Swales Notas PDF
Swales Notas PDF
Swales Notas PDF
This series presents the findings of recent work in applied linguistics which are
Genre Analysis
of direct relevance to language teaching and learning and of particular interest to
applied linguists, researchers, language teachers, and teacher trainers.
C a m b r i d g e University Press
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V
Ef>iitnl0$ in the history of the rtitarck article 111
I Hi
il) H e w r o t e deliberately e l a b o r a t e and prolix a c c o u n t s of his discourse situation. Ai literature and knowledge represented by the
experiments so that the reader w o u l d be e n c o u r a g e d t o believe literature accumulated and locuses of discussion emerged, the
that he w a s getting a full and honest a c c o u n t . discussion itself changed in character.
iii) H e offered his readers circumstantial a c c o u n t s of failed (Bazerman, 1983:4)
experiments.
iv) H e deliberately avoided philosophical speculation. B a z e r m a n ' s first finding w a s t h a t relatively few early items in the
v) Boyle w r o t e very cautiously a n d m a d e m u c h use of w h a t t o d a y Transactions w e r e actually experimental r e p o r t s , a n d even by 1 8 0 0 such
have b e c o m e k n o w n as ' h e d g e s ' (e.g. Lakoff, 1 9 7 2 ) . As Boyle r e p o r t s still a m o u n t e d t o less t h a n 4 0 % of all the articles published. In the
himself p u t it, 'in almost every o n e of the following essays I . . . early days, the majority of the items w e r e reports of n o t e w o r t h y natural
speak so doubtingly, a n d use so often perhaps, it seems, it is not events such as e a r t h q u a k e s , or of o b s e r v a t i o n s m a d e by m e a n s of
improbable a n d other such expressions, as argue a diffidence t o telescopes or microscopes or by a n a t o m i c a l dissection. Further, Bazer-
the t r u t h of the opinions I incline to . . . ' (quoted by Shapin, m a n is able to s h o w t h a t 'the definition of e x p e r i m e n t moves from any
1984:495). m a d e or d o n e thing, to an intentional investigation, t o a test of theory, to
e) A further i m p o r t a n t aspect of Boyle's c o n t r i b u t i o n t o the r h e t o r i c of finally a proof of or evidence for a c l a i m ' ( 1 9 8 3 : 5 ) . In this process of
science w a s his a t t e m p t s to regulate scientific disputes; in particular evolution, the scientist's relationship w i t h n a t u r e gradually c h a n g e d from
he insisted t h a t disputes should be a b o u t findings a n d n o t a b o u t a view t h a t the n a t u r e of things w o u l d be easily revealed by direct or
persons. In this w a y he stood o u t against the c o m m o n ad hominem m a n i p u l a t e d o b s e r v a t i o n to a view t h a t n a t u r e w a s c o m p l e x , o b s c u r e a n d
style of arguing at t h a t time. As he elegantly p u t s it, 'I love to speak of difficult t o get at. Inevitably e n o u g h , this changing view also m e a n t t h a t
persons with civility, t h o u g h of things with freedom' (Shapin, m o r e care began t o be t a k e n in describing h o w e x p e r i m e n t s w e r e d o n e , in
1984:502). explaining w h y p a r t i c u l a r m e t h o d s w e r e chosen, a n d in detailing pre-
cisely w h a t results w e r e found. All this w a s necessary because it w a s
Of course it is sometimes t h o u g h t t h a t the facts 'speak for themselves'; b e c o m i n g m o r e a n d m o r e clear t h a t m i n o r differences in p r o c e d u r e could
that is, a scientist's description of n a t u r a l reality, if it is carefully a n d p r o d u c e major differences in findings. T h e supposedly m o d e r n concept of
competently d o n e , is simply a reflection of t h a t reality. H o w e v e r , if this controlling the variable is n o t far a w a y .
w e r e to be the case, then Boyle's complex strategy w o u l d have been
By the e n d of the eighteenth century, these d e v e l o p m e n t s (and others
unnecessary. R a t h e r , even the foregoing short s u m m a r y of Shapin's
such as the demise of c o m m u n a l witnessing) h a d led t o a reconfiguration
analysis seems t o s h o w clearly e n o u g h h o w h a r d Boyle a n d his collabora-
of the RA:
tors h a d to w o r k to make a rhetoric - to develop a convincing style for the
research r e p o r t . It w o u l d a p p e a r t h a t p h e n o m e n a only acquire fact-like As phenomena began to be treated as more problematic, articles
status by consensus a n d t h a t consensus m a y not be achievable w i t h o u t began to take on a different organization, opening with an
introduction to the problematic phenomenon, often substantiated
rhetorical persuasion. T h e art of the matter, as far as the creation of facts
with the story of an experiment that did not go as expected. With
is concerned, lies in deceiving the reader into thinking t h a t there is n o the problem established, the article would chronologically describe
rhetoric, that research r e p o r t i n g is indeed 'writing degree z e r o ' (Barthes, a series of experiments aimed at getting to the bottom of the
1975) a n d t h a t the facts are indeed speaking for themselves. mystery. Transitions between each two experiments would draw
Boyle was a great researcher, a n d at least a small p a r t of his greatness conclusions from the previous experiment and point to the
lay in the subtle a n d imaginative perceptions he developed a b o u t the rationale or need for the subsequent one. In the highly developed
continuity we see the experimenter gradually come to an adequate
relationships between d o i n g research a n d writing a b o u t t h a t research.
understanding of the phenomenon, which would then be pulled
W e can see w h a t h a p p e n e d to the research article o n a m o r e m u n d a n e together in a concluding synthesis or explanation of the
level by taking up B a z e r m a n ' s study of developments in the Transactions phenomenon, as in Hewson's investigations into the nature of
during the period 1 6 6 5 - 1 8 0 0 , which focuses particularly o n changes in blood (60:368-83).
the presentation of the experiment. This study is neither simply a piece of
(Bazerman, 1 9 8 3 : 1 6 - 1 7 )
literary nor a piece of scientific history. As the a u t h o r says:
I hope to show that the story of the experimental report is not one This description of a typical RA offers, I w o u l d suggest, a striking
of simple accretion, but an evolving response to an evolving vindication of Boyle's a t t e m p t s 100 years earlier to establish a rhetoric
liHKlith Epiiodu in tht history of tht rtitarch article 115
for experimental description. T h e r e are, of course, certain quite m a r k e d 1910, the n u m b e r of references h a d b e c o m e severely curtailed, b u t the
differences between the eighteenth and the twentieth century R A ; a m o n g very few t h a t r e m a i n e d w e r e all recent, h a d dates a n d w e r e of direct
t h e m a decidedly m o r e casual a p p r o a c h t o the previous literature a n d relevance t o the research being r e p o r t e d . F r o m then o n , the n u m b e r of
some c o n t i n u a t i o n of the epistolary convention of first person narrative. references has trended u p w a r d s , whilst m a i n t a i n i n g specific relevance t o
This kind of writing has a l m o s t totally d i s a p p e a r e d from the c o n t e m p o - the w o r k at h a n d . T h u s , n e w w o r k b e c o m e s increasingly e m b e d d e d in the
rary RA, although it exists in other scientific genres such as N o b e l Prize spectroscopic literature. A further sign of this is t h a t references are n o
acceptance speeches (Ard, 1983). A c c o r d i n g t o Ard, the use of T in early longer c o n c e n t r a t e d in t h e I n t r o d u c t i o n b u t are distributed t h r o u g h o u t
scientific discourse is related to the fact t h a t the observer played a m o r e the R A , so t h a t every stage of the d o c u m e n t b o t h relies on a n d relates t o
central role at t h a t time, at least partly because o b s e r v a t i o n s , especially the w o r k of others. A n d it is this d e v e l o p m e n t t h a t provides at least p a r t
with untried a p p a r a t u s , relied m u c h o n individual skill. (And w e could of the e x p l a n a t i o n for the d o u b l i n g of average article length over the last
well r e m e m b e r t h a t early instruments w e r e h a n d m a d e a n d were far from 4 0 years.
being the standardized p r o d u c t s in use today.) H o w e v e r , as w e have seen,
a further — if connected - reason for the continuing reliance o n first C) SYNTACTIC A N D LEXICAL FEATURES
person p r o n o u n s derives from the insistence of Boyle a n d o t h e r pioneer B a z e r m a n found n o i m p o r t a n t variations in sentence length. T h e aver-
experimentalists for a style of writing t h a t w o u l d project b o t h personal ages of sentence length of a r o u n d 25 w o r d s a c c o r d closely w i t h those of
honesty a n d m o d e s t y . T h i s style should avoid the p r e s u m p t i o n s w h i c h other investigators (Barber, 1 9 6 2 ; H u d d l e s t o n , 1 9 7 1 ) . H e did find,
the passive voice w o u l d bring t h a t others either could or (worse) could h o w e v e r , t h a t relative clauses declined in frequency, whilst b o t h n o u n
n o t replicate the m e t h o d s a n d results with ease. H o w e v e r , the issue of clauses a n d t e m p o r a l a n d causal s u b o r d i n a t e clauses have b e c o m e m o r e
impersonality in scientific writing, despite its a p p a r e n t innocent simpli-
frequent. T h e rise of t h e latter (also c o r r o b o r a t e d by H u d d l e s t o n , 1971)
city, t u r n s o u t to be complex a n d vexatious, a n d is yet to be fully
indicates a shift from description t o e x p l a n a t i o n , t h u s suggesting increas-
understood.
ing intellectual complexity. O n the lexical level, subjects of m a i n clauses
T h e only substantial study k n o w n t o me t h a t traces the textual h a v e over the period become m o r e abstract. C o n c r e t e subjects like
development of the RA in the present century is Bazerman ( 1 9 8 4 a ) . substance, apparatus, a n d so on, have t e n d e d t o give w a y t o n o u n s of
Bazerman investigated a selection of Spectroscopic articles in the Physical process o r quality such as ionization a n d correlation. Significant changes
Review from its founding in 1893 to 1 9 8 0 . As he says, 'this period m a r k s in the function of the m a i n verb were also found:
the rise of American physics from b a c k w a r d n e s s to w o r l d d o m i n a n c e ,
The decrease in reporting verbs (for example, 'Smith reports ...')
reflected by the j o u r n a l ' s rise from a local university o r g a n t o the p r i m a r y
and increase in active verbs (for example, 'temperature increases
international journal of physics' (1984a: 166). Some of his m a i n conclu- ...') suggest that the finding or theory has increasingly been
sions are s u m m a r i z e d b e l o w : brought into the central grammatical position, whilst the
publishing scientists have been given a back seat, thus adding
a) ARTICLE LENGTH
density to the discussion and integrating source material into the
From 1893 to 1 9 0 0 the average length of articles fell from a r o u n d 7 , 0 0 0 continuity of the argument.
w o r d s to a r o u n d 5 , 0 0 0 . W i t h some fluctuations they continued to (Bazerman, 1984:177)
average a b o u t 5 , 0 0 0 w o r d s until 1 9 4 0 . Thereafter average article length
has steadily increased and reached a b o u t 10,000 w o r d s by 1 9 8 0 . So d) NON-VERBAL MATERIAL
much then for the c o m m o n belief t h a t scientific articles h a v e become T h e s a m e trends t o w a r d s abstraction a n d integration can be seen in t h e
m o r e c o m p a c t during this century. changing n a t u r e of the g r a p h i c material. D u r i n g the period, t h e r e w a s
a decrease in the n u m b e r of a p p a r a t u s d r a w i n g s a n d in the n u m b e r a n d
b) REFERENCES
size of tables. In c o m p e n s a t i o n , there were increases in the n u m b e r a n d
Referencing trends over the 1 8 9 3 - 1 9 8 0 period reveal an intriguing story. complexity of b o t h g r a p h s a n d e q u a t i o n s .
In the early years references were quite c o m m o n (about 10 per article) but
rather general, rarely relating to specific findings or to the specific topics e) ORGANIZATION
investigated by the a u t h o r s . As Bazerman says, these characteristics Before 1 9 5 0 only a b o u t 5 0 % of the articles w e r e formally divided into
' w e a k e n the sense of a coherent, moving research front' ( 1 9 8 4 a : 173). By section titles; after 1 9 5 0 section headings b e c a m e a regular feature. Up
IT?! Research articles in English Iht constructing of rtstarcb articltt 117
till 1 9 3 0 , if sections w e r e used they usually e n d e d with Results t h u s s t a n d a b l c concern given the folkloristic belief t h a t a n y b o d y w h o k n o w s a
implying t h a t the findings could stand alone w i t h o u t further c o m m e n t . language well can teach it. T h e clearest rhetorical evidence of this lies in
Since then, Discussion a n d Conclusion sections have not only b e c o m e a n increasingly s t a n d a r d i z e d m a i n article p r o d u c t which meets a n u m b e r
m u c h m o r e c o m m o n but they also h a v e greatly increased in length a n d of requirements, such as the formulation of research questions sited
complexity. O n the other h a n d , the p r o p o r t i o n of space given t o M e t h o d within a rhetorically-established f r a m e w o r k of previous w o r k , a n d the
a n d A p p a r a t u s sections has generally declined (c.f. H u c k i n , 1987). presentation a n d discussion of d a t a . O n e consequence of all this can,
In this pioneering study, Bazerman assembles considerable discoursal especially in the light of the c o m m e n t s m a d e in C h a p t e r 6, be seen as
evidence for a n u m b e r of general t r e n d s : g r o w i n g abstraction, the u n f o r t u n a t e . A l t h o u g h the teaching of English to speakers of other
deepening integration of present w o r k within the relevant literature, the languages has b e c o m e a major global activity, t h e leading journal in the
increasing foregrounding of research as o p p o s e d t o researcher, the field has remained o n e which publishes c o n t r i b u t i o n s from a u t h o r s based
increasingly uphill struggle to i n c o r p o r a t e m o r e a n d m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n , in N o r t h America - even by 1 9 8 6 , articles from outside the US a n d
a n d a steadily m o r e focused a r g u m e n t a t i o n . T h e finer rhetorical a n d C a n a d a constituted less t h a n 2 0 % of the total.
linguistic detail of these o u t c o m e s will be discussed in later subsections.
T h e fact t h a t B a z e r m a n ' s investigation is pioneering m e a n s t h a t we are
faced w i t h very real p r o b l e m s of e x t r a p o l a t i o n a n d generalization. Is the 7.2 The constructing of research articles
Physical Review typical of other i m p o r t a n t American physics journals?
W o u l d the findings apply to c o m p a r a b l e journals from elsewhere? W h a t T h e c o n t i n u u m from a gleam in the researcher's eye to the distribution of
a b o u t chemistry, psychology o r sociology? Physics is a large, central a n d the published p a p e r m a y n o t be easily b r e a k a b l e into segments, b u t o n e
long-established field - w o u l d similarities be found in a field t h a t h a d possible staging is into the processes of writing prior to submission t o a
n o n e of these characteristics? journal (internally-moderated changes) a n d into those t h a t m a y occur
In an a t t e m p t to t h r o w a little light o n at least the last of these questions, subsequently (externally-moderated changes). M y e r s ' (1985a) study —
I analyzed main articles in the first 2 0 years of the TESOL Quarterly, the already m e n t i o n e d at the o p e n i n g of Part III - of the struggles of t w o
flagship publication of the US-based association of T e a c h e r s of English t o biologists t o get their p a p e r s published w o u l d fall into the latter category.
