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Introduction
especially at the graduate level. Graduate students often struggle with the demands of
writing a thesis, which is a specific genre of writing with its own set of standards, norms
and conventions. The difficulties that graduate students encounter with thesis writing has
led to the study of academic writing genres. In 1990, John Swales published Genre
approach to the teaching of academic and research writing. His pioneer work has
triggered interest in the discourse and rhetorical patterns of other genres such as wedding
invitations and grant proposals. Beyond that, in his later book, Research Genres:
Explorations and Applications, Swales (2004) asserts that there has been a dramatic
change in genre studies since his early volume of the series, and the genre-based
However, Juzwik et al. (2006) found that less than 19% of the total amount of research on
writing practices between 1999 and 2004 involved an examination of the relationship
between genre and writing. Therefore, the area of genre analysis and writing requires
more study.
Graduate students face the same problems with academic writing in Thailand,
where few researchers have addressed writing from a genre approach, whether in Thai or
English. The difficulties described above deepen for students who have to write in their
second language. Since language and writing are culture specific, each language has its
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own unique rhetorical conventions. Consequently, it is common in ESL 1 /EFL 2 students
to see their Language 1 (L1) writing influence and even interfere with their Language 2
(L2) writing. In an attempt to explain the problems with writing in a second language,
Kaplan (as cited in Connor, 1996) developed the area of contrastive rhetoric research.
During the past decade, many scholars have contributed to the evolution of this
relatively new area of linguistic study. Yet, some aspects of contrastive rhetoric remain
understanding genres. For instance, as stated by Connor (2008), texts should not be
examination of the purposes of the text, the meaning of the text for its readers, and the
effect of the text on society. Similarly, according to Bazerman (1997), “genres are not
just forms. Genres are forms of life, ways of being. They are frames for social action” (p.
19). Consequently, it is necessary to approach the study of writing not only by how the
texts are constructed but also from the perspective of genre. Thus, due to the lack of
current research that approaches the study of thesis writing by using a genre approach, it
There is consensus among scholars that writing in English is not a simple task for
ESL learners. For graduate students, especially ESL/EFL students, research, thesis, and
dissertation writing are challenging and difficult tasks, as stated by Cooley and
Lewkowicz (1997): “For most post graduate students, writing a thesis is a unique
experience. It is considerably more demanding linguistically than any writing they were
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expected to produce at the undergraduate level” (p. 113). In Thailand, English is taught as
a foreign language, usually beginning around sixth grade. Not every graduate school or
Students are welcome to consult with their advisors, but mostly they are left to write the
thesis on their own. Moreover, advisors might not be able to assist the students with
and Lee (2006), writing skills seem to be ignored: “Writing remains, by default and
neglect, subordinate to the main work of thinking and of knowledge production” (p. 267).
Due to this problem, students often have writing difficulties which can delay their
graduation. One significant problem for Thai students in particular is that writing a
master’s thesis in English is complicated by the difference between Thai and English
discourse. By comparing three different theses, this study aims to identify the differences
between Thai and English discourse. Understanding these differences will provide some
Purpose/Goal
written by Thai students in both Thai and English. Furthermore, it seeks to observe how a
thesis written in one language compares to a thesis written in another language. However,
the study will not attempt to compare the quality of the writing in the theses. Ultimately,
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the goal is to suggest an effective thesis-writing pedagogy for educators who are charged
Research Questions
2. What are rhetorical moves found in the Discussion Chapter of each thesis?
3. Are there similarities or differences in the rhetorical moves from the selected
theses?
The first chapter presents the overview of the issue, the statement of problem, the
goal of the research, and the research questions. In the second chapter there is a review of
the relevant existing literature and research in the areas of genre study, move analysis,
contrastive rhetoric, Thai genre study, and master’s thesis writing study. This chapter also
offers the readers the rationale of the contrastive genre study. The third chapter includes a
review of the study’s objectives, research questions, and research methodology. This
chapter provides the data selection criteria, data descriptions, and the definitions of the
moves used in this study. In the fourth chapter, the research findings are presented in
three sections: (1) outline of the moves in each thesis; (2) analysis of the moves found in
the discussion chapters; and (3) comparison of the moves in terms of type, lengths,
frequency and signals of the moves. In the last chapter, the recommendations are
recommendations for future research. The appendices of this thesis include the
requirements of a master’s thesis from each university, the translation of the discussion
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chapter from the thesis written in Thai, the complete analysis of the moves from each
thesis, and the samples of the move analysis from each thesis.
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Chapter 2
Literature Review
one of the most common problems encountered by ESL/EFL students. At first glance, the
problem seems to come from the lack of language proficiency of the student writers.
However, linguistic conventions that are acceptable in one language might not be
applicable to another. Hence, the challenges that ESL/EFL students encounter when
writing theses are not only derived from the limitations in language proficiency, but also
from the differences in preferred discourse between English and their first language. In
order to conduct this study, I have reviewed previous work done in Genre Analysis,
Move Analysis, Contrastive Rhetoric, Thai Genre Study, and Master’s Thesis Writing
Study.
Genre Analysis
discussion of perspectives on the genres and their function orientations. Swales (1990),
one of the prominent scholars in modern genre studies, has defined genres within English
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communities are imported by other constitute valuable ethnographic
communication, but typically need further validation (p. 58).
Borrowing from Swales, Jogthong (2001) has defined genres as “a particular type
of written discourse made distinctive by its purpose and the discourse community for
Richards and Schmidt (2002) have further defined genres as “a type of discourse
that occurs in a particular setting, that has distinctive and recognizable patterns and norms
of organization and structure and that has particular and distinctive communicative
In conclusion, many scholars have agreed with Bhatia (1993) that communicative
purposes and patterns of a discourse distinguish one genre from another: “any major
change in the communicative purpose(s) is likely to give us a different genre” (p. 13).
These purposes and patterns are determined by members of the discourse community to
Perspectives on Genres
with central concepts such as interplay and interaction” (Breure, 2001) and the complex
relationship between text and its context. Bhatia (1993), for instance, has emphasized that
genres should be viewed as dynamic social processes as opposed to static ones. Although
inspired by the new rhetoric, major scholars have slightly different views on genre. Some
scholars, such as Miller (1984), Kress (1985) and Bazerman (1997) perceive genre as
social action while some, such as Swales (1990), view genre as structure.
