This study explores the rhetorical organization of Arabic research article introductions (RAIs) in the field of Islamic studies applying Swales’ [1, 2] Create-a-Research-Space (CARS) model of move/step analysis. A corpus of 20 RAIs, written by first-language Arabic speakers, was selected from the Journal of Islamic Studies. The findings showed that the fit between the CARS model, developed on the basis of RAIs in English, and the RAIs sampled in the current study only partial. That is, while there exist some differences between Arabic RAIs examined and what has been proposed in the CARS model in terms of the treatment of past research and the inclusion of some additional elements in the texts under consideration, there is a complete similarity regarding the degree of explicitness in outlining the purpose of the study and indicating the structure of RAs. Generally speaking, the findings obtained in the current study support those reported in other studies on RAIs in different languages other than English in that texts particularly from the soft disciplines are more likely to be affected by the cultural background of their authors. Limitations and the implications of the findings as well as recommending some suggestions for future research are provided.
Published in | International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 4, Issue 6) |
DOI | 10.11648/j.ijll.20160406.12 |
Page(s) | 198-206 |
Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2016. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Genre Analysis, RAIs, Rhetorical Organisation, Arabic, Islamic Studies
[1] | Swales, J. M., Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge applied linguistics series 1990, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. xi, 260 p. |
[2] | Swales, J. M., Research genres: Explorations and applications. Cambridge applied linguistics series 2004, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. xii, 314 p. |
[3] | Fakhri, A., Discourse analysis, in Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics 1, K. Versteegh, Editor 2005, Brill Academic Publishers: Leiden, Netherlands. p. 364–365. |
[4] | Al-Jubouri, A., The role of repetition in Arabic argumentative discourse, in English for Specific Purposes in the Arab World, J. M. Swales and H. Mustapha, Editors. 1984, University of Aston: Birmingham, UK. p. 99-117. |
[5] | Johnstone, B., Repetition in Arabic discourse. 1991, Amsterdam, Netherlands: John Benjamins. |
[6] | Al-Batal, M., Connectives as cohesive elements in a modern expository Arabic text, in Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics II, M. Eid and J. McCarthy, Editors. 1990, John Benjamins: Amsterdam, Netherlands. p. 234-268. |
[7] | Johnstone, B., Orality and discourse structure in Modern Standard Arabic, in Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics I, M. Eid, Editor. 1990, John Benjamins: Amsterdam, Netherlands. p. 215-233. |
[8] | Fakhri, A., Topic continuity in Arabic narrative discourse, in Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics VII, M. Eid, Editor. 1995, John Benjamins: Amsterdam, Netherlands. p. 141-155. |
[9] | Kaplan, R. B., Cultural thought patterns in intercultural education. Language learning, 1966. 16 (1‐2): p. 1-20. |
[10] | Connor, U., Contrastive Rhetoric: Cross-cultural aspects of second-language writing. 1996, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. |
[11] | Connor, U., Contrastive rhetoric: Old and new directions, in Contrastive rhetoric: Issues, insights, and pedagogy, N. Kassabgy, Z. Ibrahim, and S. Aydelott, Editors. 2004, American University in Cairo Press: Cairo, Egypt. p. 1-23. |
[12] | Fakhri, A., Topical structure in Arabic English interlanguage, in Pragmatics and Language Learning, L. Bouton, Editor. 1995, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign: IL, US. p. 155-168. |
[13] | Fakhri, A., Rhetorical properties of Arabic research article introductions. Journal of Pragmatics, 2004. 36 (6): p. 1119-1138. |
[14] | Al-Qahtani, A. A., A contrastive rhetoric study of Arabic and English research article introductions, 2006, Oklahoma State University: OK, US. |
[15] | Najjar, H., Arabic as a research language: The case of agricultural sciences, 1990, University of Michigan: Ann Arbor, Michigan. |
[16] | Fakhri, A., Rhetorical variation in Arabic academic discourse: Humanities versus law. Journal of Pragmatics, 2009. 41 (2): p. 306-324. |
[17] | Dudley-Evans, T. and M. J. St John, Developments in English for specific purposes. A multi-disciplinary approach. 1998, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. |
[18] | Samraj, B., Introductions in research articles: Variations across disciplines. English for Specific Purposes, 2002. 21 (1): p. 1-17. |
[19] | Anthony, L., Writing research article introductions in software engineering: How accurate is a standard model? IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 1999. 42 (1): p. 38-46. |
[20] | Samraj, B., A discourse analysis of master’s theses across disciplines with a focus on introductions. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 2008. 7 (1): p. 55-67. |
[21] | Samraj, B., An exploration of a genre set: Research article abstracts and introductions in two disciplines. English for Specific Purposes, 2005. 24 (2): p. 141-156. |
[22] | Samraj, B., Discourse features of the student-produced academic research paper: Variations across disciplinary courses. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 2004. 3 (1): p. 5-22. |
[23] | Ozturk, I., The textual organisation of research article introductions in applied linguistics: Variability within a single discipline. English for Specific Purposes, 2007. 26 (1): p. 25-38. |
[24] | Kanoksilapatham, B., Distinguishing textual features characterizing structural variation in research articles across three engineering sub-discipline corpora. English for Specific Purposes, 2015. 37: p. 74-86. |
[25] | Taylor, G. and C. Tingguang, Linguistic, cultural, and subcultural issues in contrastive discoure analysis: Anglo-American and Chinese scientific texts. Applied Linguistics, 1991. 12 (3): p. 319-336. |
[26] | Loi, C. K., Research article introductions in Chinese and English: A comparative genre-based study. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 2010. 9 (4): p. 267-279. |
[27] | Duszak, A., Academic discourse and intellectual styles. Journal of Pragmatics, 1994. 21 (3): p. 291-313. |
[28] | Ahmad, U., Research article introductions in Malay: Rhetoric in an emerging research community, in Culture and styles of academic discourse, A. Duszak, Editor. 1997, Mouton de Gruyter: Berlin, Germany. p. 273-303. |
