahasarakham: Mahasarakham, 2009.

Martin, P. “A Genre Analysis of English and Spanish Research Paper Abstracts in Experimental Social Sciences.” English for Specific Purposes 22 (2003): 25-43.

Melander, B., J. M. Swales, and K. M. Fredrickson. “Journal Abstracts from Three Academic Fields in the United States and Sweden: National or Disciplinary Proclivities?” Culture and Styles of Academic Discourse. Ed. A. Duszak. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 1997. 251-72.

Pho, P. “Research Article Abstracts in Applied Linguistics and Educational Technology: a Study of Linguistic Realizations of Rhetorical Structure and Authorial Stance.” Discourse Studies 10 (2008): 231-50.

Prabripoo, Saichon. “A Study of the Organization of Ph. D. Thesis Abstracts of Science Students at the Faculty of Science, Mahidol University.” Diss. Mahidol, 2009.

Salager-Meyer, F. “Discoursal Flaws in Medical English Abstracts: A Genre Analysis per Research and Text Type.” Text 10 (1990): 365-84.

---. “Hedges and Textual Communicative Functions in Medical English Written Discourse.” English for Specific Purposes 13 (1994): 149-70.

Samraj, B. “Disciplinary Variation in Abstracts: The Case of Wildlife Behaviour and Conservation Biology.” Academic Discourse. Ed. John Flowerdew. London: Pearson, 2002. 40-56.

Santos, M. “The Textual Organization of Research Paper Abstracts in Applied Linguistics.” Text 16.4 (1996): 481-99.

Swales, J. M. “Aspects of Article Introductions.” Aston ESP Research Report No. 1, Language Studies Unit, Aston in Birmingham, UK, 1981.

---. Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings.

Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1990.

---. Research Genres: Exploration and Applications. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2004.

Taddio, A., et al. “Quality of Nonstructured and Structured Abstracts of Original Research Articles in British Medical Journal, The Canadian Medical Association Journal, and the Journal of the American Medical Association.” Canadian Medical Journal 150.10 (1994): 1611-15.