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In the article “Genre as social action,” Miller (1984) has claimed that a
classification of discourse would be rhetorically invalid unless it is able to show how the
discourse works. In other words, it must represent the rhetorical experience of the people
who create and interpret it. Thus, genre as action needs to include the context of the
situation, motives, intention and effect of the text, as Miller (1984) states, “…if genre
represents action, it must involve situation and motive, because human action, whether
symbolic or otherwise, is interpretable only against a context of situation and through the
attributing of motives” (p. 152). In the same article, Miller proposes a hierarchy of
meaning in which each level provides context for a lower one. She has concluded that the
form of life would provide context to genre which would result in (an) episode or strategy
Similar to Miller (1984), Kress (1985) agrees that the social occasions may have
an effect on the texts used in them. The structures of ritual occasions determine the
functions of occasions, as well as purposes of the participants (as cited in Bhatia, 1993).
Thus, in this sense, genres are social action because they are closely related to their social
contexts.
Bazerman (1997) has also perceived genre as providing frames for social actions.
He has studied the development of a single type of text through repeated usage in similar
situations. After exploring the evolution of scientific articles from uncontested reports of
proofs, he has proposed the term “system of genre” to explain the interrelations among
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such as the process of acquiring a patent (Swales, 2004), is the first attempt to study
Genres are not just forms. Genres are forms of life, way of being. They are
frames for social action. They are environments for learning. They are
locations within which meaning is constructed. Genres shape the thoughts
we form and the communications by which we interact. Genres are the
familiar places we go to create intelligible communicative action with
each other and the guideposts we use to explore the familiar (p. 19).
On the other hand, Swales (1990) believes that discourse communities set
common goals that require their members to follow the acknowledged patterns in order to
achieve the goals. Unlike Miller, he views genres as a structure since they determine
forms, constraints, and content. Swales has argued that genres are used by members of
discourse communities to reach the established goals. While members of the parent
novice member might only partially acknowledge them, and non-members may or may
not recognize these goals at all. The acceptance of these goals forms the rationale that
establishes conventions for the communities. These conventions are not static but are
In addition to the definition of genres provided earlier, Swales (2004) offers other
perspectives to approach and characterize genre since some definitions fail to remain true
in all situations. He proposes that one can characterize genre as a metaphor. One of the
metaphors Swales explains is genres as frame. Swales believes that identifying genre is
when the readers/ listeners initiate their expectations of texts. Another metaphor that has
among certain scholars to classify genres as so dynamic that they become choices (p. 62)
Similarly, Devitt (1997) argues that genres have their own etiquette as language standards
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have their linguistic etiquette. Furthermore, Swales (2004) believes that although the
etiquette is not restricted, it suggests what is both socially and rhetorically expected. The
etiquette could change over time (p. 62). The last metaphor that relates to this study is
genres as institutions. This metaphor would clarify that genres are much more than forms
of materials or visible products because they represent to a certain extent the exemplified
production and reception process. Genres are also parts of the networks and values that
they support. They are social contracts between a writer and a community that generate
certain expectations regarding to genres’ proper usage. Todorov (1990) has supported the
expectation” for readers and as writing models for writers (p. 18).
Although most researchers of genre analysis share the same interest in linguistic
asserts that, in terms of the analysis of functional variation in language, researchers apply
variation in genres. The study in this area includes register analysis, the study of lexical
and grammatical features in the texts, and rhetorical and discursive analysis. Scholars
who have worked in this area focus on different aspects of genre analysis according to
their background and training. Some researchers, for instance, Barber (1962), Halliday,
McIntosh and Strevens (1964), and Crystal and Davy (1969), have worked on register or
stylistic analysis, while some such as Swales (1981) and Bhatia (1982) have studied
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rhetorical and discourse organization in research articles and legal discourse respectively
(Bhatia, 1993).
definition, organization, and relation to a society. Those researchers who view genres as
social action such as Miller (1984) and Kress (1985) use this approach in their study.
They argued that texts should be thought of as a negotiation process in the context they
of genres and strategies chosen by writers to make their writing more effective. These
strategies might not conform to the conventional rules of genres, but do not alter the main
communicative purposes of the genres, such as the use of the strategies by a reporter in a
newspaper to create uniqueness in the work. A study based on this orientation might
illuminate some of the problems that the linguistic orientation does not address. For
example, the linguistic orientation does not portray how social purposes are achieved
through the use of genres (Bhatia, 1993). Furthermore, it does not distinguish the concept
purposes of two genres and their characteristics. In contrast, the sociological orientation
encourages the researchers to become more aware of the use of linguistic resources to
serve social purposes. Therefore, in order to fully explain the use of language in academic
and professional settings, researchers might be best served by augmenting their linguistic
analysis.
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Genre Study and Move Analysis
concentrating on its organization (Connor et al., 2007). Swales has not provided a
section of a text that performs a specific communicative function” (Connor et al., 2007, p.
al., 2007). Connor et al. (2007) states the relationship between move analysis, genre
analysis, and discourse analysis as follows: “Researchers involved in the analysis of text
resulting in the current approach of doing genre analysis using rhetorical moves” (p. 24).
Dudley-Evans who investigated the rhetorical moves in MSc dissertation implements the
definition of the move of McKinley as “a semantic unit which is related to the writer’s
patterns in research articles. The intent was to explain the communicative purposes of a
text by categorizing the discourse units according to rhetorical moves. Each move had a
communicative purpose and contributed to the overall communicative purpose of the text.
The rationale of genres was created by these purposes. In his investigation of 48 English
research articles, Swales found a pattern of four moves that occurred consistently in
introductory sections: (1) Establishing The Field, (2) Summarizing Previous Research,
(3) Preparing For Present Research, and (4) Introducing Present Research (Jogthong,
2001).
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In his major work, Genre Analysis: English in Academic And Research Settings,
Swales (1990) revises the previous model and identifies a pattern used in introductory
sections of English research articles that he calls the Create a Research Space model
(CARS). Three moves are identified: (1) Establishing Territories, (2) Establishing a
The CARS model has been referenced and evalutated by many other researchers,
including Anthony, Bisenbach-Lucas, and Connor, Precht, and Upton. In his analysis of
twelve articles about software written by engineers, Anthony (1999) applies the CARS
model to the introductory sections of the articles and evaluates its usefulness for
describing their structure. He investigates the kind of complexity and changes that occur
within genres. Anthony finds that the introductions do not follow the Swales model.