Speakers of O t h e r Languages (Swales, 1 9 8 8 b ) . F r o m the early 1970s, For M y e r s all researchers are faced with decisions a b o u t the level of claim
average article length - of the m a i n text - has r e m a i n e d relatively stable, they might wish to m a k e . T h e higher the level of claim, the m o r e likely
centering a r o u n d a m e a n of very a p p r o x i m a t e l y 5 , 0 0 0 w o r d s . H o w e v e r , t h a t it will involve c o n t r a d i c t i n g large bodies of the relevant literature
the articles look longer because of steady u p w a r d trends in the a m o u n t of a n d will challenge a s s u m p t i o n s e m b o d i e d in i m p o r t a n t o n g o i n g research
non-textual material (principally tables) a n d in the n u m b e r of references. p r o g r a m s . O n the other h a n d , the lowest level claims m a y c o n t r a d i c t
T h e average n u m b e r of references had g r o w n from four in 1968 to 3 4 in n o t h i n g , b u t may also a d d very little to w h a t is accepted a n d established
1 9 8 6 . In addition, the period w a s also characterized by a p r o p o r t i o n a l w i t h i n the given research field. T h u s , high-level claims are likely to be
decline in citations of b o o k s (particularly ESL textbooks) a n d a rise in i m p o r t a n t but risky, whilst low-level claims are likely t o be trivial b u t
citations of shorter w o r k s (particularly articles, a n d chapters in scholarly safe. Both of M y e r s ' biologists consistently s o u g h t t o m a k e the highest-
edited collections). Further signs of the a d o p t i o n of a social science (as level claim t h a t they could p e r s u a d e a particular journal t o accept, but in
o p p o s e d to humanities) p a r a d i g m have been the consistent subsectioning b o t h cases they eventually h a d t o settle for t h e publication of m u c h m o r e
of articles, increasing c o - a u t h o r s h i p a n d a wider e m p l o y m e n t of statis- limited a n d lower-level claims t h a n they h a d originally h o p e d for (and
tics. In addition, the fact t h a t a u t h o r s in TESOL Quarterly have p e r h a p s still h o p e for). C o n c o m i t a n t l y , they h a d t o settle also for a m o r e
increasingly t e n d e d t o cite previous w o r k published in it m a y be t a k e n t o limited a n d m o r e specialized readership; in aggregate they m a d e n o fewer
imply the existence of a n u m b e r of coherent a n d established research t h a n six a t t e m p t s at publication in Science a n d Nature before a b a n -
fronts. O n the o t h e r h a n d , there w a s n o sign of the drift t o w a r d s g r a p h s d o n i n g these t w o highly visible a n d widely-read journals.
t h a t Bazerman noted from the Physical Review, a n d I eventually a b a n - If we t u r n to the earlier stages of the c o m p o s i n g process, the p r e p a r -
d o n e d my efforts t o trace increasing lexical abstraction due t o a lack of ation of a m a n u s c r i p t prior to review, w e can also find impressive
firm evidence. (Syntactic features w e r e n o t investigated.) evidence t h a t any vision we may h a v e of the scientist-researcher w o r k i n g
Overall, this vignette of RA history in the e m b r y o n i c ESL field evinces a a w a y in the lab or in the field a n d then retiring t o a quiet place t o type u p
d e t e r m i n a t i o n to professionalize - a particularly pressing a n d under- quickly the experimental report according t o some stereotyped f o r m a t is
decidedly at o d d s with reality. Evidence for w h a t really h a p p e n s can be all of which one powerful shaping p a r a d i g m is that of the p r o b l e m -
g a t h e r e d from three recent book-length studies t h a t arc largely concerned solution text type (Hocy, 1979).
with the construction of research p a p e r s . T w o are case studies of But the story of the I n t r o d u c t i o n does n o t end here, because there is a
i m p o r t a n t US laboratories (Latour a n d W o o l g a r , 1 9 7 9 ; K n o r r - C e t i n a , further w o r l d of difference between the first full version a n d the final
1981), the third is an analysis of a controversy in biochemistry (Gilbert version. In the first there is a clear succession of increasingly specific
a n d M u l k a y , 1984). All three b o o k s are significant p r o d u c t s of a p a r a g r a p h s starting with observations a b o u t the large quantities of
relatively new school within the sociology of science in which discourse is valuable p o t a t o proteins available in the w o r l d a n d h o w these are
topic rather t h a n resource. As Gilbert a n d M u l k a y p u t it, the a p p r o a c h under-utilized. A description of current recovery m e t h o d s follows w i t h
concentrates ' o n describing h o w scientists' a c c o u n t s are organized t o considerable emphasis o n their d r a w b a c k s . T h e I n t r o d u c t i o n ends w i t h a
p o r t r a y their actions a n d beliefs in contextually a p p r o p r i a t e w a y s ' discussion of a major alternative c o a g u l a n t (ferric chloride), w h i c h w o u l d
(1984:14). t u r n t h e disadvantages of the current m e t h o d s i n t o a d v a n t a g e s . T h e final
T h e most directly relevant of the three is K n o r r - C e t i n a , for in o n e of sentence then generalizes the m e t h o d search:
her chapters she presents an extensive textual study, including facsimiles The aim of this work was to find an alternative precipitation
a n d additionally s u p p o r t e d by direct o b s e r v a t i o n a n d interview, of w h a t method resulting in a yield comparable to that of protein recovered
transpired between the first rough notes for a n d the final draft of o n e by means of the most commonly used acid/heat treatment method,
p a p e r p r o d u c e d at a large government-financed research center in while achieving a more acceptable quality of the PPC needed for
Berkeley, California during 1 9 7 7 . T h e subject of the p a p e r is the recovery the application in human foods.
of protein from p o t a t o e s , a process of some significance for the food (Knorr-Cetina, 1981:157)
industry.
T h e first significant p o i n t to emerge is t h a t the public story as told in As K n o r r - C e t i n a observes, the switch at t h e close to the Past tense
the drafts is a reversed, rather t h a n revised, version of w h a t actually t o o k suggests t h a t the m e t h o d w a s actually found, a l t h o u g h it is n o t identified
place within the confines of the l a b o r a t o r y . In the lab, the scientists at this point in the p a p e r .
r e s p o n d e d opportunistically t o an incidental finding, r a t h e r t h a n Several m o n t h s a n d drafts later, a final version emerged after consider-
consciously p l a n n e d to try a n d solve a particular p r o b l e m . (The p r o b l e m able discussion w i t h a n d c o m m e n t s from colleagues, including the
w o u l d , in fact, t u r n o u t t o be finding a m e t h o d of extracting valuable Director of the Institute. T h e s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d a n d s o m e w h a t d r a m a t i c
p o t a t o protein w h i c h w o u l d require less energy t h a n the c u r r e n t acid/heat unfolding of the first version has a l m o s t entirely d i s a p p e a r e d . T h e
t r e a t m e n t s a n d which w o u l d also increase nitrogen solubility.) As o n e of general—specific structure (zeroing in o n the solution) has been a b a n d o n e d
the main researchers c o m m e n t e d : for a series of p a r a g r a p h s t h a t discuss various topics at a p p r o x i m a t e l y
equivalent levels of detail, thus p r o d u c i n g a m o r e discursive a n d less
No. I think I was not clever enough originally to see that it would goal-directed text. Further, m a n y ' d a n g e r o u s ' claims have been elimi-
be better to recover protein without applying heat treatment. I n a t e d ; for instance, only one of the several first-version s t a t e m e n t s a b o u t
probably first read about the ferric chloride . . . the ' d i s a d v a n t a g e s ' of the prevailing protein recovery m e t h o d has sur-
(Knorr-Cetina, 1981:101) vived. T h e r e h a s also been a considerable increase in ' h e d g i n g ' ; should
becomes could, is becomes has been suggested as possible, good solubility
In the laboratory realizing t h a t ferric chloride c o a g u l a t i o n could occur becomes merely enhanced a n d so on. T h e cautiousness a n d rhetorical
w i t h o u t h e a t eventually led t o the establishment of a n alternative diffuseness of t h e final version is neatly illustrated by the very different
m e t h o d , whilst in the paper the story o p e n s with the need to p r o d u c e a closing sentence of the I n t r o d u c t i o n :
better m e t h o d a n d then offers ferric chloride coagulation as a resolution The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of HC1,
of this need. Of course, this reversal of the research d y n a m i c is in its FeCl , and HC1 combined with heat, as precipitants of potato
3
context neither deceitful n o r misrepresentative - a l t h o u g h it might be protein in the laboratory, as well as under pilot plant conditions,
t h o u g h t so if the laboratory notes themselves h a d been revised in this and to evaluate some compositional, nutritional and functional
way. This is because the research paper is a quite different genre to the characteristics of the protein concentrates recovered by these three
l a b o r a t o r y record a n d has its o w n quite separate c o n v e n t i o n s , its o w n methods.
processes of literary reasoning a n d its o w n s t a n d a r d s of a r g u m e n t , within (Knorr-Cetina, 1981:165)
120 Research articles in lin^lish //»<• < nmtrm liny, of irsfiin h ,nti, lr% I I
T h u s , the p r e - a n n o u n c e m e n t of a new m e t h o d has been toned d o w n t o a rather, they arc highly abstracted reformulations of final o u t c o m e s in
c o m p a r a t i v e analysis, a n d the early e x u b e r a n c e of the p r i m a r y research- which a n e n o r m o u s a m o u n t is t a k e n for g r a n t e d .
ers has become the careful u n d e r s t a t e m e n t of a wider g r o u p . In M y e r s ' This conclusion inevitably belies the c o m m o n belief that the p u r p o s e of
t e r m s , the level of knowledge-claim has been reduced, p e r h a p s partly in M e t h o d sections is to permit replication. As it h a p p e n s , K n o r r - C e t i n a ' s
o r d e r to limit d a m a g e t o the Institute's r e p u t a t i o n s h o u l d subsequent informants - as well as n u m e r o u s others - d e n y t h a t replication is really
w o r k go a w r y . T h r o u g h o u t , rhetorical considerations have h a d a per- possible. O n one occasion, Knorr-Cetina asked w h e t h e r a r e a d e r could
vasive role - first in reconstructing events in the l a b o r a t o r y , a n d secondly w o r k o u t the reason for a n unglossed c h a n g e in m e t h o d . T h e reply she
in the long process of generating the final draft. H o w e v e r , it is n o t quite as received was as follows:
t h o u g h the lab notes could n o t have been built o n in a linear m a n n e r , n o r
He could in principle . . . but it would require a lot of thinking.
t h a t the first version is clearly u n p u b l i s h a b l e (its m a i n a u t h o r h a d already
And he would have to presuppose that I did a lot of thinking too
published 4 0 papers). R a t h e r w e seem t o see a process of technical . . . In practice, he simply would not know.
critique a n d social control o p e r a t i n g b o t h in the particular research
(Knorr-Cetina, 1981:129)
setting a n d in a wider half-imagined w o r l d of ' w h a t o t h e r scientists will
t h i n k ' . Knorr-Cetina herself offers a stronger version of this o b s e r v a t i o n : A p p a r e n t l y , there are m a n y virtually indescribable m a t t e r s of technique
'the published p a p e r is a multilayered hybrid co-produced by the a u t h o r s (which require ' k n o w - h o w ' , ' l a b o r a t o r y skills', 'a g o o d pair of h a n d s ' )
and by m e m b e r s of the audience t o which it is directed' ( 1 9 8 1 : 1 0 6 , t h a t ostensibly m a k e u p m u c h of the difference in the w a y l a b o r a t o r y
original emphasis). events t u r n o u t .
Unlike the I n t r o d u c t i o n , the M e t h o d a n d M a t e r i a l s section r e m a i n e d T h e Results a n d Discussion section of the p a p e r also creates a different
virtually u n c h a n g e d in succeeding full drafts except for the eventual reality t o t h a t observed by K n o r r - C e t i n a in the l a b o r a t o r y . In the
deletion of one or t w o statements of p u r p o s e . A sample of M e t h o d l a b o r a t o r y the rhetorical division into the various article sections w a s , t o
discourse is given b e l o w : all intents a n d p u r p o s e s , non-existent. For instance, K n o r r - C e t i n a n o t e d
Methods for analysis and functional properties t h a t 'methodological c o n s t r u c t i o n s ' w e r e continuously interpreted a n d
The standard AOAC methods (AOAC, 1975) were used for the discussed; she also found t h a t the researchers recognized t h a t m e t h o d
determination of total solids, nitrogen, crude fat, ash and vitamin a n d result w e r e mutually i n t e r - d e p e n d e n t . A n d yet in the published
C. Total sugars were determined by the method of Potter et al. a c c o u n t , the M e t h o d section is a 'listing of p r o c e d u r a l f o r m u l a e ' w h e r e a s
(1968) and the total carbohydrates (in terms of glucose) were the Results is largely t a k e n u p with s t a t e m e n t s of similarity a n d differ-
assayed according to the procedure of Dubois et al. (1956). The ence. Interestingly, in the rewriting of the Discussion a c o m p a r a b l e
method of Kohler and Patten (1967) was followed for determining process t o o k place t o the o n e w e have already described for the
amino acid composition.
I n t r o d u c t i o n . Evaluation w a s gradually squeezed o u t , a n d n o specu-
(Knorr-Cetina, 1981:167) lations were a t t e m p t e d b e y o n d those previously a d u m b r a t e d in the
o p e n i n g section. A l t h o u g h the final version of the Discussion, e x t r a p o l a t -
T h e above text is a bald Past tense narrative with agentives realized by the ing from the described results, implicitly argues for a c h a n g e in the
m e t h o d rather t h a n by the p r o t a g o n i s t s (the c o n t r a s t w i t h Boyle's existing practice of recovering p o t a t o p r o t e i n , n o longer are there any
reporting style as described in the previous subsection is p a t e n t ) . There explicit p r o p o s a l s .
are n o p r o b l e m s , n o m a t t e r s of discussion, n o questions of choice (even In all t h e n , at the close of this c o m m e n t a r y o n a splendid b u t individual
t h o u g h some of the procedures involved several m o n t h s of testing a n d case study, w e can carry f o r w a r d t w o m a i n empirical findings: first, we
modification), n o evidence of failure, a n d n o statements of rationale. T h e have seen a long process of rhetorical c o n s t r u c t i o n leading to the drafting
contrast w i t h the M e t h o d sections in the 'soft' social sciences is also of the first full version; secondly, an equally long process of rhetorical
p a t e n t . As Knorr-Cetina observes, ' c o m p a r e d with the relevant w o r k in reconstruction leading t o the published p a p e r . In this way we have »Wt\
the l a b o r a t o r y , w h e r e the making of selections d o m i n a t e s the scene, the o n c e again h o w the ultimate published p r o d u c t attempts to credit I
p a p e r offers a curiously residual description, constituted by w h a t is not at r e a d e r - e n v i r o n m e n t in w h i c h t h e tentative facts can be allowed
stake in the research (such as the b r a n d n a m e s of devices, or the origins of for themselves'. H o w e v e r , we can also see, o n some occasions ,n li i <
a technique) t h a n by w h a t is' ( 1 9 8 1 : 1 1 5 ) . In fact, the M e t h o d sections of t h a t the creation of such a linguistic artifact is neither simple, noi I
RAs often seem increasingly n o t to be ' r e p o r t s ' in any n o r m a l sense; n o r particularly n a t u r a l .