[29] | Jogthong, C., Research article introductions in Thai: Genre analysis of academic writing, 2001, West Virginia University: Morgantown, West Virginia. |
[30] | Árvay, A. and G. Tankó, A contrastive analysis of English and Hungarian theoretical research article introductions. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 2004. 42 (1): p. 71-100. |
[31] | Hirano, E., Research article introductions in English for specific purposes: A comparison between Brazilian Portuguese and English. English for Specific Purposes, 2009. 28 (4): p. 240-250. |
[32] | Sheldon, E., Rhetorical differences in RA introductions written by English L1 and L2 and Castilian Spanish L1 writers. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 2011. 10 (4): p. 238-251. |
[33] | Lee, S., Contrastive rhetorical study on Korean and English research paper introductions. Journal of Pan-Pacific Association of Applied Linguistics, 2000. 4 (2): p. 316-36. |
[34] | Ahamad, M. I. and A. M. Yusof, A Genre analysis of Islamic academic research article introductions. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2012. 66: p. 157-168. |
[35] | Becher, T. and R. P. Trowler, Academic tribes and territories: Intellectual enquiry and the culture of disciplines. 2nd ed 2001, Buckingham, UK: The Society for Research into Higher Education & Open University Press. xv, 238 p. |
[36] | Shim, E., Explicit writing instruction in higher education context: Genre analysis of research article introductions from the English Teaching and the TESOL Quarterly Journals., 2005, The University of Minnesota: MN, US. |
[37] | Mackey, A. and S. M. Gass, Second language research: Methodology and design. 2005, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. |
[38] | Miles, M. B. and A. M. Huberman, Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook. 2nd ed 1994, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. |
[39] | Bereiter, C. and M. Scardmalia, The psychology of written composition. 1987, Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. |
[40] | Bloch, J. and L. Chi, A comparison of the use of citations in Chinese and English academic discourse., in Academic writing in a second langauage: Essays on research and pedagogy, D. Belcher and G. Braine, Editors. 1995, Ablex: Norwood, NJ. p. 231-273. |
[41] | Hinds, J., Reader versus writer responsibility: A new typology, in Writing across languages: Analysis of L2 text, U. Connor and R. B. Kaplan, Editors. 1987, Addison-Wesley: Reading, MA. p. 141-152. |
APA Style
Sultan H. Alharbi. (2016). A Discourse Analysis of Arabic Research Articles in Islamic Studies. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 4(6), 198-206. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20160406.12
ACS Style
Sultan H. Alharbi. A Discourse Analysis of Arabic Research Articles in Islamic Studies. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2016, 4(6), 198-206. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20160406.12
AMA Style
Sultan H. Alharbi. A Discourse Analysis of Arabic Research Articles in Islamic Studies. Int J Lang Linguist. 2016;4(6):198-206. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20160406.12
@article{10.11648/j.ijll.20160406.12, author = {Sultan H. Alharbi}, title = {A Discourse Analysis of Arabic Research Articles in Islamic Studies}, journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics}, volume = {4}, number = {6}, pages = {198-206}, doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20160406.12}, url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20160406.12}, eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20160406.12}, abstract = {This study explores the rhetorical organization of Arabic research article introductions (RAIs) in the field of Islamic studies applying Swales’ [1, 2] Create-a-Research-Space (CARS) model of move/step analysis. A corpus of 20 RAIs, written by first-language Arabic speakers, was selected from the Journal of Islamic Studies. The findings showed that the fit between the CARS model, developed on the basis of RAIs in English, and the RAIs sampled in the current study only partial. That is, while there exist some differences between Arabic RAIs examined and what has been proposed in the CARS model in terms of the treatment of past research and the inclusion of some additional elements in the texts under consideration, there is a complete similarity regarding the degree of explicitness in outlining the purpose of the study and indicating the structure of RAs. Generally speaking, the findings obtained in the current study support those reported in other studies on RAIs in different languages other than English in that texts particularly from the soft disciplines are more likely to be affected by the cultural background of their authors. Limitations and the implications of the findings as well as recommending some suggestions for future research are provided.}, year = {2016} }
TY - JOUR T1 - A Discourse Analysis of Arabic Research Articles in Islamic Studies AU - Sultan H. Alharbi Y1 - 2016/11/17 PY - 2016 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20160406.12 DO - 10.11648/j.ijll.20160406.12 T2 - International Journal of Language and Linguistics JF - International Journal of Language and Linguistics JO - International Journal of Language and Linguistics SP - 198 EP - 206 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2330-0221 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20160406.12 AB - This study explores the rhetorical organization of Arabic research article introductions (RAIs) in the field of Islamic studies applying Swales’ [1, 2] Create-a-Research-Space (CARS) model of move/step analysis. A corpus of 20 RAIs, written by first-language Arabic speakers, was selected from the Journal of Islamic Studies. The findings showed that the fit between the CARS model, developed on the basis of RAIs in English, and the RAIs sampled in the current study only partial. That is, while there exist some differences between Arabic RAIs examined and what has been proposed in the CARS model in terms of the treatment of past research and the inclusion of some additional elements in the texts under consideration, there is a complete similarity regarding the degree of explicitness in outlining the purpose of the study and indicating the structure of RAs. Generally speaking, the findings obtained in the current study support those reported in other studies on RAIs in different languages other than English in that texts particularly from the soft disciplines are more likely to be affected by the cultural background of their authors. Limitations and the implications of the findings as well as recommending some suggestions for future research are provided. VL - 4 IS - 6 ER -