Although he agrees that the CARS model is useful in terms of identifying the main
framework of the introductions, it does not address several important features such as
extensive literature reviews, many definitions and examples, or evaluations of the results
of the research. In conclusion, according to Anthony, there are certain constraints in using
the CARS model, and it is necessary to understand these limitations in order to use the
model effectively.
the validity of the CARS model (Jogthong, 2001). Bisenbach-Lucas (1994) made a
geology, biology, astrophysics, and antiquity. She used the CARS model to analyze the
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introductory sections of these articles and looked for textual features, rhetorical
structures, and sequences of moves. The results of the study showed that most of the
articles followed the same pattern described by the CARS model. The second move is not
found in the astrophysics article. However, all of the articles follow the same pattern,
beginning with the first move and ending with the third. The moves that occurred most
were: Reviewing Items of Previous Research (Step Three of the Third Move) and
The work by Connor, Precht, and Upton (2002) is an example of the application
of the CARS model across several genres. These researchers applied Swales’ CARS
model to the study of a corpus of job application letters from Indianapolis Business
Learner Corpus (IBLC). By applying Swales’ approach to the study, they found that
different genres contain different rhetorical moves. While there are only three major
moves in the introduction of research articles, seven types of moves are found in the job
application letters. The study also compares the structure of the moves found in the letter
with the moves in the introduction of research articles, finding that the structure in the
letters is simpler. The study suggests that Swales’ model is applicable not only to
In addition to the CARS model, which is commonly used for analyzing the
introduction of texts across genres, Bhatia (1993) has offered a framework for analyzing
unfamiliar genres. There are seven steps in the framework, but according to Bhatia it is
unnecessary for a researcher to follow a particular order, or to use all seven steps.
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1. Placing the Given Genre-Text in a Situational Context
Bhatia (1993) suggests that researchers select a genre that they are
community. This will allow them to inform the analysis with their expertise.
Those who are unfamiliar with the genre can educate themselves by
define the goals of the author/audience of the text, their relationship to the
text, the characteristics of the community that the discourse belongs in, the
network and linguistic traditions in which the text occurs, and the topic that
creating criteria to ensure that the texts belong in the same genre.
they collect data from a particular organization, since institutions often have
constraints and requirements for their genre construction. These rules are
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that the genre is used. Therefore, the study of the institutional context would
These levels are not meant to be followed in the order presented. For
example, some researchers might find that it is more useful to start at Level 3
method. The study on this level includes the analysis of the use of tenses,
corpus. However, the study on this level does not explain why writers select
The analysis of textual patterning is useful for the teaching of ESP because it
The study on this level analyses the organization of text in a genre that
reflected through each rhetorical move. The move analysis such as Swales’
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study of 48 research articles in 1990 is a perfect example of the study on this
level.
members of the discourse community. The benefits that researchers could gain
from having the informants are, for instance, to validate the results and
Many arguments have been raised to support the notion of genre in the language
learning program. Bhatia (1993) suggests that genre analysis, especially at the lexical and
grammatical level, would be useful to ESL/ESP classroom. He also argued that although
one might view that the genre-based approach in teaching discourages creativity among
student writers, in fact, those students who do not understand the conventional rules
Similar to Bhatia, in his book, Genre and the Language Learning Classroom,
Paltridge (2001) asserts that students would benefit from genre analysis since it would
help them to become aware of rhetorical and linguistic features used in different genres.
He also points out that when the genre knowledge is made explicit for students, an
instructor, at the same time, is providing them knowledge and skills needed for successful
Some scholars, Swales, for instance, offers the application of genre analysis to
pedagogical contexts. In the article called Genre Analysis and Its Application to
Languages for Specific Purposes, Swales (1985) examines the concept of genre used in
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the classroom as well as a larger setting, and proposes that the discourse and features
analysis of genres provide an effective and meaningful framework for course designers.
Alford et al. (1997) revealed the success of a program that combined teleconferencing
(1990), genres vary significantly in many ways such as their natures, communicative
purposes, the relationship between writers and readers, and cultural restraints, the study
of various types of genres is necessary. Most interestingly, Swales (1990) asserts that
“Genres also vary in the extent to which they are likely to exhibit universal or language-
specific tendencies” (p. 64). Thus, it is important to investigate not only for what
language is used in each genre, but also if other languages are used within the same
genre.
Contrastive Rhetoric
challenges in ESL/EFL students due to the students’ L1 interference. The notion that each
culture tends to organize and develop its own writing conventions has been widely
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Aspects Of Second-Language Writing by Connor, contrastive rhetoric is closely related to
defined as “an area of research in second language acquisition that identifies problems in
strategies of the first language, attempts to explain them” (p. 5). There has been a number
and Matalene.
One of the pioneers in the field, Kaplan (1966), found that the style of thinking
explanation as to why ESL/EFL students write differently than native students. His idea
Hypothesis, rhetoric, and pedagogy (Connor, 2008). In his study “Cultural Thought
Patterns in Inter-Cultural Education”, which has been criticized for its oversimplification,
Kaplan suggests several generalizations regarding culture and writing styles. These
include: (1) the outstanding characteristic of oriental languages is indirectness; (2) Anglo-
Europeans write in a linear style; (3) parallel coordinate clauses are common in Semitic
languages; (4) Romance and Russian languages are digressive (Kaplan, 1966). Kaplan
later characterizes these statements as too strong in his co-edited book with Connor, and
further asserts that all the rhetorical patterns in his previous article could occur in any
language. In the following section he clarifies his position to say that although all
rhetorical patterns can be found in any language, there are clearly tendencies for some
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language which has written text. The issue is that each language has
certain clear preferences, so that while all forms are possible, all forms do
not occur with equal frequency or in parallel distribution (Kaplan, 1987, p.
10).
Kaplan’s work initiated how scholars should approach the writing of ESL/EFL
students by using contrastive rhetoric, but today, contrastive rhetoric study involves more
discourse (Connor, 1996, p. 97). This exploration of texts at the level of discourse was
In his article, “Contrastive Rhetoric: Japanese and English,” Hinds explores the
organizing patterns, he discovers that there is a Japanese device for creating coherence in
texts that is not used in English. He also notes that while one device is applicable to one
language, it is not useful in another (Hinds, 1987). In addition, to study how the unity of
text is perceived differently in each culture, Hinds examines the notion of reader
each side perceives the text. On one hand, Japanese writers assume that it is the reader’s
responsibility to understand the meaning of the text. Therefore, Japanese writers might
omit or be subtle in their use of transitions. On the other hand, English readers expect
clear transitions in order to follow the logic of the author and map the information
together. English writers assume the responsibility of providing clear transitions and
creating unity in the text (Hinds, 1987). In this way, Hind’s work with discourse-level
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Motivated by Kaplan’s work, Connor has also deepened the study of contrastive
rhetoric. She co-edited with Kaplan the first volume of empirical and text analysis of
argumentative essays look like in each culture, and argues that it is useful to approach
Connor studies the information sequences used by non-native English speakers and
native English speakers when paraphrasing an expository prose passage. She discovered
that the different cultural tendencies found in Kaplan’s model do not occur when non-
native speakers paraphrase expository prose. This type of paraphrase tends to be limited
to the original structure of the passage. On the other hand, native speakers often change
the structure of the original passage and rearrange it according to their own assigned
priorities. Thus, this study by Connor (1987) points out that in paraphrasing, the
differences that occur are not necessary informed by cultural differences, but rather by
of contrastive rhetoric that elaborates on its value to applied linguistics. In this book, she
suggests practical applications to both teachers and researchers, and defines the discipline
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models of writing developed in education, composition pedagogy, and
translation studies (p. 7).