1 2 2 R Tht constructing of rtnarcb articlts 123^
T h e 1 9 7 9 L a t o u r a n d W o o l g a r study of the Salk Institute in California Naturally e n o u g h this view h a s been challenged. Bazerman (1980) in
is s o m e w h a t less concerned with rhetorical processes a n d m o r e with t h e particular h a s observed that laboratory life conflates fact with s t a t e m e n t
role of language itself in t h e scientific enterprise. They n o t e , inter alia, of fact. T h e d o c u m e n t a r y w o r l d of L a t o u r a n d W o o l g a r r a t h e r con-
t h a t t h e denizens of t h e Institute spend t h e greater p a r t of their days veniently ignores t h e real substances (and animals) left b e h i n d as descrip-
m a k i n g or reviewing inscriptions: they code, m a r k , correct, read a n d tion moves progressively f o r w a r d from r a w d a t a t o t h e Results sections
write. T h e aim of all this d o c u m e n t a r y activity is n o t t o preserve
of papers. In t h e e n d , e x p e r i m e n t a l r e p o r t i n g in science is n o t a collective
administrative records, b u t t o m a k e c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o t h e research front in
flight of t h e i m a g i n a t i o n , n o r a mere m a t t e r of s h o o t i n g d o w n t h e
the form of published p a p e r s :
o p p o s i t i o n , b u t is tethered, h o w e v e r t e n u o u s l y a n d obliquely, t o a n
Firstly, at the end of the day, technicians bring piles of documents experiential w o r l d of substance.
from the bench space through to the office space. In a factory we In contrast t o the t w o o t h e r b o o k s , Gilbert a n d M u l k a y (1984) offer an
might expect these to be reports of what has been processed and analysis of t h e various ways in which a m a j o r controversy in b i o -
manufactured. For members of this laboratory, however, these chemistry is described a n d discussed by t h e leading p r o t a g o n i s t s . T h e
documents constitute what is yet to be processed and manufactured.
a c c o u n t i n g for 'the facts' seems t o vary a l o n g t w o major d i m e n s i o n s . T h e
Secondly, secretaries post off papers from the laboratory at an
average rate of one every ten days. However, far from being reports first relates t o w h e r e a particular researcher s t a n d s vis-a-vis t h e currently
of what has been produced in a factory, members take these papers fashionable position. M o r e specifically, Gilbert a n d M u l k a y a r e able t o
to be the product of their unusual factory. s h o w t h e tension between a need t o recognize good w o r k by others -
(Latour and Woolgar, 1979:47)
h o w e v e r u n p a l a t a b l e - a n d a need o n t h e researcher's behalf t o protect
his o r her 'investment' in time, e q u i p m e n t , m o n e y , effort a n d k u d o s . T h e
second major variation in a c c o u n t i n g relates t o public a n d private
Of course, this l a b o r a t o r y also p r o d u c e s other things; m o s t obviously, s t a t e m e n t - m o r e specifically t o the difference between w h a t is said in
small quantities of rare a n d valuable n a t u r a l a n d synthetic substances. formal published p a p e r s a n d w h a t is said in informal interviews with t h e
H o w e v e r , these are n o t sold (Latour a n d W o o l g a r estimate t h a t their t w o sociologists. T h u s , Gilbert a n d M u l k a y argue t h a t t h e o r d e r e d
m a r k e t value w o u l d a b o u t cover t h e Institute's expenses); r a t h e r , they are variability of scientific discourse can be explained by recognizing t h e
e x c h a n g e d as p a r t of v a r i o u s k i n d s of deal o r in r e t u r n for v a r i o u s k i n d s
existence of t w o repertoires: t h e empiricist a n d t h e contingent. The
of favor. T h u s their real value lies, as w e might n o w have c o m e t o expect,
former is typically used in the research literature:
in their potential for generating further p a p e r s .
As we have seen, in research papers experimental data tend to be
L a t o u r a n d W o o l g a r t h e n p o i n t o u t t h a t t h e o r a l discussion in t h e
given chronological as well as logical priority. Neither the author's
l a b o r a t o r y also is largely t a k e n u p with discussion of d o c u m e n t s : ' a l m o s t own involvement with or commitment to a particular analytic
w i t h o u t exception, every discussion a n d brief e x c h a n g e observed in t h e position nor his social ties with those whose work he favors are
l a b o r a t o r y centered a r o u n d o n e or m o r e items in t h e published literature mentioned. Laboratory work is characterized in a highly con-
. . . In other w o r d s , informal exchanges invariably focused o n t h e ventionalized manner, as instances of impersonal, procedural
substance of formal c o m m u n i c a t i o n ' ( 1 9 7 9 : 5 2 ) . F o r L a t o u r a n d routines which are generally applicable and universally effective.
W o o l g a r , then, t h e l a b o r a t o r y is constantly performing o p e r a t i o n s o n Although the content of experimental papers clearly depends on
the experimenters' actions and judgments, such papers are over-
statements; citing, b o r r o w i n g , criticizing, m a k i n g stronger or w e a k e r
whelmingly written in an impersonal style, with overt references to
knowledge-claims in respect t o p r i o r statements. In a d d i t i o n , ' m e m b e r s the author's actions and judgments kept to the minimum. By
of o u r l a b o r a t o r y regularly noticed h o w their o w n assertions w e r e adopting these kinds of linguistic features, authors construct texts
rejected, b o r r o w e d , q u o t e d , ignored, confirmed o r dissolved by o t h e r s ' in which the physical world seems regularly to speak, and
( 1 9 7 9 : 8 7 ) . Therefore, for L a t o u r a n d W o o l g a r t h e l a b o r a t o r y is n o sometimes to act, for itself. Empiricist discourse is organized in a
longer so m u c h in c o n f r o n t a t i o n with recalcitrant nature, b u t in o p e n manner which denies its character as an interpretative product and
competition w i t h other research g r o u p s . H o w e v e r , these k i n d s of argu- which denies that its author's actions are relevant to its content.
m e n t lead t h e m t o a d o p t t h e e x t r e m e subjectivist position t h a t reality is (Gilbert and Mulkay, 1984:56)
the o u t c o m e of t h e settlement of a dispute, t h a t facts a r e always
constructed, a n d t h a t — at least by implication — substances, physical
This depiction of t h e empiricist repertoire h a s , o n t h e o n e h a n d , much 111
m e c h a n i s m s a n d so o n d o n o t exist until they h a v e been identified.
c o m m o n w i t h K n o r r - C e t i n a ' s description of t h e R A p r o d u c t , wlnli
124 Research articles in i.nglish Thi constructing of research articles 125
the other, it contrasts sharply with the a c c o u n t s t h a t scientists p r o d u c e k n o w , language is always relatable to c o n t e x t , a n d we w o u l d therefore
w h e n they discuss their w o r k informally. In interviews, a contingent expect t h a t o t h e r settings w o u l d give rise t o additional repertoires.
repertoire w a s manifest in w h i c h the impact of a range of factors not Indeed, M u l k a y has gone o n t o d o this by considering o t h e r genres such
directly concerned with the w o r l d of biochemical p h e n o m e n a w a s as scientific c o r r e s p o n d e n c e a n d N o b e l Prize speeches ( M u l k a y , 1985).
admitted. In interviews 'scientists presented their actions a n d beliefs as
A n o t h e r problem is t h a t , as Gilbert and M u l k a y observe b u t L a t o u r a n d
heavily d e p e n d e n t o n speculative insights, prior intellectual c o m m i t -
W o o l g a r d o not, eventually 'the truth will o u t ' ; for instance, the
ments, personal characteristics, indescribable skills, social ties and g r o u p
relevant discourse c o m m u n i t i e s will eventually agree t h a t 'cold fusion'
membership' (1984:56).
does or does not occur. A third is t h a t sociologists of science not
Further, Gilbert a n d M u l k a y engagingly d e m o n s t r a t e t h a t o n e k i n d of unnaturally need for the g r o w t h of their discipline to find - a n d p e r h a p s
h u m o r in the research w o r l d depends o n playing off o n e repertoire stress - sociological aspects of b o t h the processes a n d p r o d u c t s of h a r d
against the other, a locus classicus being those lists p i n n e d o n research
science e x p e r i m e n t a t i o n . T h u s , the accounts we have m a y n o t them-
s t u d e n t s ' walls which contrast w h a t is written with w h a t 'really' h a p -
selves be i m m u n e t o the e n c r o a c h m e n t of contingent elements; w e have
pened. A version p e r h a p s a p p r o p r i a t e for readers of this b o o k is given in
yet to have in this area an e t h n o g r a p h y of an e t h n o g r a p h y (cf. Lury,
Figure 6.
1982).
Despite these m i n o r caveats, the three m a j o r studies reviewed in this
section indicate in their slightly different w a y s the strength of the
Empiricist Contingent genre-specific conventions t h a t constrain a n d shape the research article.
A sample of 139 reprint requests My own and Bob's down the Consequently, a n d despite a p p e a r a n c e s t o the c o n t r a r y , we find ourselves
was assembled. corridor. far a w a y from a w o r l d in which it is expected t h a t researchers will 'tell it
as it h a p p e n e d ' . Despite the conventional sectioning of the research
The return rate was only 34%. Actually a bit higher but two article, we are far a w a y from a w o r l d in which the research itself is
forms were returned about a
c o m p a r a b l y c o m p a r t m e n t a l i z e d . Despite an objective 'empiricist' reper-
year later, long after I had done
the analysis. toire, we are far a w a y from a w o r l d in w h i c h p o w e r , allegiance a n d
self-esteem play n o p a r t , however m u c h they m a y seem absent from the
An intermediate group of We were already teaching them. frigid surface of RA discourse. A n d yet w e find the research article, this
students was chosen as key p r o d u c t of the k n o w l e d g e - m a n u f a c t u r i n g industry, t o be a r e m a r k -
especially suitable.
able p h e n o m e n o n , so cunningly engineered by rhetorical m a c h i n i n g t h a t
There is evidence that NNS At least some of mine either it s o m e h o w still gives a n impression of being b u t a simple description of
graduate students are concerned panicked or indulged in relatively u n t r a n s m u t e d r a w material.
about academic avoidance strategies. T h e r e is one other kind of rhetorical t r a n s f o r m a t i o n t h a t needs to be
correspondence. considered at this j u n c t u r e : the translation of the RA into various k i n d s
Short introductions were used for I wanted to be able to spread out of m o r e p o p u l a r a c c o u n t . D u b o i s (1986) has traced the process w h e r e b y
the preliminary analysis. single-page texts. articles in journals like the New England Journal of Medicine (which w e
It has long been known that... have already met at the outset of Part III) a p p e a r as news items in local
I haven't been able to remember
papers t h r o u g h the mediation of science journalists w o r k i n g for the
where I read it.
Associated Press wire service. As might be expected, the very clear
differences in anticipated audience have p r o f o u n d rhetorical effects. N o t
Figure 6 The two repertoires only d o wc find expected changes such as the removal of jargon a n d the
diminution of qualification, b u t the structure of the medical news item
takes o n the organizational form of journalistic genres. T h e main
T h e Gilbert a n d M u l k a y study is itself artificially restricted (Halfpenny, conclusions n o w occur in the o p e n i n g sentences, while s u m m a r i e s of
1988) since the division into just t w o repertoires is a direct consequence m e t h o d are placed at the end (where they m a y be cut by local editors
of the dual n a t u r e of their investigation: formal papers a n d semi- w i t h o u t causing the story as a w h o l e t o lose coherence). Further,
structured informal interviews. H o w e v e r , as linguists a n d rhetoricians 'publication of the scientific article is t r e a t e d itself as a n e w s event, with
126 Research articles in English Textual overview of the research article 127
the result t h a t t h e status of t h e scientific information m a y a p p e a r t o be genre t o the original RAs from which they derive. While, as F a h n e s t o c k
elevated t o t h a t of unalterable fact' ( D u b o i s , 1986:243). (1986) argues, there m a y be a place for engaging students in exercises of
Fahnestock (1986) h a s also studied ' t h e fate of scientific observations technical journalism of this kind, they m u s t be recognized as such a n d n o t
as they pass from original research reports intended for scientific peers seen a s helping s t u d e n t s t o enter p r i m a r y discourse c o m m u n i t i e s of
into p o p u l a r a c c o u n t s a i m e d a t a general a u d i e n c e ' ( 1 9 8 6 : 2 7 5 ) . She again researchers. Indeed, there m a y be gain in getting students t o test o u t
traces translation into o r d i n a r y language, loss of careful qualification a n d M y e r s ' t w o narratives p r o p o s a l s with material from their field o r t o
a greater concern t o c a p t u r e h u m a n interest. She also observes: follow controversies t h a t arise from t h e over-simplifications of original
With a significant change in rhetorical situation comes a change in conclusions.
genre, and instead of simply reporting facts for a different O t h e r easily c o m m u n i c a b l e messages include t h e sheer i m p o r t a n c e of
audience, scientific accommodations are overwhelmingly the writing aspect of research activity, its rhetorical complexity even
epideictic: their main purpose is to celebrate rather than validate. within well-established genres, a n d t h e often e l a b o r a t e n a t u r e of t h e
And furthermore they must usually be explicit in their claims about revision process. M a n y of t h e longer q u o t e s cited in this subsection a r e
the value of the scientific discoveries they pass along. They cannot
directly suitable for discussion, c o m p a r i s o n , analysis a n d m a t c h i n g tasks,
rely on the audience to recognize the significance of information.
as I a t t e m p t e d t o s h o w in Swales 1 9 8 7 b .
(Fahnestock, 1 9 8 6 : 2 7 8 - 9 )
a l w a y s of an o p e n o r s h u t character. W e m a y , w i t h varying degrees of h.is pointed out tli.it C h o m s k y ' s later writings (written when he had
formality, distribute or even s u b m i t drafts for c o m m e n t - as the prefaces already achieved a considerable degree of fame) display very m u c h
t o this a n d m a n y other b o o k s signify - b u t these are subsequently viewed greater use of first person p r o n o u n s t h a n his early publications. T h e r e -
by their recipients as being drafts a n d treated accordingly. A c c o m p a n y - fore, there is a very real d a n g e r t h a t the ' c o n t e n t ' version of a highly-
ing c o m m e n t a r y will tend t o refer t o the draft as being ' r o u g h ' or valued text m a y be stylistically atypical, thus offering a misleading
' i n c o m p l e t e ' rather t h a n refer t o the a m o u n t of time or effort e x p e n d e d . role-model to those trying to e m b a r k u p o n a career as research writers.
