Rhetorical Moves and Linguistic Realizations of Research Article Abstracts by Indonesian Authors in Applied Linguistics Published in International Journals

Abstract

The existence of abstract is compulsory within a research article (RA). Abstract is a summary or brief overview that describes entire content of RA. At a glimpse, abstract tells readers what the RA is all about and at the same time, it acknowledges readers and allows them indirectly to give pre-assessment about quality of the RA. This study aims to find rhetorical moves and linguistic features; tenses and voice forms of RA abstracts by Indonesian authors in Applied Linguistics published in international journals. Using content analysis method, sixty RA abstracts were extracted from two international journals; Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics (IJAL) and TEFLIN journal, and examined based on their rhetorical move following five-move model by Hyland (2005) and Arsyad (2014) for fact-finding. The results reveal; 1) Move 2 (Aim/ Purpose), Move 3 (Method) and Move 4 (Finding/ Result) exist in total sixty RA abstracts, unlike Move 1 (Introduction) and Move 5 (Conclusion and Suggestion), 2) The Simple Present Tense is major tense to apply in all rhetorical moves except in Move 3 (Method) in which Past Tense is mostly used. 3) Active voice dominates rhetorical moves except in Move 3 (Method) in which Passive voice is precisely more applied. This study concludes that the use of rhetorical move models and linguistic features in RA abstracts implies the quality of RA abstracts. Indonesian authors are suggested to follow international standards and trends to achieve outstanding RA abstract.

Genre Analysis of Research Abstract: A Literature Review

“…As an answer to the main issue of rhetorical moves, this research will work on the assumption that Hyland's (2000), Bhatia's (1993), andSwales' (1990) move models are mostly used in RAs abstracts, moves occurrence are categorized as obligatory moves and supplementary moves, and linguistic features (for example : Andika, et al, 2018;Amnuai, 2019;Balagtas & Domingo, 2021;Can, et al, 2016;El-Dakhs, 2018;Fauzan, et al, 2020;Kurniawan & Sabila, 2021;Husnul, et al, 2021;Shamsabadi, et al, 2014;Pratiwi & Kurniawan, 2021).…”

“…Both Amnuai (2019) and Husnul et al (2021) analyzed sixty RA abstracts following Hyland's (2005) five-move model and considered the move category. Husnul et al (2021) found that Purpose, Method, and Product moves exist in the abstracts and are categorized as obligatory.…”

“…Both Amnuai (2019) and Husnul et al (2021) analyzed sixty RA abstracts following Hyland's (2005) five-move model and considered the move category. Husnul et al (2021) found that Purpose, Method, and Product moves exist in the abstracts and are categorized as obligatory. Contrast to those three moves, Introduction and Conclusion moves cannot be identified in a total of sixty RA abstracts so that these two moves are not categorized as obligatory.…”

“…Besides identifying rhetorical moves, linguistic features in RA abstracts are also essential and have been progressively focused on by various research studies since they provide more insight into the written genre and provide a specific communicative function. The studies have been carried out by Andika, et al, 2018;Amnuai, 2019;Balagtas & Domingo, 2021;Fauzan et al, 2020;Kurniawan & Sabila, 2021;Husnul et al, 2021;Shamsabadi et al, 2014;Pratiwi & Kurniawan, 2021. Based on findings of some studies, linguistic features are manifested mostly in the use of tenses and sounds. Amnuai (2019) delineated the active form of the present simple tense was the preferred choice for presenting each move in both sets of data.…”

“…Both Kurniawan & Sabila (2021) and Husnul et al (2021) found that in almost all rhetorical moves, the simple present tense predominates, and the active voice is used more frequently than the passive voice. Furthermore, the employment of certain grammatical tenses in rhetorical moves is influenced by English skill, community practice, and other factors comparable to those affecting the use of the rhetorical move model (Husnul, et al, 2021). Moreover, Agbaglo & Fiadzomor (2018) revealed that each move was characterized by unique configurations of linguistic features, particularly tense, voice, and grammatical subject roles.…”