In conclusion, Connor’s work attempts to improve contrastive rhetoric study in the areas
rhetoric and their close relationship in the article “Contrastive Rhetoric: An American
Writing Teacher In China.” Matalene disagrees with Kaplan’s methodology and asserts
discourse strategies used in the actual cultural context. According to Matalene (1985), “to
unsound (e.g. Kaplan)” (p. 790). Therefore, the validity of analyzing paragraphs of non-
native speakers who are studying in the United States to explain cultural organizing
patterns is questionable. Throughout the article, the author discusses how Chinese
literacy has an effect on the students’ writing. It is obvious to her that Chinese students
rely heavily on memorization and value the goals of a group over that of an individual.
Her study has been criticized like Kaplan’s that it is too ethnocentric, and based on
unsupported assumptions that the errors made by non-native students when they write in
English are due to the phenomenon of the negative transfer. Nevertheless, the study
makes a good case for taking the writing process into account instead of merely looking
binary distinctions. Connor maintains that although “writers such as Pennycook (1998)
and Kubota and Lehner (2004) refer to contrastive rhetoric as if it has been frozen at the
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stage of Kaplan’s (1966) article” (Connor, 2008, p. 304), some progression was made in
the 1980s, for example, the links between American and European traditions of
composition and contrastive rhetoric and connections between genres and contrastive
with “structural linguistics and behaviorism” (Connor et al., 2008, p. 3). According to
analyzing texts between L1 and L2; it has expanded its scope to deal with intracultural
issues as well. Thus, she has proposed the new term “intercultural rhetoric” as an
umbrella term, including cross-cultural study and interactional studies. Connor argues
that intercultural rhetoric needs to embrace a new understanding of culture into its
analysis since texts can change over time. In addition, she proposes to include the
negotiation in communication into text analysis. Therefore, a proposal of a new name for
heuristic, exploratory way” (Atkinson & Matsuda, 2008, p. 285) to expand the framework
of contrastive rhetoric.
According to Kaplan and Ostler, “different languages have different preferences for
certain kinds of discourse patterns” (as cited in Swales, 1990, p. 64). Swales (1990)
agrees that at the discourse level, it is difficult to compare languages; therefore, “it is
important to compare texts of the same genre in two languages” (p. 65).
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Thai Genre Study
Some properties of Thai genres have been investigated by both native Thai and
non-native Thai scholars. The relevant studies that have been conducted include
research articles written in Thai. Interestingly, he found that there is a high resemblance
between rhetorical structures of Thai research articles and the CARS model, although
there are some differences in details (Jogthong, 2001). Thai RAIs consist of Move One,
Establishing Territory, which is the longest move compared to the other two, Move Two,
Establishing A Niche which addresses the potential problems in the future before moving
to the next move, and Move Three, Occupying A Niche, which includes Purposes Of The
Study as a substitute for Announcing Principal Findings and Indicating The Structure of
research. Furthermore, there are additional moves that are not mentioned in the CARS
model by Swales that appear in Thai RAIs. The study has concluded that although there
are similar moves in the introductory sections of research articles written in both Thai and
English, differences appear in usage preferences, the functions, and the linguistic signals
of the move.
pattern of Thai research articles, and the pattern found English language papers compared
to her previous study (2005) using a Thai biochemistry research article corpus. Swales’
genre analysis has been implemented in this study. The study shows that there are 14
moves found in the introduction, method, result, and discussion sections. Although she
24
mentions that there are resemblances between Thai and English biochemistry articles, the
main differences found are derived from five factors, as she states:
All in all, this study serves as a guide to researchers in this field in writing and improving
Another scholar who studies other types of Thai genres is Gadavanji, who
investigates speeches in no-confidence debates. She has looked at the discourse strategy
used in the speeches before concluding that the strategy in the speeches is intertextuality.
Gadavanji claims that the discourse of the speeches is represented by the two levels of
intertexuality: the mixed genres and voices. She further asserts that the intertexuality in
the debate is implemented to achieve three purposes: “the desire of highly partisan
debaters to cause maximum damage to the opposing side, their need to seek public
support, and the need to stay within the parliament codes of behavior” (Gadavanji, 2002,
p. 35). This study suggests that to achieve the purposes of the genre users (debaters?), a
characteristics of various genres, Messenger (1980) has studied the thematic units in
journals, novels, and newspaper editorials. He finds that the thematic units in articles and
editorials are longer than in novels. Messenger also notes that the style of the novels is
obviously linked loosely and relies the least on connections between the thematic units.
25
However, this study did not look at the moves of those genres. In fact, most of the Thai
genres studies have not focused on move analysis, especially in Thai academic writing.
Jogthong (2001) states that from previous studies of Thai written genres, there are
however, “further research is still needed to determine the actual range of stereotypical
A master’s thesis is one of the most common and significant genres of academic
research on thesis writing is not as common as the study of research articles and Ph.D.
academic writing genres has recently increased, “the master’s thesis has not been in
thesis/dissertations related to the master’s thesis writing are studied by Samraj (2008) and
Dudley-Evan (1986).
Samraj has found from her study that theses from different disciplines do not
follow the same pattern. For instance, the macro structure of the biology thesis follows
26
proposed by Swales (Swales, 1990). On the other hand, a philosophy thesis will follow a
pattern called a topic-based thesis. None of these theses has a separate chapter for
literature review which is common in linguistic theses. Samraj suggests that the study of
master’s theses is interesting due to the fact that it does not represent a homogeneous set
of texts, but reflects the variations. The IMRD structure is the most common structure
found in the master’s thesis but not in Ph.D. dissertations (Samraj, 2008).
only applicable to the analysis of introductory sections of MSc dissertations but also is an
appropriate approach for the analysis of the discussion section. Dudley-Evans, who
investigates the moves that appear in the introductory and discussion sections of seven
MSc dissertations on plant biology, reports that in the beginning of the dissertations,
apart from Swales’ moves “Establishing The Field” and “Summarizing The Previous
Research”, the moves used are “Introducing The Field”, “Introducing The General
Topic”, and “Introducing The Particular Topic.” In the discussion section, there are 11
Of Method. Dudley-Evans notes that a strong feature of the dissertations is the cyclical
organization of the moves. In other words, a move may occur more than once in different
places of a section. Therefore, the move analysis approach is not only applicable to the
Since Swales’ move analysis provides flexible frameworks for exploring and
studying rhetorical moves and is also useful for identifying organization patterns in a
27
written discourse, the method is appropriate for the aim of this study which is to seek the
organization patterns of a master’s thesis. Therefore, in this study, I used Swales’ move
analysis to analyze rhetorical moves in the master’ thesis genre in different languages at
the text. In the analysis, I also combined the sociological aspect into the explanation from
the contrastive data that I collected. The methodology used in this study is further
28
Chapter 3
Research Methodology
collection and its criteria, data description, and the names of moves used in the study.