At the end of the day, it is t h e p r o d u c t t h a t c o u n t s . A p p a r e n t l y , Bley-Vroman a n d Selinker t a k e ' f o r m ' in the s o m e w h a t
I believe t h a t sections 7.1 a n d 7.2 should have convinced m a n y t h a t abstract sense of referring to s t a n d a r d ' a r g u m e n t ' or representative
the R A is anything b u t a simple genre. It is thus quite surprising t o find rhetorical o r g a n i z a t i o n . H o w e v e r , as the t w o a u t h o r s n o w h e r e m a k e any
t h a t there have been very few a t t e m p t s t o define a n a p p r o p r i a t e p r o c e d u - reference to corpus-building o r establishing a representative s a m p l e , this
ral m e t h o d o l o g y for a p p r o a c h i n g texts of this k i n d (unlike in s p o k e n m e t h o d of ascribing 'high value' seems p r o n e t o circularity. After all, w e
discourse, e.g. Ellis a n d D o n o h u e , 1 9 8 6 ; Potter a n d Wetherell, 1 9 8 7 ) . d o n o t k n o w w h a t a m o d e l in t e r m s of ' f o r m ' m a y be unless a n d until
T h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t set of p r o p o s a l s is p r o b a b l y t h a t of Bley-Vroman s o m e survey has established t h a t a p a r t i c u l a r text is generally representa-
a n d Selinker (1984) in which they a d v o c a t e the following five-step tive of e x e m p l a r s of the genre. It seems to me t h a t the concept of
a p p r o a c h t o ' a n o p t i m u m research strategy': highly-valued texts m a y have considerable significance in studies t h a t
1. Practical problem areas and current tools trace the intellectual a n d / o r rhetorical history of an a r e a ; h o w e v e r , in o u r
2. 'Quick and dirty' analysis a t t e m p t s to develop genre-specific skills a m o n g apprentices w e m a y d o
3. Explicit initial assumptions better t o o p e r a t e o n a n d with texts t h a t are n o t e x t r a o r d i n a r y by virtue of
4. Highly-valued texts i m p o r t , a u t h o r s h i p or whatever, for then they are m o r e likely t o be
5. Subject-specialist informants prototypical exemplars.
(Bley-Vroman and Selinker, March 1984:4) Step 5 , eliciting the help of a specialist i n f o r m a n t in text-selection,
category-establishment a n d interpretation, offers at first sight a con-
As far as I am a w a r e , the first three steps have received general assent. In vincing w a y o u t of the subjectivist d i l e m m a . H o w e v e r , if we are to give
Step 1 Bley-Vroman a n d Selinker a d v o c a t e t h a t research in the g r a m - credence t o the findings of Gilbert a n d M u l k a y a n d others w e have to
matical/rhetorical tradition - as pertaining to academic genres - should recognize t h a t discussions with specialist informants m a y fall squarely
be g r o u n d e d in a perceived inadequacy in e x t a n t teaching materials, in a within the contingent repertoire. T h o s e discussions will hence be subject
perceived dissatisfaction w i t h c u r r e n t m e t h o d s of applied discourse t o all the subjective features of personality, allegiance, status a n d so o n
analysis, or in a perceived dissatisfaction with o u r state of k n o w l e d g e of a t h a t this repertoire exhibits. A l t h o u g h Selinker (personal c o m m u n i -
student-relevant text type. U n d e r Step 2 they r e c o m m e n d a r o u g h - a n d - cation) is clearly right to point o u t t h a t w i t h o u t specialist informants
ready survey of relevant texts in o r d e r t o ascertain t h e incipient p r o b l e m s genre analysts m a y be in d a n g e r of ' n o t k n o w i n g w h a t they d o n ' t k n o w ' ,
of p r o c e d u r e , sampling, text-division a n d so o n . For Step 3 they state t h a t over-reliance o n specialist informants m a y invite the opposite d a n g e r of
it is necessary 'to establish a n d explicitly state the initial series of analysts 'believing all t h a t they h e a r ' . F u r t h e r p r o b l e m s are t h a t specialist
a s s u m p t i o n s which will guide the researcher studying the unit in the i n f o r m a n t w o r k can be very t i m e - c o n s u m i n g (Huckin a n d Olsen, 1984),
text(s) u n d e r o b s e r v a t i o n ' (January 1984:2) — a n d this concern for a n d t h a t it raises uncertainty w h e n c o m p a r i n g RAs from different
validating a s s u m p t i o n s is b o t h emphasized a n d e x t e n d e d in C r o o k e s disciplines (where instability is inevitably created by relying o n different
( 1 9 8 6 a ) . So far so g o o d . i n f o r m a n t s for each discipline). W e might conclude, t h e n , t h a t the role of
H o w e v e r , Bley-Vroman a n d Selinker then suggest in Step 4 t h a t the the subject specialist i n f o r m a n t in RA genre analysis remains, given the
analytic w o r k be limited to an a p p a r e n t l y restricted n u m b e r of 'highly- current levels of evaluated experience, s o m e w h a t controversial. Certainly
v a l u e d ' texts that can be established - by inquiry, interview a n d so o n - the evidence is mixed. T h e r e is at least o n e purely textual study that has
as central to a given field, either by virtue of content or by virtue of form. been subsequently confirmed by re-analyzing the d a t a with the aid of a
T h e r e are, I believe, a n u m b e r of difficulties w i t h this n o t i o n . First, specialist i n f o r m a n t (Selinker, T a r o n e a n d Hanzeli, 1 9 8 1 : 5 2 ) ; a n d yet
i m p o r t a n t papers may often be written by powerful luminaries w h o are there m u s t be m y r i a d instances of language specialists ' m i s r e a d i n g '
consequently able to ride r o u g h - s h o d over m a n y of the accepted linguistic specialized texts w h e n w o r k i n g on their o w n . Even m o r e confusingly,
a n d rhetorical conventions in their given field; A r d (1983), for instance, there is o n e case (Huckin a n d Olsen, 1984) in which the original a u t h o r
UxtMl ovitvitw of tht mtarch articlt 131
TABU). O V K H V . E W O F T H E T E X T U A L I T U D I E I O F T H E E N G L I S H RA
offered a rather different interpretation of his text t o that provided by the
subject specialist i n f o r m a n t in Selinker (1979).
a) The RA as a whole
If there are discernible figures in this carpet they w o u l d suggest the
following. Firstly, there is always a partial a n d supportive role for the Feature(s) c lorpus F ield(s)
Author(s) I Date no. of RAs)
specialist informant: useful for certain types of analysis, for certain parts (>
TABLE . O V E R V I E W O F T H E T E X T U A L S T U D I E S O F T H E E N G L I S H RA
3
observations on Table 3 may be useful. In s o m e of the studies, there are
b) Introductions c o m p a r i s o n s between genres, such as Heslot's study of e x p e r i m e n t a l a n d
review articles or A d a m s Smith's 1 9 8 7 search for differences a n d
Autbor(s) Date Feature(s) Corpus similarities between original RAs a n d their p o p u l a r i z a t i o n . Typically, I
Field(s)
(no. of RAs) have excluded the d a t a t h a t is less prototypical of the RA. Secondly, it is
easy t o see t h a t some fields are m u c h less well represented t h a n o t h e r s ; for
Hepworth 1979 ^structure) e x a m p l e , there is very little o n disciplines such as e c o n o m i c s a n d
Oster 1981 tense 2 sociology. T h i r d , I have n o t t h o u g h t it w o r t h w h i l e to i n c o r p o r a t e in
engineering
Swales 1981 ^structure^)etc. 48 T a b l e 3 p a p e r s t h a t have already been quite extensively discussed for
range/
o t h e r p u r p o s e s (Bazerman, 1 9 8 4 a ; H u c k i n , 1987), a l t h o u g h relevant
differentiated
Trimble and 1982 tense aspects of these fine studies will n o t be neglected. Finally, the listed p a p e r s
science/
Trimble vary considerably in their analytic perspective. Bruce, D u b o i s , Weissberg
engineering
/ S. a n d W o o d have been influenced by the Functional Sentence Perspective
Zappen 1983 (structure) engineering of the Prague school; Stanley a n d J a c o b y by the Clause Relations of
Kinay et al. 1983 concluding 50 range/ W i n t e r (e.g. W i n t e r , 1 9 8 6 ) ; a n d O s t e r , T a r o n e a n d others by the
sentences differentiated Rhetorical-Grammatical Approach associated with L a c k s t r o m , Selinker
Cooper 1985 structure 15 electronics a n d T r i m b l e . A n u m b e r of o t h e r studies have a t t e m p t e d t o develop an
Hopkins 1985 structure 5 analysis which reflects the characteristics of the genre itself - a p o s t u r e
agriculture
engineering already r e c o m m e n d e d m o r e t h a n once in this volume.
Crookes 1986 structure 24(96) range/ A n u m b e r of p a p e r s have a t t e m p t e d an a c c o u n t of the c o n c e p t u a l
differentiated m a c r o s t r u c t u r e of the research article: Stanley (1984) p r o p o s e s a
Swales and 1 1987 results statements 110 physics/ p r o b l e m - s o l u t i o n structure, Bruce (1983) suggests t h a t t h e Intro-
Najjar educational duction-Method—Results—Discussion format follows the logical cycle of
psychology inductive inquiry, a n d H u t c h i n s (1977) offers for the RA a modification
c) Methods and Results of Kinneavy's cycle of Dogma-Dissonance-Crisis-Search-New Model
Wood 1 982 (Kinneavy, 1 9 7 1 ) . H o w e v e r , little textual evidence is p u t f o r w a r d t o
structure 10 chemistry justify such configurations a n d , as the previous section has m a d e clear,
Bruce 1 983 structure *
medicine there can often be considerable distance between research actuality a n d
its formal presentation. Perhaps then a m o r e m a n a g e a b l e starting-point
d) Discussions
for a discussion of shape of m a c r o s t r u c t u r e is the hour-glass d i a g r a m
Belanger 1 982 structure 10 neuroscience (Figure 7) p r o p o s e d by Hill et al.
McKinlay 1 984 structure 30 medicine A l t h o u g h this schematic d i a g r a m is a p p a r e n t l y derived from but a
Peng 1 987 structure 10 single p a p e r in psychology - a n d one with a n off-beat content at t h a t - it
chemical
engineering intuitively accords with m u c h of the discussion in the previous t w o
Hopkins and l!388 structure 12 ranee/ sections. As the a u t h o r s say, 'research p a p e r s m a k e the transition from
Dudley-Evans differentiated the general field or c o n t e x t of the e x p e r i m e n t to the specific e x p e r i m e n t
by describing a n i n a d e q u a c y in previous research t h a t motivates the
present e x p e r i m e n t ' ( 1 9 8 2 : 3 3 5 ) . T h e M e t h o d a n d Results sections (sub-
s u m e d u n d e r Procedure in Figure 7 overleaf) then continue along a
t h a t information is not available. T h e use of ' r a n g e ' in the final c o l u m n n a r r o w , particularized p a t h , whilst the Discussion section mirror-images
refers t o a spread of fields or disciplines; the range m a y be undiffer- the I n t r o d u c t i o n by m o v i n g from specific findings to wider implications.
entiated (i.e. the findings are consolidated) or differentiated (i.e. similari-
T h e findings of West (1980) a n d Heslot (1982) can n o w be fitted into
ties a n d differences between fields can be traced).
this scheme. West studied the occurrence across sections of r / ? ^ - n o m i n a l s
Before we e x a m i n e some of the m o r e interesting findings, a few general
(elements of the type in italics in the following e x a m p l e sentence): ' W e
Textual overview of the research article 135
/ M R D
% % % %
general
self-citational n a t u r e of t h e review. T h e single sentence M o v e 2 c a n be and a quasi-3D potential flow method that uses source and
vortex elements. (5) Linear, unseparated potential flow
identified as a Step I B (indicating a gap). A possible alternative w o u l d be models as well as purely viscous models, are not mentioned
t o t a k e M o v e 2 as a Step I D (continuing a tradition) b u t t h e use of t h e here. (6) A survey of the various methods may also be found STEP 3
adversative however suggests otherwise. in Ref. 10. (7) The potential flow methods are of special
T h e four o p t i o n s for M o v e 2 can be illustrated as w i t h t h e following interest because of their ability to treat 3D body shapes and
their separated vortex flows using a simple and relatively
versions of t h e Figure 9 text:
inexpensive model./(&) However, the previously mentioned
Step 1A However, the use o f . . . results in such a methods suffer from some limitations mainly concerning the
treatment of the vortex wake formation and its interaction
(Counter-claim) degree of spherical aberration that radical 2
with the body. (9) The first group of methods ~* cannot treat
design changes have become necessary. 3D flows and is limited to very slender bodies. (10) The
5-8
Step IB However, the use o f . . . results in a MOVE 2 second group of computational methods is time
(Gap) significant amount of spherical consuming and therefore expensive, and its separation
aberrations . . . prediction is not sufficiently accurate. (11) Both the methods
in this group and the method in Ref. 9 suffer from the
Step 1C However, it is not clear whether the use dependency on too many semiempirical inputs and
(Question) o f . . . can be modified to reduce spherical assumptions concerning the vortex wake and its separation. STEP 1B
11-12
aberration to acceptable levels. (12) The steady, 3D nonlinear vortex-lattice method,
upon which the present method is based, eliminates many
Step I D The remaining issue is to find a way of of these limitations by introducing a more consistent model,
(Continuation) better controlling spherical aberration. but it can treat only symmetricalflowcases./tl 3) The
present work extends the use of the last model to
Finally, w e c a n assign t h e third p a r a g r a p h t o M o v e 3 , t h e first sentence asymmetric, body-vortex flow cases, thus increasing the
being Step I B , a n d t h e final t w o being Step 2 . range of flow problems that can be investigated. (14) In
Figure 11 offers a sample Move—Step analysis of a slightly longer, MOVE 3 addition, an effort is made to improve the numerical
14-sentence i n t r o d u c t i o n , b u t again from the h a r d sciences area. Both t h e procedure to accelerate the convergence of the iterative
solution and to get a better rollup of the vortex lines STEP 1B
text itself a n d the issues it raises for the genre analyst are quite intriguing.
representing the wake.
In t h e first place, t h e establishment of territory in M o v e 1 utilizes all three
( 0 . Almosino. 1985. High Angle-of-Attack Calculations of the Subsonic
step o p t i o n s , again suggesting t h a t w e w o u l d be u n w i s e t o c o m e t o a n y
Vortex Flow in Slender Bodies AIAA Journal23 ( 8 ) : 1 1 5 0 - 6 )
swift conclusion t h a t science a n d engineering R A i n t r o d u c t i o n s tend t o
avoid (or d o n o t need) t h e m o r e rhetorical o p t i o n s . In fact, t h e o p e n i n g
t w o sentences represent a p r o t o t y p i c a l instance of b o t h t h e ' n a r r o w i n g ' Figure 11 A sample Move-Step analysis
effect a n d of w h a t I have called claiming centrality: I am grateful to Changyu Yang for bringing this text to my attention.
