Structure of Research Article Abstracts in Political Science: A Genre-Based Study

Abstract

The research article (RA) abstract is the first section researchers read to determine its relevance to their interests. Researchers need to possess an implicit knowledge of the rhetorical move structure and organization of this section. Unlike most scientific disciplines, political science RA abstracts are unstructured, that is, with no headings (or moves), which makes it more challenging. To the best of our knowledge, the rhetorical move structure in high readership political science RA abstracts has not been researched. This study investigated (a) the rhetorical move structure in 120 political science RA abstracts from six high-impact journals, (b) the most common move patterns, and (c) the move(s) occupying most textual space. The findings indicated the lack of obligatory moves. A move structure model for writing a political science RA abstract is proposed, comprising four conventional moves (Introduction [I]–Purpose [P]–Methods [M]–Results [R]) and two optional step/move, namely, Research Gap step and Discussion [D] move. The results also showed that the first most frequent move pattern is I-P-M-R-D, followed by I-P-M-R and the I-P-R-D. The fact that an RA abstract summarizes the whole RA results in move embedding, particularly in the four moves, I-P-M-R. The findings revealed the importance of the Results move as it occupied nearly one third of text space. The results may contribute to the fields of discourse and genre studies. They may provide invaluable insights for novice political science researchers attempting to publish their work in high-ranking journals. The proposed move structure model can act as a guide for English for Academic Purposes (EAP)/English for Specific Purposes (ESP) tutors and political science authors.

A Study of the Structure of Discourse in the Methodology Section of Student-Written and Published English-Language Scientific Research Papers

“…The third is the introduction. The introduction part generally plays a certain role in guiding and supporting the introduction and is generally used to carry out the background of scientific research, the purpose and significance of the expected setting of the unfolding of the narrative, and through the way of comparison to summarize the relevant industry, the region of the current state of the English language scientific research, put forward the research questions and hypothese (Alyousef, 2021). The fourth part is the literature review.…”

Examining Variability: A Genre Analysis of English Language Education Students' Thesis Abstracts

“…As a result, after reading the abstract, the reader should have a good understanding of the issues explored, the theme's objective, and the Mustaqim, Intan Zuhra https://jurnal.uisu.ac.id/index.php/languageliteracy 522 Nationally Accredited and indexed in DOAJ and Copernicus research findings. Over the years, various researches have conducted studies on abstract section compared to other sections of academic texts (Amnuai 2019, Noorizadeh-Honami & Chalak, 2018, Majid & Omid 2018, and Alyousef 2021. The popularity of the abstract in academic writing might be attributed to the fact that the abstract has a significant impact on a study.…”