focus mainly on the introductory section. Claiming that most academic writers have
difficulty in composing the introduction, and that the section has attracted interest from
many researchers, Swales (1990) analyzed the moves in research articles and developed
the CARS model. In his later edition, Research Genres, Swales (2004) mainly dealt with
the Ph. D. dissertation rather than exploring the master’s thesis. The decision was not
based on the belief that genre analysis should be done on the “real” research genre. On
the other hand, Swales (2004) perceived the Ph. D. dissertation and the master’s thesis as
two different genres, stating “…we are dealing with two different genres here, rather than
seeing the Ph. D. product as simply a longer and more complex version of a master’s
thesis” (p. 100). Therefore, the master’s thesis is not unworthy to investigate since it has a
strong relationship to real world practice, while the doctoral thesis concentrates more on
Even though the master’s thesis is often overlooked by most researchers, there are
a few scholars who have explored the topic. Bunton (2005), for instance, investigates the
moves in the introduction and conclusion of a master’s thesis. According to him, despite
the fact that “Discussions are more prominent in the literature than Conclusions,” (p.
29
208), the studies of them are “inadequate.” The most important work on Discussions was
done by Dudley-Evan who identified eleven moves of the master’s thesis that occur in a
Research Objectives
thesis of Thai students by investigating the rhetorical moves that appear in each selected
thesis. In addition, it hopes to suggest an effective pedagogy for use by graduate level
Research Questions
2. What are the rhetorical moves found in the Discussion Chapter of each thesis?
selected theses?
Research Methodology
interpretativist researchers. This group attempts to understand any ideas that people
create in order to explain the world and their experiences (Satthamnuwong, 2006). The
qualitative approach is based more on a subjective point of view which means “[social
objectively” (Denscombe, 2002, p 18). Qualitative researchers collect and analyze data
30
On the other hand, quantitative researchers believe that social reality is objective.
Therefore, the researchers collect data and create an experiment to prove a hypothesis,
avoid bias by maintaining a professional distance to the subject of the investigation. The
results are usually drawn from large samples or statistics (Satthamnuwong, 2006).
social science field which is dominated by qualitative research. Thus, in the present
study, the qualitative approach is employed by examining the content of texts, i.e., the
The most two common theoretical frameworks employed in genre analysis are
Swales’ Create a Research Space (CARS) and Bhatia’s framework for unfamiliar genres
but is also a relatively new genre in genre research, as stated in the previous chapter, both
implemented. Since the main purpose of Move Analysis is to describe the rhetorical
patterns of texts and identify their communicative purposes, the analysis is usually
divided into several steps. A discussion of how to analyze the moves follows.
According to Biber et al. (2007), to determine a move, there are usually ten steps
involved. One of the most important steps is to understand the “big picture” of the
analyzed genre. Therefore, the rhetorical purpose of the genre is identified first. Then, the
text is divided into segments in order to investigate its function. After that, the functional
31
or semantic themes are grouped, in order to understand the broader moves. It is then
recommended in the analysis to create a pilot coding in order to determine the purposes
of the moves. The next step would be to develop the coding protocol that indicates
definitions and examples of moves and their steps. Then, use inter-rater reliability to
check validity of the definitions of the moves and steps, and of the identifying process.
Additional moves and steps might be added if necessary in the full text analysis. Then, if
there is any difference suggested by the inter-rater reliability check, the code revision is
advised. It is also suggested to do a linguistic analysis of the moves. Last, typical and
alternate structures of the moves and the linguistic characteristics of the text are
The following table by Biber et al. (2007) describes the general process of Move
Analysis (p. 34). It should be noted that not all these steps are followed with every Move
Analysis. A partial list might be used and additional steps may be added.
32
revealed in the full analysis.
Step 8:
Revise coding protocol to resolve any discrepancies
revealed by the inter-rater
reliability check or by newly ‘discovered’
moves/steps, and re-code problematic
areas.
Step 9:
Conduct linguistic analysis of move features and/or
other corpus-facilitated analyses.
Step
10: Describe corpus of texts in terms of typical and
alternate move structures and
linguistic characteristics
Data Collection
This study analyzed the moves of each thesis in order to identify its rhetorical
patterns. The most common method used in genre analysis is sampling techniques and
data collection. Three theses have been selected as prototypes: 3 (A) a thesis written in the
Thai language by a Thai student in Thailand, (B) a thesis written in the English language
by a Thai student in Thailand, and (C) a thesis written in English by an American student
Three theses chosen for this study are illustrated in the following table.
Thai 1 (Thesis A) - 1
Total 2 1 3
3 Theterm “prototype” is used in this study because each thesis represents a qualified thesis in each
language approved by a university.
33
The table indicates the language used to write a master’s thesis and the locations
where each is written. The column on the left shows the languages which are the focus of
the study, Thai and English. The column in the middle and on the right shows the number
of the theses chosen for the study. Thus, one thesis is written in Thai by a Thai student for
a university in Thailand, one thesis is written in English by a Thai student for a university
in Thailand, and one thesis is written in English by an American student for a university
in the United States. The total of the theses chosen for the study is three.
example of an accepted master’s thesis. The discussion below includes data selection
From the literature review in the previous chapter, Bhatia (1993) recommended
that one should create criteria to ensure that the data are appropriate and belong to the
same genre. When selecting three theses for the study, the data must be evaluated based
on its genre and comparability. According to Connor and Moreno (2005), it is important
in cross-cultural studies that “we are comparing elements that can in fact be compared (p.
157). Suarez & Moreno (2007) further elaborated that to make data comparison valid,
“we need to compare text types or genres in which to observe linguistic and rhetorical
features which are comparable between the two writing cultures” (p. 150). In an attempt
to make the data as comparable as possible, certain criteria was used in the data collection
process. The criteria, which are adapted from Moreno’s English-Spanish comparable
34
1. Type of Genre
same genre. In this study, the genre chosen is a master’s thesis. The rationale
behind this selection is that, unlike other genres of academic writing, the master’s
there has been extensive research into academic writing at the undergraduate
2. Mode
3. Participants
There are two groups of participants: writers and target readers. The
writers are three master’s students. Two of them are Thai students who wrote
theses for their universities in Thailand and one of them is an American student
who wrote a thesis for a university in the U.S. The target readers are researchers,
4. Situational Variety
5. Dialectal Variety
The languages used in all theses are the standard language, whether in
Thai or English.