51 The increasing interest in . . . has heightened the need for... enhance with centrality claims a particular piece of research or scholar-
52 Of particular interest and complexity are . . . ship that others might conceive of as marginal); or individual rhetorical
predispositions for or against marked rhetorical activity of this type.
Centrality claims are appeals t o the discourse c o m m u n i t y whereby Centrality claims are typically c o m m u n i c a t e d in a single sentence, b u t
m e m b e r s are asked t o accept t h a t the research a b o u t t o be r e p o r t e d is p a r t can, as Figure 11 s h o w s , e x t e n d over t w o o r m o r e sentences. T h e y are
of a lively, significant or well-established research area. Some typical
also typically, b u t n o t inevitably, i n t r o d u c t i o n initial. In t h e following
examples of the linguistic e x p o n e n t s — a n d signals - of centrality claims
case, for instance, Steps 1 a n d 2 h a v e been reversed:
are given below in abbreviated form. In all these cases, a n d in s u b s e q u e n t
ones, the examples have been t a k e n from actual RA texts, unless 51 An elaborate system of marking social distance and respect is
indicated otherwise. found in the morphology of Nahautl as spoken in
communities of the Malinche volcano area in the Mexican
Recently, there has been a spate of interest in how to . . . States of Tlaxcala and Puebla. (Step 2)
In recent years, applied researchers have become increasingly interested in . . . 52 The complexity of the morphology involved, the semantic
range of the elements, and variation in the system of use raise
The possibility . . . has generated interest in . . . questions of considerable interest for our understanding of the
Recently, there has been wide interest in . . . form and function of such systems, both in Nahautl itself and
in other languages. (Step 1, my emphases)
The time development... is a classic problem in fluid mechanics.
(J. H. Hill and K. C. Hill. 1978. Honorific Usage in Modern Nahautl.
The explication of the relationship between . . . is a classic problem o f . . . Language 54:123)
The well-known . . . phenomena . . . have been favorite topics for analysis both
in . . .
This i n t r o d u c t i o n opens with a topic generalization of a Step 2 type, a n d
Knowledge of . . . has a great importance for . . . as such does little t o a p p e a l to any b u t those with a specialized interest in
The study of . . . has become an important aspect o f . . . M e x i c a n languages. T h e ' r e p a i r ' , if o n e is needed, immediately follows,
for the elements t h a t I h a v e italicized m a k e a s t r o n g claim t h a t t h e
The theory t h a t . . . has led to the hope t h a t . . .
about-to-be-described findings are of central interest t o sociolinguists of
The effect o f . . . has been studied extensively in recent years. w h a t e v e r areal specialty. It w o u l d d o u b t l e s s h a v e been possible t o
Many investigators have recently turned to . . . reverse the o r d e r in s o m e w a y , or t o h a v e i n c o r p o r a t e d the s u b s t a n c e of
SI into S2, a l t h o u g h at the p r o b a b l e cost of increased syntactic c o m p l e x -
The relationship between . . . has been studied by many authors.
ity. M y reading of the i n t r o d u c t i o n as a w h o l e suggests t h a t the u n u s u a l
A central issue in . . . is the validity of . . . o r d e r m a y be relatable to the a u t h o r s ' concern t o establish early t h a t their
study w a s based o n very extensive field w o r k . This w o u l d explain the
As the a b o v e list indicates, a u t h o r s of a RA can m a k e a centrality claim
early circumscription t o 'as spoken in c o m m u n i t i e s of the M a l i n c h e
at the i n t r o d u c t i o n ' s outset in a n u m b e r of w a y s . T h e y can claim interest,
v o l c a n o area', which in t u r n w o u l d explain t h e difficulty of initiating the
or i m p o r t a n c e ; they can refer t o the classic, favorite o r central c h a r a c t e r
i n t r o d u c t i o n with Step 1. f\
of the issue; o r they can claim t h a t there are m a n y o t h e r investigators
T h e m o r e general p o i n t raised by this p a r t i c u l a r text is t h a i there are
active in the area. In the t w o c o r p o r a t h a t I have e x a m i n e d in detail
g o o d general a n d applied reasons for assigning numerical sequence t o X
(Swales, 1 9 8 1 b ; Swales a n d Najjar, 1987) the exercise of the Step 1
textual elements t h a t occur in suitably r o b u s t preferred o r d e r ^ In the case
o p t i o n w a s comparatively c o m m o n , averaging a little u n d e r 5 0 % for the
of R A i n t r o d u c t i o n s t h e three m o v e s o c c u r a t a high frequency in their
c o m b i n e d sample of 158 introductions. It also seems quite widely
assigned o r d e r . Swales a n d Najjar (1987) found, for instance, only 10 o u t
distributed across various disciplinary areas, a l t h o u g h exercised s o m e -
of 110 i n t r o d u c t i o n s beginning w i t h a M o v e 3 . An a n o m a l y percentage
w h a t less in the physical sciences. Possible rationales for utilizing or
of u n d e r 1 0 % is well within acceptable b o u n d s in discoursal a n d textual
avoiding a centrality claim r e m a i n an u n e x p l o r e d b u t interesting research
studies for, even m o r e t h a n s y n t a x , discourse is a p h e n o m e n o n of
area. A m o n g the variables t h a t might t u r n o u t to be relevant are the
propensities. Discourse generalizations are p e r m e a b l e t o e x c e p t i o n s , a n d
disciplinary area itself; some felt sense of the expectations of p a r t i c u l a r
are n o t consequently falsified by limited n u m b e r s of counter-instances.
journals; the n a t u r e of the research itself (as w h e n a u t h o r s m i g h t w a n t t o
Further, t h e occasional recurrence of m i n o r dispreferred structures is
RTi Kf.i-.iii h ,11 tit Irs in illgllth
discourse communities on the periphery of the academic w o r l d m a y be made of cheese. cheese. "
developing alternative conventions for their central genres.
T h e Step 3 is one of the main occasions w h e r e the RA a u t h o r needs t o
relate what has been found (or claimed) with who has found it (or
claimed it). M o r e precisely, the a u t h o r needs to provide a specification (in
varying degrees of detail) of previous findings, an attribution to the
research w o r k e r s w h o published those results, a n d a stance t o w a r d s the
findings themselves. M y earlier attempts (e.g. Swales, 1981 b) t o provide a Id Brie's (1988) theory of Nd The moon is probably
useful account of the attribution variables - a n d their typical tense lunar composition has made of cheese (Brie,
correlates - h a v e n o t fully w i t h s t o o d the test of critical c o m m e n t a r y general support. 1988).
(particularly by J a c o b y , 1987) and I n o w offer a modified position. T h e
Ie According to Brie (1988), Ne The moon may be made -R
basic distinction I w o u l d wish to m a k e is between integral a n d non- 1-3
the moon is made of of cheese.
integral forms of citation. T h e distinction has the merit of being easily
cheese.
applicable because it depends merely on recognizing surface features of
text. An integral citation is one in which the n a m e of the researcher Nf The moon may be made
occurs in the actual citing sentence as some sentence-element; in a of cheese (but cf. Rock,
non-integral citation, the researcher occurs either in parenthesis or is 1989).
referred to elsewhere by a superscript n u m b e r or via some o t h e r
device. T h e main p a t t e r n s are illustrated with constructed e x a m p l e s in
Figure 12.
Figure 12 Integral and non-integral citation
T h e integral citations s h o w the n a m e of the researcher as subject (la),
passive agent (lb), as p a r t of a possessive n o u n phrase (Ic a n d d) a n d as She labeled such references as ' c o n t r a s t i v e ' because they g o against the
w h a t T a d r o s (1985) calls 'an adjunct of r e p o r t i n g ' (Ie). T h e non-integral drift of the conclusions being reached in the sentence itself. Contrastive
citations show three parenthetical citations and t w o superscripted ones. references seem very unevenly distributed in a c a d e m i c writing. T h e y are,
In Figure 12 the citations all in fact occur at sentence-final position, but for e x a m p l e , very u n c o m m o n in the scientific areas, b u t quite c o m m o n
scrutiny of technical RA i n t r o d u c t i o n s will reveal instances of o t h e r in scholarly legal c o m m e n t a r y . In the h u m a n i t i e s , they seem t o form p a r t
placements, especially w h e n g r o u p s of researchers and related topics are of s o m e academics' writing style, b u t rarely, if ever, occur in the writings
introduced (as in sentence 4 of the Figure 11 text). T h e final type of of o t h e r s . Of J a c o b y ' s six texts dealing variously with literary research,
non-integral citation listed in Figure 12 (Nf) w a s , t o my k n o w l e d g e , first only t w o m a d e m u c h use of contrastive references b u t these t w o texts
discussed in the discourse analysis literature on RAs by J a c o b y (1986). e m p l o y e d t h e m quite consistently. T h e y are w o r t h further study.
J a c o b y (1987:55) also p r o p o s e s a category of reference which she calls As we have already seen, Bazerman (1984a) noted a firm trend from
summary: 'In these references n o particular research predecessor is reporting t o n o n - r e p o r t i n g citations in t h e Physical Review d u r i n g this
n a m e d , as a rule, b u t clear reference t o t h e state of previous research as a century. H o w e v e r , this trend m a y be partly d u e to t h e fact t h a t t h e
w h o l e or t o t h e state of consensus k n o w l e d g e can be identified'. I have n o t Physical Review uses a numerical/superscript system. Such systems d o
a d o p t e d this p a r t i c u l a r p r o p o s a l . In cases w h e r e n o previous researchers not easily permit integral reporting choices:
are specifically cited, I see n o reason n o t t o assign t h e text t o Step 2 (topic
? Reference 3 established that the moon was made of cheese.
generalization). In cases w h e r e specific previous researchers a r e cited,
text elements can usually be assigned t o o n e of t h e categories illustrated In 16 biological a n d medical R A s from t h e 1970s, I found t h a t the
in Figure 12. As J a c o b y implies, t h e p r o b l e m a t i c cases occur w h e n t h e n o n - r e p o r t i n g / r e p o r t i n g ratio w a s only 4 0 - 6 0 (Swales, 1981b) w h e r e a s
writer refers t o g r o u p s or 'schools' of researchers a n d scholars. C o m p a r e J a c o b y (1987) found a 2 5 - 7 5 ratio a m o n g her literary critics. T h e
the following: survival of b o t h integral a n d non-integral reporting structures can fairly
a) Generative grammarians have recently modified their position. clearly be a t t r i b u t e d t o their considerable discriminatory p o w e r . In t h e
first place, t h e repertoire of reporting verbs t h a t a n a u t h o r can d r a w o n is
b) Generative grammarians influenced by Chomsky have recently . . . quite large ( a r o u n d 5 0 possible candidates) ranging from highly frequent
c) Chomskyan grammarians have recently . . . choices such as suggest, report a n d show t o rarities like asseverate.
Secondly, this class can be b r o a d l y divided into t w o m a i n g r o u p s ; those
d) Chomsky and his co-workers have recently . . . w h o s e use asserts t h e a u t h o r ' s c o m m i t m e n t t o t h e a t t e n d a n t p r o p o s i t i o n
Even in t h e case of (d) t h e m o s t w o r k a b l e assignment p r o c e d u r e w o u l d (show, demonstrate, establish, etc.) a n d those w h o s e use carries n o such
seem t o be o n e t h a t asks w h e t h e r there is a n actual citation o r n o t . If there c o m m i t m e n t {suggest, propose, examine, etc.). T h e distinction is a
is, as in: powerful rhetorical tool in a u t h o r s ' a t t e m p t s t o create research spaces for
themselves, because it allows t h e m t o signal early w h e t h e r claims are t o
e) Chomsky and his co-workers (e.g. Napoli, 1988) have recently . . . be t a k e n as substantiated or n o t . Thirdly, t h e i n c o r p o r a t i o n of a
t h e n it falls u n d e r o n e of t h e Figure 12 categories (i.e. N d ) . If there is r e p o r t i n g verb c o n c o m i t a n t l y involves a choice of tense, t h e selection of
n o n e , as in (d), then it is n o t a citation. w h i c h m a y be highly indicative.
T h e final c o l u m n in Figure 12 is labeled +R. o r — R. T h e + R citations In fact, E A P studies of references t o previous research have tended t o
are reporting; t h a t is t o say t h e R A a u t h o r employs a ' r e p o r t i n g ' verb focus o n providing an a c c o u n t of tense a n d aspect usage (Lackstrom et
(show, establish, claim, etc.) t o i n t r o d u c e previous researchers a n d their al., 1 9 7 2 ; Swales, 1 9 8 1 b ; Oster, 1 9 8 1 ; A r d , 1 9 8 2 , 1 9 8 5 ; Een, 1 9 8 2 ;
findings. In t h e lower sections of t h e figure, t h e citations are non- T r i m b l e a n d T r i m b l e , 1 9 8 2 ; M a l c o l m , 1 9 8 7 ) . These studies have e x a m -
reporting (—R). T h e d i c h o t o m o u s classification w o r k s fairly well except ined in particular t h e use of t h e three forms, t h e Past, t h e Present Perfect
for uncertainties t h a t c a n arise with a small set of verbs, particularly find a n d t h e Present Simple, t h a t together realize over 9 0 % of all finite verb
a n d be associated with. For e x a m p l e , w e can give t w o possible readings usages in citational statements. T h e r e a r e , I believe, three b r o a d kinds of
t o t h e sentence: ' X w a s found t o be i m p a i r e d ' (Sang et al. 1 9 7 2 ) . W e response t o t h e issue of tense usage in this literature. O n e is t o say t h a t t h e
could read this as reporting: 'general rules' a r e largely a d e q u a t e (Ard, 1 9 8 2 a n d 1 9 8 5 ; M a l c o l m ,
1987). A second a p p r o a c h , best illustrated by O s t e r ( 1 9 8 1 ) , p r o p o s e s a
a l ) X was found by Sang et al. (1972) to be impaired. special set of e x p l a n a t i o n s of tense/aspect t h a t are closely associated with
a2) Sang et al. (1972) found that X was impaired. the n a t u r e of t h e claims being m a d e a b o u t t h e previous literature. T h e
third a p p r o a c h (Swales, 1 9 8 1 b ; Een, 1982) h a s argued t h a t t h e use of
Alternatively w e could read it as non-reporting: tense/aspect in referenced statements is best explained in t e r m s of w h e r e
b l ) X was impaired (Sang et al., 1972). a n d h o w t h e reference t o t h e previous researcher is i n t r o d u c e d into those
statements.
b2) Impairment of X occurred (Sang et al., 1972).
W e might begin w i t h t h e c o m m o n l y - m a d e o b s e r v a t i o n t h a t t h e
This existential reading h a s affinities w i t h such c o m m o n uses of find in 'general rules' for t h e Past, Present a n d Present Perfect seem t o be less
the passive as: ' C o a l is found in t h e g r o u n d ' (i.e. coal occurs in t h e powerful in expository texts t h a n in narrative o n e s , this being pre-
ground). s u m a b l y d u e t o t h e fact t h a t time-lines a n d time-sequences, w h i c h a r e
Introduction* I "> t
i m p o r t a n t elements in the traditional e x p l a n a t i o n s , arc m o r e p r o m i n e n t 'count as' continued din union tnd to forth. In order to provide a simple
in narratives. T h u s in a story the following three statements might easily 'safe rule' alternative (Sclmker et al., 1985) I provided a correlational
be explained in terms of 'general rules': match that, in terms of the updated classification of references provided
A disagreed with B. here, would look like Figure 13.
An (e) or (f) format seems to be chosen w h e n there is a w e a k e r challenge T h e a b o v e text is, I w o u l d suggest, a quite effective piece of writing,
t o the previous research, as w e m o s t typically find in a continuing a especially if we bear in mind t h a t the s t u d e n t h a d h a d n o p r i o r English-
tradition Step I D . Clear evidence of this is the quite frequent co- m e d i u m a c a d e m i c experience a n d w a s only t w o m o n t h s into a US degree
occurrence of the sentence c o n n e c t o r therefore (rather t h a n however) in p r o g r a m . Certainly it suffers from few of the o r i e n t a t i o n p r o b l e m s
these contexts. F o r m a t s (e) a n d (f) were m u c h c o m m o n e r in physics a n d , found in Scarcella (1984) in N N S i n t r o d u c t i o n s ; there is little un-
to a lesser extent, in geology t h a n in psychology o r c o m p o s i t i o n . O n the necessary b a c k g r o u n d information a n d there is a d e q u a t e use of
o t h e r h a n d , m o s t of the instances of w h a t I have called contrastive attention-getting devices. A l t h o u g h there are occasional 'off-register'
comment (g) occurred in c o m p o s i t i o n research. T h e milder t o n e of the (g) elements such as made a research about in S 3 , the text moves s m o o t h l y ,
examples m a y be connected t o the fact t h a t c o m p o s i t i o n researchers swiftly a n d quite authoritatively t o w a r d s the a n n o u n c e m e n t of the
research topic in the final sentence.
158 Research articles in English
H o w e v e r , it r e m a i n s t h e case t h a t t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n r e m a i n s s o m e w h a t
flat in t h e second half. T h e a u t h o r seems t o have s o m e h o w missed a n Among the many potential flow methods developed In
o p p o r t u n i t y to highlight t h e gap b e t w e e n surmise a n d s u b s t a n t i a t e d 1--3 attempting to solve bodv vortex flows are early two-dimensional
2 -
o p i n i o n , a n d between present qualitative j u d g m e n t s a n d potential 2D multi-vortex methods. V However, these methods cannot
2- -B treat 3D flows and are limited to very slender bodies./An
q u a n t i t a t i v e ones. W e can see this if w e c o m p a r e t h e original final three
alternative is time-steoDinq vortex models that include
sentences with m o r e ' m o d u l a t e d ' variants (Latour a n d W o o l g a r , 1 9 7 9 ) .
1--3 boundary-laver considerations, * * / but these are time
S4-original . , i n / j a n r i therfifnm expensive. In addition, their
c r n n m
However, the low maximum speed limit imposes some burdens on drivers 2--B separation predictions are not sufficiently accurate. / A third
and social economy. Dossibilitv is a quasi-3D potential flow method" that uses source
S4-modulated 1--3 and vortex elements./Unfortunately, this method, like the
However, it would seem that the low maximum speed limit imposes a previous ones, suffers from the dependency on too many
certain amount of burden on drivers and the social economy. 2--B semiempirical inputs and assumptions ...
SS-original
The additional travelling time caused by the lower speed limit increases
costs of . . . Figure 15 An example of cyclicity
SS-modulated
In particular, the additional travelling time caused by the lower speed limit
can be expected to increase costs o f . . . b r a n c h i n g - consisting of several loosely-connected topics - t h e n a cyclic
a p p r o a c h m a y be preferred. T h e c o m b i n a t i o n of length a n d divergence
S6-original
m a y c o n t r i b u t e t o t h e cyclicity m o r e evident in t h e social sciences, a n d
The purpose of this research is to find out the gross national . . . brevity a n d linearity t o the compositeness m o r e characteristic of the
S6-modulated n a t u r a l a n d life sciences a n d of engineering.
The purpose of this research is to arrive at a preliminary quantitative W e can n o w t u r n briefly to M o v e 3 , w h i c h I have labeled occupying the
estimate of the gross national . . .
niche (Figure 10). T h e role of M o v e 3 is t o t u r n t h e niche established in
T h e relatively m i n o r alternatives t h a t I have been p r o p o s i n g t a k e fuller M o v e 2 i n t o t h e research space t h a t justifies t h e p r e s e n t article. T h e link
a d v a n t a g e , I believe, of the o p p o r t u n i t y t o create a research space via b e t w e e n t h e moves is a s t r o n g o n e . W h e n e v e r a M o v e 2 occurs - a n d
m o r e precise specification of t h e g a p a n d of t h e a t t e m p t t o fill it. there is a m i n o r i t y of instances in w h i c h it does n o t (Swales, 1 9 8 1 b ;
T h e final issue with regard to M o v e 2 is its cyclicity. A n u m b e r of C o o p e r , 1 9 8 5 ; C r o o k e s , 1986a) - the e n s u i n g M o v e 3 variously offers t o
investigators ( C o o p e r , 1 9 8 5 ; C r o o k e s , 1 9 8 6 a ; H o p k i n s a n d Dudley- s u b s t a n t i a t e the particular counter-claim t h a t h a s been m a d e , fill the
Evans, 1988) have p o i n t e d out t h a t niche-establishment does not neces- created g a p , a n s w e r t h e specific question o r c o n t i n u e t h e rhetorically-
sarily o c c u r only at t h e e n d of a literature review, b u t m a y follow reviews established t r a d i t i o n .
of individual items, so t h a t cycles of M o v e 1/Step 3 a n d M o v e 2 recur. T h e obligatory element in M o v e 3 is Step 1. This can t a k e o n e of t w o
C o n s i d e r the Figure 11 text for a final time. As w e have seen, t h e a u t h o r p r e d o m i n a t i n g forms:
of this text o p t e d for a c o m p o s i t e ' c h u n k e d ' M o v e 1/Step 3 followed by a
c o m p o s i t e M o v e 2. H e could have o p t e d instead for a cycling solution t o Step 1A The author or authors indicate their main purpose or purposes.
his effort t o create a research space (Figure 15). Step IB The author or authors describe what they consider to be the main
In o u r present state of k n o w l e d g e , it is not possible to d o m o r e t h a n features of their research.
speculate a b o u t the factors t h a t might predispose a u t h o r s to c h o o s e
c o m p o s i t e o r cycling configurations. It is likely t h a t the length of t h e In b o t h cases the o p e n i n g step is a kind of p r o m i s s o r y s t a t e m e n t , a n d in
i n t r o d u c t i o n plays s o m e p a r t , so t h a t t h e longer t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n t h e b o t h cases its onset is typically m a r k e d by (a) the absence of references t o
greater t h e probability of s o m e recycling ( C r o o k e s , 1 9 8 6 a ) . It is also previous research a n d (b) the use of deictic references t o t h e present text.
likely t h a t choice is influenced by h o w t h e research field is perceived. If T h e m o r e c o m m o n deictic elements, in a p p r o x i m a t e decreasing o r d e r of
t h e relevant research t r a d i t i o n is viewed as linear a n d cumulative, then a frequency, a r e : this, the present, we, reported, here, now, I a n d herein.
c o m p o s i t e a r r a n g e m e n t m a y w o r k well. H o w e v e r , if t h e field is viewed as Typical e x a m p l e s culled from RA i n t r o d u c t i o n s are:
160 Research articles in English Introductions 161
a) This paper reports on the results obtained . . . For reasons c o m p a r a b l e to those discussed in connection with r e p o r t i n g
b) The aim of the present paper is to give . . . previous research, there seems to be a s t r o n g preference for a Present
tense c o p u l a , p r e s u m a b l y because it e n c o u r a g e s a n impression of con-
c) In this paper we give preliminary results o f . . .
t e m p o r a r y relevance.
d) The main purpose of the experiment reported here was to . . . M a n y , p e r h a p s m o s t , RA i n t r o d u c t i o n s end with a M o v e 3 - S t e p 1.
e) This study was designed to evaluate . . . T h e r e a r e , h o w e v e r , t w o further o p t i o n s . O n e is t o follow the Step 1 with
a s u m m a r y a n n o u n c e m e n t of the principal findings. Swales a n d Najjar
f) The present work extends the use of the last model . . . (1987) investigated this o p t i o n in t e r m s of quite a large s a m p l e (110
g) We now report the interaction of . . . introductions) d r a w n from t w o very different fields: physics a n d edu-
cational psychology. T h e y found t h a t the Step 2 o p t i o n w a s utilized 4 5 %
T h e r e are a n u m b e r of c o m m e n t s t h a t can be m a d e a b o u t the language of
of the time in physics b u t only 7 % of t h e t i m e in e d u c a t i o n a l psychology.
M o v e 3s. First, there is a strong tendency for the deictic signal to occur
W e seem to see here, t h e n , a quite m a r k e d disciplinary divergence t h a t
early - as the above examples s h o w - a n d , in general, the only items t h a t
has n o t so far been attested for either type or form in Step 1.
precede them are occasional linking phrases such as 'In view of these
A final o p t i o n in the i n t r o d u c t i o n is t o indicate in varying degrees of
observations'. Of the 4 8 i n t r o d u c t i o n s in t h e 1 9 8 1 c o r p u s , there w a s only
detail the structure - a n d occasionally the content - of the r e m a i n d e r of
o n e in which the deictic in this paper p h r a s e occurred at sentence-final
the RA. If Step 3 occurs, it is always at the end of the i n t r o d u c t i o n .
position. H o w e v e r , apprentice writers, b o t h N S a n d N N S , are m o r e
Examples are:
p r o n e to delay the M o v e 3 signal - a n d by d o i n g so likely to create
uncertainty, in the reader. Secondly, there m a y be an o p p o r t u n i t y , a) We have organized the rest of this paper in the following way . . .
d e p e n d i n g s o m e w h a t o n style-sheet instructions, for using either a
b) This paper is structured as follows . . .
s t a n d a r d descriptive form or a collapsed structure:
c) The remainder of this paper is divided into five sections. Section II
a) In this paper, we argue t h a t . . . (standard)
describes . . .
b) This paper argues r h a t . . . (collapsed)
C o o p e r (1985) found a Step 3 in as m a n y as 10 o u t of her 15 IEEE
A l t h o u g h collapsed structures are quite c o m m o n , there are little- i n t r o d u c t i o n s a n d w a s further able t o r e p o r t t h a t specialist i n f o r m a n t s in
u n d e r s t o o d constraints o n the co-occurring verb: the c o m p u t e r technology field b o t h expected a n d w e l c o m e d such indi-
cations of organization. In m o s t o t h e r fields, the percentage of intro-
This paper utilizes the notion o f . . .
ductions closing w i t h Step 3 seems to b e m u c h lower. T h e high incidence
? This paper hopes to show t h a t . . . in C o o p e r ' s study m a y well be connected to the absence of an established
?? This paper measures the extent o f . . . schema for research r e p o r t i n g in a n e w a n d rapidly evolving field.
In this section I h a v e m a d e s o m e fairly bold claims a b o u t the rhe-
T h e r e is also some evidence t h a t the co-occurrence of i n a n i m a t e subject torical organization of RA i n t r o d u c t i o n s across a range of fields. T h e
a n d a n i m a t e verb varies in its acceptability from o n e language to a n o t h e r . m o s t o b v i o u s w a y of validating these claims is t o test t h e m o u t o n new
Kojima and Kojima (1978), for e x a m p l e , argue t h a t it is dispreferred in d a t a . T o this e n d , I h a v e e x a m i n e d h o w well the m o d e l fits w i t h the RAs
J a p a n e s e a n d c o n c o m i t a n t l y p r o d u c e evidence t h a t J a p a n e s e scientists in the latest journal I received at the t i m e of writing. T h a t journal was
tend to avoid collapsed structures w h e n they write in English. Research in the Teaching of English tor F e b r u a r y 1 9 8 8 , R T E also
A third observation concerns tense in purposive Step I s . In cases w h e r e incidentally covering a disciplinary area (composition research) little
the deictic refers to the genre (paper, report, n o t e , review, etc.) tense is studied in the literature o n i n t r o d u c t i o n s . T h e February 1988 issue
restricted to the present. H o w e v e r , in cases w h e r e the deictic refers to the contains four research articles, the first exceptionally long, the other
type of inquiry (investigation, study, e x p e r i m e n t , etc.), a u t h o r s m a y three of n o r m a l length. T h e basic 'facts' a b o u t the four i n t r o d u c t i o n s
choose between present a n d past: are given in T a b l e 6.
The purpose of this investigation is to . . . T h e i n t r o d u c t i o n t o the long 3 5 - p a g e o p e n i n g article (Berkenkotter et
al.) follows closely b o t h the M o v e - S t e p sequences a n d the linguistic
The purpose of this investigation was to . . .
signals t h a t previous research tells us t o expect.
162 Research articles in English
T A B L E 6. F O U R I N T R O D U C T I O N S F R O M RTE
specifically establishes the niche that Berkenkotter et al. are attempting to
fill. And I take it at lerendipitoui that the metaphor they choose ii the
No. of refs geographic one of 'unexplored territory'! The final paragraph is given
Author(s ) Nc >. of paras No. of lines (including repeats)
over to M o v e 3 ; it contains the only first person pronominal form in the
1. Berkenkotter et a . 5 entire i n t r o d u c t i o n a n d concludes with a general c o m m e n t a b o u t the
71 22
2. Slater et al. 13 m a i n findings.
129 43
T h e second i n t r o d u c t i o n poses rather m o r e of a p r o b l e m for the C A R S
3. Cordeiro 4 44 7 m o d e l , b u t , as I shall h o p e t o s h o w , for r a t h e r interesting r e a s o n s . T h e
4. Roen and Willey 9 Slater et al. i n t r o d u c t i o n can be outlined as follows:
125 39
RA 2 OUTLINE STRUCTURE
Move—Step Signals (my emphases) Para. 1 1--2 (SI) Recently, the relationships between . . . have
been explored by scholars from a number of
Para. 1 1-1 (SI) Recently there has been considerable disciplines.
interest in . . . 1--3 (S2)
2-1B (S3) Yet there is a dearth of information 1--2 (S3)
2-1C (S4/5) (2 direct questions)
Para. 2 2--IB (SI) However, the precise nature o f . . . has not
Para. 2 1-3 (SI) been delineated.
The existence . . . may be inferred f r o m
recent studies . . . (S2) . . . a considerable amount of research has
1-3 (S2) The work of these researchers sheds been . . . but little research . . .
light... (S3) a considerable amount of research . . . , while a
Para. 3 1-3 minimal amount of this research
SI) Composition scholars Bizzell (1982c
1 (S4) As a result, no comprehensive theory appears
1983b) a n d . . . '
2-1B ( S3) to exist.