35
6. Tone
7. Format Features
The features of the data include intertextuality and visual features. The
intertextuality refers to the inclusion of references from other texts. The visual
study to readers.
According to Suarez & Moreno (2007), the purpose is divided into two
points of view: writers and readers. The writers of a thesis intend to persuade
readers to agree with their views on a subject. The readers of a thesis want to
12. Language
The languages selected for this study are comparable languages which are
36
13. Year of Publication
The study focuses on the theses written from the year 2000 to 2006.
6 Tone Serious
Every university in the study provides specific thesis guidelines for a student to
follow. As a result, the theses from these three universities, Chulalongkorn University,
Kasetsart University, and Indiana University are written according to different guidelines.
Although every thesis chosen for the study contain similar sections, some details of
37
organization vary from one to another. Below are the requirements for a master’s thesis
programs offered at the university. It provides the format of the Thesis by giving students
1. Cover
The graduate school specifies the type and color of the paper and the color of the
font for the cover. After a thesis is approved by the thesis committee, the school provides
2. Title page
A student who writes a thesis in the Thai language is required to write a title page
in both Thai and English. This page contains the title of the thesis, first and last name of
the author, a courtesy title: Mr./Miss/Mrs., the title conferred by the King, priest’s ranks
if applicable, name of the degree, field, department, faculty, program, academic year, and
ISBN. At the bottom of the page of the Thai language title page, a student is required to
note that the thesis is copyrighted by Chulalongkorn University. On the English language
3. Approval page
Since this thesis is written in Thai, the approval page is also written in Thai. It
consists of the title of the thesis, name of the author, major, names and signatures of the
38
4. Abstract 5
A student has to provide both Thai and English abstracts. According to the
handbook, the abstract is limited to one page, and includes the name of the author, title of
the thesis, name of the advisor, pages, ISBN, department, major, academic year, and
5. Acknowledgements
This section is limited to one page. The graduate school does not specify how to
write this page, but provides some guidelines about the scope and language usage for
academic writing.
6. Table of contents
10. Introduction
of the study, statement of the problem, methodology, purposes, scope and benefits of the
The graduate school does not specify the amount of chapters of a thesis. However,
it suggests that one of the chapters should be the literature review; one should be
12.1 References
5
See the format of the abstract page in Appendix D
39
12.2 Appendices
The details included should be name, last name, titles, date and
the graduate school. Templates and format of a thesis are provided by the graduate
school. Since only a thesis written in English is used for this study, only the requirements
1. Preliminary Materials
The graduate school specifies the type, size, and color of paper, as
well as the color of type. The cover should include the logo of the
university, the word “THESIS” to identify that the study is done for the
master’s degree, title, name of the student without any titles, “The
awarded.
40
1.4 Title Page
The details required on this page are the word “THESIS”, title,
Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of…, The Graduate School
of Kasetsart University”, the year when the degree is awarded, and ISBN
number.
1.5 Abstract
The graduate school has a specific format for an abstract page. The
page must include the name of the student, the year when the degree is
awarded, the title of the thesis, the title of the degree, the major field, the
department, the name of chairman, page number, and the ISBN number.
The abstract describes the problem, the summary of methods used and the
findings of the study. The signatures of the student and the adviser are
1.6 Acknowledgements
theses include this section. The author uses this page to express the
thesis.
41
1.10 List of symbols and abbreviations
The page must follow the lists of tables and figures. Explanation of
2. Text
In this section, the following details are required: an introduction and objectives, a
literature review, methods, results and discussion, conclusion and list of works cited.
background, general and specific, the importance of the study and some relevant
literature.
The literature review section should cover references to all literature cited. In
addition, it should address the problem, how it is originated, any previous study of the
referred to in a thesis. Although it is not mentioned in the handbook, the format is similar
to APA 6 .
The conclusion should sum up the main idea of the study. Some authors might
add predictions and suggestions to solve the problem. This section should not be long.
After the conclusion, the list of literature cited is provided. Again, the format is
similar to APA 7 .
42
3. Appendix
Non-essential but relevant data should be included in the appendix, for instance,
details about the experimental data, testing instruments, computer programs, and those
4. Curriculum Vitae
This part is recommended but not mandatory. The following details should be
included: name of the author, date and place of birth, educational background,
occupation, work place, awards, and scholarship, fellowship, and assistantship (if
applicable).
The graduate school of IUPUI is responsible for all graduate programs offered at
IUPUI. It provides the preparation and format of theses in “THE PREP GUIDE”.
However, a student is also advised to consult with his/her department. The graduate
school has specified type and size of the paper for a thesis, how photographs should be
Preliminary materials must consist of the title page, the original signed acceptance
page, and copyright page. Other items such as abstract, list of tables, figures,
The IUPUI graduate handbook does not explain in detail what information should
43
Features of a Thesis
In terms of the structure of the three theses: a thesis written by a Thai student in
the Thai language for a Thai university, a thesis written by a Thai student in the English
language for a Thai university, and a thesis written by an American student in the English
language for a university in the United States, there are both similarities and differences.
The thesis written by a Thai student in Thai chosen for the study is titled “Effect
University. The thesis is 185 pages including appendices and the curriculum vitae. The
1. Cover
2. Title page
4. Approval page
5. Abstract
6. Abstract in English
7. Acknowledgements
8. Table of contents
• Contents
• Tables
8
If not marked “in English”, a section is written in Thai.
44
• Graphs
14. Appendices
The title of the thesis written by a Thai student in English chosen for the study is
“English Language Needs of Thai Students during their Participation in the Work and
Travel USA Program 2005.” The thesis is submitted to the department of Foreign
Languages, Kasetsart University. This thesis is 119 pages including appendices. The
1. Cover
2. Approval page
3. Title page
4. Abstract
5. Acknowledgements
6. Table of contents
7. List of tables
8. List of figures
45
10. Chapter two: Review of Literature and Research
14. References
department of English, Indiana University. The thesis is 105 pages. The title of the thesis
Needs Analysis Approach.” The order below shows how the components of the thesis are
arranged.
1. Cover
2. Title page
3. Signature page
4. Dedication
5. Acknowledgements
6. Table of contents
46
12. Chapter five: Discussion and Recommendations
13. Appendices
14. References
After the investigation, it is found that every thesis consists of 15 sections. Most
of the components are identical. The slight differences in the components of the three
theses concern the abstract, the dedication, and the curriculum vitae. As listed above,
neither Thesis A nor Thesis B includes the dedication section. The graduate schools do
not mention this part in the guidelines, and dedications are not common in Thai writing.