Yet understanding . . . is only part
1-3 Paras 3-8 1--3
Para.4 1-2 ( SI) Para. 9 1--2 (SI) Taken together, these studies indicate ...
Understanding . . . appears, therefore
2-1C ( S2/S3) (2 direct questions) Paras 10-12 1--3
1-3 ( 54) Recent studies have begun to explore thesr
O w
w A I / I V l t LI 1 C 3 t
Para. 13 3--1A (SI) The purposes of the present study were
questions at an undergraduate level. two-fold:
2-1B («55) Understanding . . . in the context of ? (S2) The study thus extends the findings of
however, is as yet unexplored territory. previous work by examining . . .
Para. 5 3 IB (SI) This study attempts to enter this territory
introduction. T h e ' n o comprehensive t h e o r y ' a r g u m e n t t u r n s o u t not t o As the outline s h o w s , this i n t r o d u c t i o n opens with a M o v e 3 . Although
be establishing a niche to be filled, because the a u t h o r s in fact never this o p t i o n is certainly possible, it docs not seem as generally c o m m o n as
return t o the issue of the need t o start m o v i n g t o w a r d s such a theory, n o r m a n y might suppose. It occurred, for e x a m p l e , just 10 times in a c o r p u s
d o they ever claim t h a t their present p a p e r can be seen as m a k i n g a of 110 i n t r o d u c t i o n s (Swales and Najjar, 1 9 8 7 ) , a n d o n several occasions
c o n t r i b u t i o n t o theory. Rather, the second p a r a g r a p h seems to be already in this section I have alluded to b o t h the likely concerns t o create
designed to justify the fact t h a t it is a p p r o p r i a t e in the circumstances t o a research space, a n d t h e perils of failing t o engage the w i d e r discourse
a d d a small further piece of empirical evidence t o the puzzle. In o t h e r c o m m u n i t y by t o o n a r r o w l y focused an o p e n i n g . S o m e t h i n g of this peril
w o r d s , w h a t w e seem to have here is a n e w sub-type of M o v e 2 - S t e p I B can be imagined by considering the o p e n i n g sentence in full: 'This study
which, by claiming that the gap is currently unftllable, obliquely estab- of the writing of 2 2 first graders a n d 13 third graders is concerned with
lishes a continuing-a-tradition research space. This reading also brings h o w children learn the rules of p u n c t u a t i o n ' ( 1 9 8 8 : 6 2 ) . T h e readers of
the final sentence into focus, which w a s left unassigned in the outline. At this sentence are immediately faced by specifics w h i c h , while strongly
first sight, the sentence looks as t h o u g h it might be o p e r a t i n g as an appealing t o a few, are likely t o disengage m a n y w i t h n o direct interest in
atypically-placed M o v e 2 - S t e p I D (finding extension). H o w e v e r , w e can this research topic. A p a r t from the p r o m o t i o n of M o v e 3 , the intro-
n o w see it as a typically closing M o v e 3 - S t e p I B for it announces the d u c t i o n largely follows the m o d e l ; for instance, it closes w i t h the M o v e 2,
(limited) status of the present research. which seems typical of the relatively few i n t r o d u c t i o n s of this type that
Analysis of this k i n d will, o n occasion, bring t o light a m b i g u i t y a n d have been e x a m i n e d .
rhetorical uncertainty. If the a b o v e analysis is o n the right lines, then it T h e r e are, in fact, a n u m b e r of interesting research questions related to
seems definitely o d d t h a t the a u t h o r s did n o t t a k e u p the implication of i n t r o d u c t i o n s t h a t begin w i t h a M o v e 3 . Are they processed a n d
their second p a r a g r a p h in any of the ensuing 1 1 . Indeed, o n e might even c o m p o s e d differently? C a n they be associated with less experienced
suggest t h a t the i n t r o d u c t i o n w o u l d h a v e been tidier a n d easier t o process writers, or with those w h o feel, for w h a t e v e r r e a s o n , less need to establish
if they h a d d o n e so. H e r e is w h a t might have been: a territory? Are they m o r e likely t o occur in situations w h e r e the RA is a
result of a research grant, given the w i d e s p r e a d e x p e c t a t i o n in research
Para. 13 The preceding review suggests that further empirical research is g r a n t applications t h a t there should be early indications of w h a t will be
necessary before a comprehensive theory can be developed. In
order to develop the research base, the present study was designed done? A n d if so, are they consequently o n the increase?
with the following two purposes in mind: . . . The study thus T h e final i n t r o d u c t i o n (Roen a n d Willey) is a l m o s t as long as the
extends the findings . . . second but has in fact almost n o cycling. T h e first seven of the nine
p a r a g r a p h s establish the territory. T h e final t w o p a r a g r a p h s have the
T h e third introduction (Cordeiro) is the shortest a n d has the following following structure:
a n o m a l o u s structure:
RA 4
RA 3 OUTLINE STRUCTURE
Move-Step Signals (my emphases)
Move-Step Signals (my emphases)
Para. 8 2--1B (SI) Despite the announced importance o f . . . ,
Para. 1 3-lB (SI) few researchers have experimentally
This study ...is concerned with . . .
3-lB (S2) tested . . .
Specifically, it addresses . . .
1-3 (S3-6) 1--3 (S2^I) Of course many studies have examined . . .
3-lB (S7) 2--IB (S5) No study, however, has used an
In the present research, ...
experimental design.
Para. 2 1-3
Para. 3 Para. 9 1--3 (SI) In the light of this absence of experimental
1-3
work, we conducted a pilot study (Roen,
Para. 4 1-3 (Sl-4) 1985) . . .
2-1B (S5) However, the terms . . . were not 3--1A (S2) We subsequently designed the present study,
semantically or syntactically an experiment to test...
descriptive enough to solve . . . 3--IB (S3) Our two research questions were . . .
166 / Mfthodt 167
T h e only unexpected aspect of this introduction is the character of the W c sec in this fragment several of the features of M e t h o d s that have been
opening sentence in the final p a r a g r a p h . Its o p e n i n g phrase evinces close noted by other investigators, for e x a m p l e T o m l i n (1981) a n d Bruce
links with the M o v e 2, a n d it further builds u p expectations of M o v e 3 by (1983). T h e Past Passive is consistently chosen a n d the identity of the
the switch into we. O n the other h a n d , the Past Simple a n d an earlier underlying agent is consistently t h a t of the e x p e r i m e n t e r s . T h e r e is also a
dated reference disconflrm those expectations. In effect, the o p e n i n g of s o m e w h a t restricted range of predicate verbs (prepared; prepared; and
the final p a r a g r a p h c o m m u n i c a t e s a s o m e w h a t mixed message. used to prepare). H o w e v e r , the m o s t interesting feature of the above
H o w e v e r , this is precisely w h a t we might expect w h e n a u t h o r s use, as a extract is the w a y in w h i c h the m e t h o d is described - or p e r h a p s in this
transition, discussion of their own previous w o r k which is directly a n d case not described:
causally related t o the study actually being presented.
a) . . . by the method of Wong;
In general, therefore, the four test i n t r o d u c t i o n s usefully confirm the
claims m a d e for the CARS model, particularly in t e r m s of the linguistic b) . . . by a modification of the procedure of Madden;
e x p o n e n t s used t o express moves and their associated steps. In outline the c) . . . according to the method of Gale.
first and last i n t r o d u c t i o n s fit well, while the third a p p e a r s to be a fairly
T h e r e are a n u m b e r of points w o r t h n o t i n g . First, the m e t h o d is merely
typical e x a m p l e of the fronted-Move 3 subtype. T h e fact t h a t 2 5 % of a
labeled rather t h a n characterized. Second, in the case of (b) if n o t for the
very small sample o p e n e d with a M o v e 3 needs a little further investi-
o t h e r s , replication w o u l d a p p e a r t o be impossible given the fact that the
gation. Accordingly, I checked the 16 RAs published in RTE in 1 9 8 7 a n d
n a t u r e of the modification is not m a d e clear. T h i r d , the p r e p a r a t i o n
found t h a t 13 used the s t a n d a r d placement for M o v e 3 , t w o w e r e fronted,
processes attributable t o the three researchers are, o n the o n e h a n d ,
while the r e m a i n i n g article was h a r d to categorize as it used an a n e c d o t e
simply associated with their n a m e s , while, on the other, they have not
from the study as an attention-getting opening. If w e leave this last aside,
a p p a r e n t l y reached the status of being named m e t h o d s , t h a t is, The Wong
three o u t of 19 RTE RAs were fronted; certainly a higher p r o p o r t i o n t h a n
Method, Madden's Procedure. It is t h u s unlikely t h a t o t h e r w o r k e r s
found in Swales a n d Najjar (1987), but still u n d e r 2 0 % . T h e major
could easily look u p the m e t h o d s themselves in a reference w o r k . T h e
a n o m a l y occurred in the second i n t r o d u c t i o n , w h e r e there w a s n o M o v e
m e m b e r s of this discourse c o m m u n i t y w o u l d seem t o t a k e m e t h o d o l o g i -
2 t h a t could be related t o M o v e 3 in any but the m o s t indirect of w a y s . It
cal a p p r o p r i a c y a n d rigor m o r e for g r a n t e d t h a n we will find to be the
was suggested that this m i s m a t c h did n o t so m u c h represent a possible
case in other c o m m u n i t i e s .
w e a k n e s s in the Create a Research Space m o d e l as a possible w e a k n e s s in
the i n t r o d u c t i o n itself a n d , moreover, o n e that the analytic p r o c e d u r e s T h e o p e n i n g fragment also illustrates the i m p o r t a n t process of N P
themselves assisted in revealing. stacking discussed by D u b o i s (1982a) a m o n g o t h e r s :
heavy beef heart mitochondria
well coupled mitochondrial particles
7.5 Methods
inhibition-protein-depleted particles
In 7.2, ' T h e constructing of research articles', I have already presented As the p r e p a r a t i o n becomes increasingly specialized it becomes in-
some general findings o n the language of M e t h o d sections. H e r e I a t t e m p t creasingly c o m p l e x syntactically; indeed D u b o i s (1982a) has a r g u e d that
to characterize the discourse of this p a r t of the RA genre a little m o r e there m ? y well be a coincidence of cognitive c u l m i n a t i o n a n d syntactic
explicitly a n d to d r a w some tentative conclusions a b o u t disciplinary culmination. W e can also n o t e t h a t in this particular instance, there is
variation. W e can begin with the opening sentences of a biochemistry little N P identity across the sentence b o u n d a r i e s : as far as the non-
M e t h o d section cited by Gilbert and M u l k a y (which is very similar to the specialist is concerned, ' m i t o c h o n d r i a ' h a v e been mysteriously par-
o n e from Knorr-Cetina discussed in 7.2): ticulated, while the particles have been equally mysteriously trans-
Heavy beef heart mitochondria were prepared by the method of formed from 'well c o u p l e d ' into ones t h a t are 'inhibition-protein-
Wong and stored in liquid nitrogen. Well coupled mitochondrial depleted'.
particles were prepared by a modification of the procedure of Bruce (1983) m a k e s a b r o a d l y similar p o i n t a b o u t a M e t h o d section
Madden. These particles were used to prepare inhibition-protein- from a medical j o u r n a l :
depleted particles by centrifuging under energized conditions
according to the method of Gale . . . Urography was performed in a routine manner, the patient
micturating immediately beforehand. Tomography was used
(Gilbert and Mulkay, 1984:51) to detail the caliceal pattern when necessary. Abdominal
168 Research articles in English Methods Id 9
compression was avoided and the bladder not drained during the T h e s e then are all field* that may favor the elliptical r e p o r t i n g of M e t h o d
examination . . . t h a t w e have c o m e to expect. Indeed, H u c k i n (1987) h a s recently
p r o d u c e d evidence to suggest t h a t , in t h e biochemical area a t least, t h e
As he says, t h e text 'might a p p e a r at first sight t o be incoherent - M e t h o d section is b e c o m i n g increasingly de-emphasized. M e t h o d sec-
completely lacking in the cohesive feature of a n a p h o r i c reference; b u t the tions m a y be d o w n g r a d e d by being physically relocated t o w a r d s the end
coherence is, of course, supplied by t h e shared k n o w l e d g e of these of the p a p e r . Additionally they increasingly occur in smaller print t h a n
investigative p r o c e d u r e s , a n d their likely sequence, t h a t the r e a d e r brings t h a t used for o t h e r sections, a n d , a c c o r d i n g t o H u c k i n , t h e Journal of
t o the text' ( 1 9 8 3 : 8 ) . For Bruce the w e l l - k n o w n if difficult-to-apply Biological Chemistry h a s recently b e g u n t o publish the M e t h o d section in
G i v e n - N e w p a r a d i g m (cf. Halliday, 1978) needs replacing in m a n y p r i n t s o small t h a t it c a n n o t be read w i t h o u t t h e aid of a magnifying glass.
M e t h o d sections by a K n o w n - N e w p a r a d i g m . Either w a y t h e n , either H o w e v e r , it w o u l d be d a n g e r o u s t o s u p p o s e t h a t such trends are
t h r o u g h the use of N e w T h e m a t i c Subjects {new o n t h e discoursal level), equally detectable in 'softer', emerging o r inter-disciplinary fields. H e r e ,
or, as w e s a w earlier, by a process of cognitive b u t n o t discoursal for instance, is the first p a r a g r a p h from W e s t ' s M e t h o d section in an
development of the initial n o m i n a l g r o u p , ESP-related inquiries c o r r o b o - article published in TESOL Quarterly, by n o m e a n s a j o u r n a l aimed at a
rate the sociologists' observations (e.g. Gilbert a n d M u l k a y , 1 9 8 4 ; n a r r o w - b a n d research r e a d e r s h i p (West, 1 9 8 0 : 4 8 4 ) . This p a r a g r a p h has
M y e r s , 1985a) t h a t M e t h o d sections often read like checklists. a clear Given—New c h a r a c t e r , which I have a t t e m p t e d t o d i a g r a m
In this context, s o m e of Weissberg's findings are particularly interest- informally in Figure 16. In so d o i n g I have b r o k e n the p a r a g r a p h into
ing. Weissberg (1984) classified cohesive devices in 2 0 M e t h o d p a r a - individual sentences.
g r a p h s d r a w n from a range of disciplines a n d found only seven uses of
p r o n o u n s a n d three instances of s u p e r o r d i n a t e expressions. O n the o t h e r
h a n d , he n o t e d n o less t h a n 5 4 occasions w h e r e 'inferential bridging' — by
relying o n the r e a d e r s ' b a c k g r o u n d k n o w l e d g e or experience — w a s
needed for coherence. This need for ' b r i d g i n g ' w a s m u c h m o r e noticeable I. M e t h o d
in M e t h o d s t h a n in I n t r o d u c t i o n s a n d Discussions, a n d is t h u s further
evidence for the ' i n c o n s i d e r a t e ' n a t u r e of M e t h o d s texts.
O n e further aspect of Weissberg's p a p e r is directly relevant. W h e r e a s t-jTo test this hypothesis,||15 research articles] in the biological
the 2 0 I n t r o d u c t i o n a n d 2 0 Discussion p a r a g r a p h s tended t o manifest a sciences^were randomly selected! from the Proceedings of the
linear progression p a r a g r a p h development (in o t h e r w o r d s , the 'classic'
National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 76 (79).
G i v e n - N e w p a r a d i g m ) , the M e t h o d p a r a g r a p h s were m u c h m o r e vari-
able a n d i n d e t e r m i n a t e in structure. Weissberg's r a t h e r p a t c h y results, j j a c h of the selected articles| had been divided by| the authors! into
plus the extensive reliance o n inferential bridging, suggest t h a t M e t h o d ^the above-mentioned four sections.lfThe number of authors^
sections, like o t h e r condensed texts such as abstracts a n d telexes, evince , r o m t 0
jper article"! ranged four, and no|authorAppeared
in Hallidayan t e r m s coherence b u t little cohesion, or in F u n c t i o n a l -
Sentence-Perspective terminology are heavy o n rheme b u t light o n twice in [the corpus.l
theme. Therefore, it m a y well be the case t h a t a different type of |The corpusftf/ontained 39,578 words, and the average length of the
p a r a g r a p h development needs t o be established for M e t h o d - o n e w h i c h
[was 2639 words (SR = 499).
w e might characterize as broken linear. In m a n y M e t h o d p a r a g r a p h s the
sentences are like islands in a string, islands w h i c h only those with
specialist k n o w l e d g e a n d experience can easily j u m p across from o n e t o Figure 16 Given and New in a Method paragraph
the next.
T h e three fields Weissberg investigated were b o t a n y , agriculture a n d This M e t h o d text seems t o have a very different flavor t o the preceding
engineering, Gilbert a n d M u l k a y looked at biochemistry, Bruce medi- extracts from the h a r d sciences. T h e careful step-by-step description,
cine, a n d D u b o i s zoology. These are all areas w h e r e m a n y research massively s u p p o r t e d by a n a p h o r i c reference a n d lexical repetition, pro-
methodologies are well established, indeed protocolized, a n d w h e r e duces the k i n d of explicitness t h a t w e associate w i t h s t a n d a r d academic
scattered n e t w o r k s of specialists form active discourse c o m m u n i t i e s . description. In c o n t r a s t , M e t h o d sections in the physical a n d life sciences
170 Research articles in English Results, Discussions and Conclusions 171
3. Further questions sometimes with possible e x p l a n a t i o n s and some- both biology mul physics showed il to be « description of actual
times with references. practice anyway,
(Huckin, 1 9 8 7 : 1 2 - 1 3 )
H e finds t h a t all three elements are not always present for each R Q , but
any elements occurring follow the o r d e r given a b o v e ; he also found t h a t 3 . (Un)expected outcome. H e r e the writer c o m m e n t s o n w h e t h e r the
sometimes the discussion of a particular R Q w a s iterated t h r o u g h the result is unexpected or not. This w a s , in fact, quite a rare m o v e in
cycle several times - an interesting parallel w i t h C r o o k e s ' a n d o t h e r s ' Peng's chemical engineering texts, occurring in only four o u t of 5 2
observation of 'cycling' in i n t r o d u c t i o n s (Crookes, 1 9 8 6 a ) . It is n o t clear cycles.
w h e t h e r the nesting of 1-3 mini-discussions can be related t o Weissberg's 4 . Reference to previous research. After M o v e s 1 a n d 2, p r o b a b l y the
(1984) finding t h a t linear topic d e v e l o p m e n t w a s the c o m m o n e s t type of most c o m m o n m o v e . T h e r e are t w o m a i n sub-types or steps: reference
Discussion p a r a g r a p h . A final conclusion from Belanger's pioneering for purposes of comparison w i t h present research a n d references for
study is t h a t the Hill et al. diagram (1982) is over-generalized. R a t h e r p u r p o s e s of providing support for present research.
t h a n a b r o a d m o v e from specific t o general, Belanger finds a series of 5 . Explanation. This m o v e is particularly c o m m o n w h e n the writer
small-scale e x p a n s i o n s of scope t h a t c o r r e s p o n d t o discussion of each suggests reasons for a surprising result, or o n e at o d d s with those
research question. r e p o r t e d in the literature. At present t h e relationship b e t w e e n M o v e s 3
Subsequent w o r k has underlined the cyclic n a t u r e of Discussion a n d 5 is s o m e w h a t obscure, particularly as t o w h e t h e r 5 is subsequent
sections. A l t h o u g h I n t r o d u c t i o n s may also be cyclic, they equally m a y n o t t o 3 or an alternative t o it.
be (as we saw in the Figure 11 text). In contrast, a ' c h u n k e d ' c o m p o s i t e 6. Exemplification. E x a m p l e s are m o s t often used to s u p p o r t an expla-
form of Discussion seems to be a rare p h e n o m e n o n . T h e subsequent n a t i o n ( H o p k i n s a n d Dudley-Evans, 1 9 8 8 ) .
w o r k (McKinlay, 1 9 8 4 ; H o p k i n s , 1 9 8 5 ; Peng, 1 9 8 7 ; H o p k i n s a n d 7. Deduction and Hypothesis. This m o v e is used to m a k e a claim
Dudley-Evans, 1988) has largely been concerned with e l a b o r a t i n g a n d (however qualified) a b o u t the generilizability of some or all of the
refining the M o v e - S t e p s in the cycle a n d in searching for recurring reported results.
p a t t e r n s in the M o v e - S t e p s . Peng (1987) a n d H o p k i n s a n d Dudley-Evans 8. Recommendation. T h e writer a d v o c a t e s the need for further research
(1988), for e x a m p l e , b o t h offer 1 1 - M o v e schemes which differ only in or m a k e s suggestions a b o u t possible lines of future investigation.
m i n o r detail. T h e m o r e frequent moves are glossed as follows. H o w e v e r , H u c k i n (personal c o m m u n i c a t i o n ) believes t h a t the specific
identification of interesting research questions at the end of a cycle or
1. Background information. This is a s o m e w h a t free-standing m o v e t h a t at the end of the Discussion section as a w h o l e is a move being
can occur at any p o i n t in the cycle. As its n a m e implies, this m o v e is increasingly a b a n d o n e d by US scientists because they d o n o t wish t o
employed by a u t h o r s w h e n they wish to strengthen their discussion by give a d v a n t a g e t o others in a n increasingly competitive m a r k e t for
recapitulating m a i n p o i n t s , by highlighting theoretical i n f o r m a t i o n , or research grants.
by reminding the reader of technical information.
2. Statement of results. If there is a quasi-obligatory m o v e in Discussion This distilled list of eight moves provides a useful provisional framework
sections it is this o n e . Evidence suggests, as w e might expect, t h a t it is for m u c h needed further w o r k o n the structure of RA Discussion
the starting point of a cycle - a n d is only likely to be preceded by a sections. T h e existence of cycles seems well-established, as is t h e fact t h a t
M o v e 1. M a n y Discussion sections will have several cycles beginning complexity of the cycle can be related t o the degree t o w h i c h the results
with a M o v e 2 ; H o p k i n s (1985) found t h a t three cycles were the are ' c o m p a t i b l e ' with previous w o r k a n d / o r with the expected o u t c o m e
c o m m o n e s t p a t t e r n in his study of p a p e r s published in the proceedings t o hypotheses o r questions. T h e w o r k reviewed here, a n d t h a t of H u c k i n
of an irrigation and drainage conference. Additionally, we might (1987) give s u p p o r t t o the view t h a t Discussions, in strict contrast to
expect t h a t the stronger results will be dealt with in an early cycle a n d I n t r o d u c t i o n s , m o v e d u r i n g a cycle in a n 'inside-out' direction; they move
w e a k e r results in a later one. O n this issue, H u c k i n (1987) m a k e s the from stating the results themselves, t o placing t h e m within the established
following interesting observation: literature, to reviewing their general significance.
H o w e v e r , we k n o w little a b o u t disciplinary variation a n d little a b o u t
One of my biologists, who serves on the editorial board of a major
the linguistic e x p o n e n t s of the moves. Indeed, o n the latter p o i n t , a certain
journal in the field, said that the first paragraph of a discussion
should always be reserved for the strongest claim in the study. a m o u n t of obfuscation m a y have been caused by the heavy attention
Though he stated this as a prescription, my survey of papers in given t o the famous article by W a t s o n a n d Crick o n D N A (e.g. Bazerman,
Rcvu-w
1 9 8 1 ; C r o m b i c , 1 9 8 5 ; Fahnestock, 1 9 8 6 ; M y e r s , 1989), a n d to the certain c h a r a c t r n s i u s ol KAn which, by and large, tend to occur and
c o m m e n t s o n its c o m p o s i t i o n in The Double Helix ( W a t s o n , 1968). T h e recur in samples d r a w n h u m .in extensive range ol disciplines. It is a moot
celebrated penultimate sentence in the article, 'It has n o t escaped o u r point w h e t h e r the similarities are sufficiently d o m i n a n t to s u p p o r t
notice t h a t the specific pairing w e h a v e p o s t u l a t e d immediately suggests a W i d d o w s o n ' s a s s u m p t i o n of a ' m a c r o g e n r e ' ( W i d d o w s o n , 1 9 8 3 a ) .
possible copying mechanism for the genetic material', is a M o v e 7 H o w e v e r , it remains the case t h a t RAs are rarely simple narratives of
d e d u c t i o n - h y p o t h e s i s . T h e d o u b l e negative (nor escaped), the choice of investigations. Instead, they are complexly distanced r e c o n s t r u c t i o n s of
postulated as reporting verb, insertion of possible, a n d the use of research activities, at least p a r t of this reconstructive process deriving
suggests, all characterize a very m o d e s t k n o w l e d g e claim n o t gainsaid by from a need to anticipate a n d d i s c o u n t e n a n c e negative reactions to the
the m o r e assertive immediately. H o w e v e r , as F a h n e s t o c k c o m m e n t s , k n o w l e d g e claims being a d v a n c e d . A n d this need in t u r n explains the
' W a t s o n and Crick could afford to be coy' ( 1 9 8 6 : 2 7 8 ) ; they k n e w t h a t long-standing (Shapin, 1984) a n d w i d e s p r e a d use of ' h e d g e s ' as rhe-
the scientific w o r l d w o u l d a c k n o w l e d g e their major b r e a k t h r o u g h . T h e torical devices b o t h for projecting h o n e s t y , m o d e s t y a n d p r o p e r caution
'cause celebre' t r e a t m e n t of W a t s o n a n d Crick's closing s t a t e m e n t s h a s , I in self-reports, a n d for diplomatically creating research space in areas
suggest, distracted attention a w a y from w h a t m a y t u r n o u t t o be m o r e heavily p o p u l a t e d by other researchers.
n o r m a l practice. In m o r e n o r m a l circumstances, a u t h o r s m a y well feel a O n the o t h e r h a n d , the RA varies from one disciplinary sector to
need to advance the significance of their w o r k in m o r e positive t e r m s . a n o t h e r in t e r m s of degree of s t a n d a r d i z a t i o n a n d of the prevalence of a
nominalized impersonal style (Smith, 1 9 8 2 ) . In those areas of k n o w l e d g e
variously described as ' h a r d ' , ' e x a c t ' o r 'physical', consensus o n objec-
7.7 Review tives, g r o u n d - r u l e s a n d points of d e p a r t u r e has led to textual p r o d u c t s
with regularized m a c r o - s t r u c t u r e a n d w i t h rhetorics t h a t follow identifia-
In this chapter, the longest in the b o o k , I have a t t e m p t e d to offer a ble role-models. In these fields, there is a perceivable inter-relationship
depiction of w h a t w e k n o w a b o u t research articles, especially t h o s e of a between the RA as a p e e r - g r o u p intellectual object, the abstract n o m i n a l
m o r e experimental character. In m a n y cases I have p r o v i d e d an overview style, a n d the presence of authorial intrusion mainly in contexts t h o u g h t
of the m a i n results of a particular investigation. T h e a d v a n t a g e of this t o need persuasive s u p p o r t , or t o need s o m e revelation of the a u t h o r s '
a p p r o a c h is t h a t the reader is provided with some content, a n d so does individual cognitive processes. As is well k n o w n , certain g r o u p s in the
not necessarily have t o follow u p references in o r d e r t o o b t a i n substantive social a n d behavior sciences have tried, w i t h varying degrees of success, t o
findings. T h e disadvantage is that the space available for investigating a d o p t a n d a d a p t the h a r d science p a r a d i g m (cf. Bazerman, 1 9 8 7 ) . O t h e r s ,
theoretical a n d p r o c e d u r a l issues has sometimes been curtailed. such as e t h n o g r a p h e r s of various p e r s u a s i o n s , have n o t . These a n d many
In C h a p t e r 7 I have tried to bring together several distinct a p p r o a c h e s in the h u m a n i t i e s t e n d t o align their scholarly a n d research p r o d u c t s t o
to research writing (quantitative, historical, sociological, rhetorical, their preferred intellectual schools a n d scholarly traditions r a t h e r t h a n t o
discoursal, linguistic) in an effort to b o t h b r o a d e n a n d deepen the disciplines as such. In general, differences between the genres of articles,
perceptions of those w h o are concerned with the genre in practical or b o o k s , reviews, a n d so o n are less m a r k e d in the h u m a n i t i e s .
applied w a y s , as teachers of research writing a n d critical reading, as Finally, there are t w o principal corollaries of this variation - a n d o n e
research writers themselves, as advisors, as editors, as abstracters, as unexpected o u t c o m e . First, the m o r e established the c o n v e n t i o n s , the
citation analysts a n d so o n . In particular, I have tried t o illustrate w a y s in m o r e articulated the genre. T h u s o n a superficial level, the RA text
which genre conventions m a y be seen t o be o p e r a t i n g , so t h a t applied becomes increasingly divided into s t a n d a r d i z e d divisions ( I M R D or a
w o r k can be g r o u n d e d in w h a t e v e r sense of reality the c u r r e n t state of disciplinary v a r i a n t ) ; o n a less o b v i o u s level, the m o r e likely w e will find
k n o w l e d g e permits. O n the other h a n d , in the second half of C h a p t e r 7,1 t h a t different sections will have different rhetorical features (e.g. Intro-
have given p r o m i n e n c e t o w o r k in t h e EAP/Applied Discourse Analysis d u c t i o n s in c o n t r a s t t o M e t h o d s ) . T h e second corollary is t h a t as we
tradition, in the h o p e t h a t the careful textual studies t h a t this tradition m o v e t o w a r d s the diffuse end of the c o n t i n u u m the m o r e necessary it
usually represents can offer s o m e t h i n g in return t o the w i d e r inter- becomes for a u t h o r s t o engage in acts of persuasion t h a t will e n c o u r a g e
disciplinary field. the readerships to share particular visions of the research w o r l d . T h e
As has been suggested m o r e t h a n o n c e , the picture we have of the surprise is t h a t , o n preliminary evidence at least, the major differences d o
research article is far from complete. T h a t picture suggests t h a t there are n o t lie so m u c h in I n t r o d u c t i o n s a n d Discussions (where I believe m o l t
176 Research articles in English
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