Even when Thai students write their theses in English, they do not include the dedication
page in their work, unlike American writers who are more familiar with dedications.
The curriculum vitae page is also omitted from Thesis B. On the other hand, the
American writer of Thesis C (Writer C) includes both the dedication and curriculum vitae
pages, but not the abstract page, as shown in Table 1.3. It should be noted that the
graduate schools of both universities in Thailand require an abstract page but the page is
optional for IUPUI. Therefore, one can imply that the graduate schools as well as the
students in the different settings value different components, and this can be seen by their
Cover Y9 Y Y
9
“Y” and “N” in the table are the abbreviations of “Yes” and “No” respectively.
47
Title Page Y Y Y
Approval/Signature Page Y Y Y
Dedication N N Y
Abstract Y Y N
Acknowledgements Y Y Y
Table of Contents Y Y Y
Chapter 1: Introduction Y Y Y
Chapter 3: Methodology Y Y Y
Chapter 4: Result Y Y Y
Appendix Y Y Y
References Y Y Y
Curriculum Vitae Y N Y
The names of the rhetorical moves presented in the chapter are derived from the
studies by Swales (1990) and Dudley-Evan (1986). It should be noted that it is necessary
to combine the terms from the two studies because the terms created specifically for each
study are not adequate to describe all the moves found in this study. Some of the names
of the moves below were created specifically in order to cover the remainder of the
moves found in this study that have not yet been identified by any previous studies. The
definitions of the rhetorical moves given by Swales, Dudley-Evans, and those created
48
1. Occupying the Niche
This move is the last move of the CARS model proposed by Swales. The
Occupying the Niche move is the “previewing author’s new accomplishments” (Swales
2004, p. 227). Authors use this move to create the research space that justifies their
research. In other words, the Occupying the Niche is where authors make a claim that
they will represent to the identified problem(s). Swales (1990) found that there are three
steps in the Occupying the Niche Move. Step One is the most important one found in
research articles, and is presented in one of these two forms, Indicating The Main
2. Information Move
McKinlay in 1983. The move provides readers with necessary and additional information
that would help them to better understand a study. Therefore, the move is usually used at
the beginning.
The move is used for presenting the results of a study. It may include a graph or a
table used to summarize the results of the study. Signal verbs of the move are, for
research, and the author uses those referred researches to support a hypothesis or result or
49
5. Hypothesis
This move indicates the assumption or hypothesis that the writer makes from the
studied data. Dudley-Evans (1994) has explained that a writer uses this move when
making a general statement from the results of the study as a contribution to the “ongoing
research” in that area (p. 225). In his study in 1986, Dudley-Evans used the term
6. Deduction 10
This move is similar to the Hypothesis Move, however that the conclusions drawn
from the studied data are definite. Dudley-Evans (1994) has explained that the Deduction
Move is “a more confidently presented claim” (p. 225). Signal words for this move are
7. Recommendation
The writer often uses this move to recommend further study. However, this move
may also appear in other sections of the thesis. Words that are frequently used in the
move are, for example, “should”, “must”, and “require” (Dudley-Evan, 1986, p. 143).
8. Evaluation of Method
The Recommendation Move and the Evaluation of Method Move are relatively
similar. The writer uses this move in order to evaluate the method used in the study, and
10
Dudley-Evans (1994) has combined both Hypothesis and Deduction Moves and has called them “Claim”
or often referred as “Knowledge Claim”. Since the frequency of the Hypothesis Move and Deduction Move
is examined separately, the terms “Hypothesis” and “Deduction” used in Dudley-Evans’ study in 1986 are
used.
50
9. Creating the Credibility of a Thesis (Credibility)
This move is used in the first and last page of a thesis to indicate that a thesis is
reliable since it has been accepted by a university and its committee. Furthermore, the
curriculum vitae at the end of the thesis usually presents a writer’s educational and work
experience, and that information adds to the credibility of the thesis. This move is often
signaled by the phrases “The faculty of…has approved this thesis…”, “Accepted by the
Faculty of… in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of…”, and “The
10. Express the Appreciation towards Those Who Contributed to the Success of
This move usually appears at the beginning of the thesis. The writer uses this
move to acknowledge people who have assisted in the thesis writing process. Words that
often appear in the move include “appreciation”, “gratitude”, and “thanks” or phrases
51
Chapter 4
Results
This study aimed to identify the differences between Thai and English discourse
by comparing three different theses, in order to provide some guidance to Thai students
who are writing their theses in English. The discussion chapter from each thesis was
selected for closer analysis. The rhetorical moves used in the discussion chapter were
2. What are the rhetorical moves found in the discussion chapter of each thesis?
selected theses?
1. Communicative Purposes
The major communicative purpose of these master’s theses was to share the
authors’ view on the subject and to convince the readers of the results.
2. Rhetorical Moves
Before looking at the rhetorical moves, it might be helpful to look at the length of
each entire thesis as well as the discussion chapter from each thesis, and an outline of the
52
Lengths of the Theses and Their Discussion Chapters
The longest thesis 11 was Thesis A (185 pages), followed by Thesis B (119 pages),
and then Thesis C (105 pages). However, the discussion chapter from Thesis C was the
Below is the summary of the complete moves found in each of the three theses in
their entirety, that is, not just in the discussion chapter. The definitions of the rhetorical
moves used here are provided in the previous chapter. The moves are presented in the
order in which they were found. It should be noted that a move may occur more than
once in a different section or chapter of a thesis. Furthermore, each chapter may consist
of more than one move. Table 2 shows the move that is used the most in each section or
chapter. For example, there are several prominent rhetorical moves used in Chapter One:
Niche Move, but the Hypothesis Move might also be used in that chapter as well.
11
The length referred to only the body part of each thesis starting from the first chapter to the last chapter.
Abstract, appendices, acknowledgements, for example, were not included.
53
Conclusion, Discussion and
Recommend- ations
ations Appendices
Appendices
Curriculum Curriculum
Vitae Vitae
gements
54
Literature Literature Literature
Analysis
Results
Discussion Chapter
Although the IUPUI graduate school has not stated specifically which of the
components are needed in a master’s thesis, both Chulalongkorn University and Kasetsart
55
University require the inclusion of a discussion section. The discussion chapter is the last
The results from this study implied that Thai students tended to de-emphasize the
importance of the discussion chapter. The discussion chapters from Theses A and B were
some of the shortest chapters in those papers. Usually, the introduction is the shortest
chapter of a thesis, and that was true in all three papers in this study. This might be
because most graduate schools provide a guideline for an introduction chapter. Therefore,
close in length to the other chapters in that thesis; however, the discussion chapters of the
other two papers by the Thai students were almost half the length of their other chapters.
Although the discussion chapter of Thesis C was longer, it did not contain significantly
more types of moves than the other two papers. Below is an outline of the types of the
moves found.
The Rhetorical Moves found in the Discussion Chapter of Thesis A, Thesis B, and
Thesis C
The discussion chapter was organized into four sections. Each section is listed
56
A complete outline and analysis of the types, frequency, and length of the
rhetorical moves used throughout the discussion chapter of Thesis A, including, samples
of the moves and translations of signal words and text from Thai, can be found in
Appendix E.
Similar to Thesis A, the last chapter of the Thesis B was the discussion chapter. It
was divided into six sections. Each section is listed along with the rhetorical moves used
in that section.
A complete outline and analysis of the types, frequency, and length of the
rhetorical moves used throughout the discussion chapter of Thesis B, including a choice
The last chapter of the thesis written in English by an American student was
named the Discussion and Recommendations Chapter. Each section is listed along with
57
1. Introduction: Occupying the Niche and RPR (Support)
A complete outline and analysis of the types, frequency, and length of the
rhetorical moves used throughout the discussion chapter of Thesis C, including a choice
Table 2.1 presents the summary of all the moves, the frequency, and the lengths
found in the discussion chapters of Thesis A, Thesis B, and Thesis C. The first column
indicates the name of the moves. The second, third, and fourth column shows the
frequency and the lengths of the moves found in the chapter of each thesis.
58
Table 2.1: Summary of the Moves and Their Frequency and Lengths found in the
Rhetorical A: CU B: KU C: IUPUI
Moves Frequency Lengths Frequency Lengths Frequency Lengths
Occupying the - - 2 1 sentence 5 1 sentence
Niche 2 sentences
3 sentences
Information Move 1 5 paragraphs 8 1 sentence 12 1 sentence
2 sentences 2 sentences
3 sentences 3 sentences
4 sentences 4 sentences
1 paragraph 5 sentences
SOR 11 1 DC* 17 1 sentence 16 1 sentence
1 sentence 2 sentences 2 sentences
2 sentences 3 sentences 3 sentences
4 paragraphs 4 sentences 4 sentences
5 sentences 7 sentences
10 sentences 1 paragraph
1 paragraph
3 paragraphs
4 paragraphs
RPR (Support) 11 1 DC 5 1 sentence 9 1 sentence
2 DCs 2 sentences 2 sentences
4 DCs 5 sentences 3 sentences
6 DCs
Deduction 9 1 DC 2 1 sentence 13 1 sentence
2 DCs 2 sentences
3 DCs 5 sentences
1 sentence
Hypothesis 8 1 DC 4 1 sentence - 1 sentence
2 DCs 3 sentences 2 sentences
1 paragraph 1 paragraph
Evaluation of - - 2 1 sentence 4 1 sentence
Method 4 sentences 2 sentences
Recommendation 1 3 paragraphs 4 1 sentence 17 1 sentence
2 sentences 2 sentences
1 paragraph 3 sentences
5 sentences
1 paragraph
*DC = dependent clause
59
3. Similarities and Differences
According to Table 2.1, there were similarities among these three theses in terms
of the types of the moves used in the discussion chapter of each thesis. However, the
papers differ in terms of the frequency, lengths, and signals of the moves. Further
Table 2.2 summarizes the types of moves found in the discussion chapters of
Thesis A, B, and C. The first column indicates the names of rhetorical moves. The
second, third, and fourth column shows the theses that were analyzed. The last row
Table 2.2: Summary of the Findings of the Moves in the Entire Chapter
Information Move Y Y Y
SOR Y Y Y
RPR (Support) Y Y Y
Deduction Y Y Y
Hypothesis Y Y Y
Evaluation of Method - Y Y
Recommendation Y Y Y
Total 6 8 8
60
According to Table 2.2, both Thesis B and Thesis C contained the same eight
moves. However, only six moves were found in Thesis A. The Occupying the Niche and
One of the differences between Thai and English writing conventions is that Thai
writers do not employ Step Three of the Occupying the Niche Move to generate the
structure or the content of the chapter or section. Consequently, the Thai writers in this
study did not provide the same amount of detail as the American writer. It can then be
assumed that, according to Thai conventions, it was acceptable for Writer A not to
provide the meta-language in the text. One could also surmise that the Thai writers were
less concerned with formal structure, by considering the following examples. Writer A
did not include an introduction paragraph in the discussion chapter, choosing instead to
employ the Information Move in the first five paragraphs to review the purposes,
samples, tools and methodology of the study. Also, instead of using the Occupying the
Niche Move, Writer A used sub-headers to indicate what each section would discuss.
In contrast, the American Writer C used the Occupying the Niche Move to
indicate the structure of the discussion chapter. Furthermore, sub-headers were applied to
clearly designate the topic of each section. This suggests that the American writer
Similarly, Writer B used the Occupying the Niche Move to indicate the structure
thesis writing. Thesis B’s discussion chapter included an introduction, body and
61
Writer B influenced how she approached writing a paper in her L2 to some extent.
from her L1 and L2, because the introduction section of the chapter from Thesis B was
Thesis A also lacked the Evaluation of Method move. After reviewing the related
research, it seems that Writer A applied a method similar to that used by other
researchers. From personal experience as a Thai writer and as a thesis writer, it can be
assumed that Thai writers tend to avoid directly criticizing or evaluating another writer’s
work or methodology, especially those methods that are adapted from another study.
Thus, they may omit the Evaluation of Method Move to avoid overtly evaluating or
move in her study like Writer C, and this indicates that Writer B attempted to use the
In conclusion, the types of the moves that appeared in Thesis A, which was
written in Thai, were fewer than those used in Thesis B and Thesis C, which were written
in English. The omitted moves suggest the differences that exist between Thai and
English discourse when it comes to the ideas of formal structure and evaluation.
The table below showed the lengths of the moves found in the discussion chapter
of the analyzed theses. The first column on the left indicates the names of rhetorical
moves. The second, third, and fourth column shows the lengths of the moves found in the
62
Table 2.3: Summary of the Lengths of the Moves
2 sentences 2 sentences
3 sentences 3 sentences
4 sentences 4 sentences
1 paragraph 5 sentences
5 sentences 7 sentences
10 sentences 1 paragraph
1 paragraph
3 paragraphs
4 paragraphs
63
6 dependent clauses
1 sentence
1 paragraph 1 paragraph
4 sentences 2 sentences
2 sentences 2 sentences
1 paragraph 3 sentences
5 sentences
1 paragraph
According to Table 2.3, the lengths of the moves used by the Thai students were
comparable, and differed considerably from the lengths of the moves in Thesis C.
The lengths of the moves applied in Thesis A varied depending on the types of the
moves. The moves associated with asserting the writer’s opinions were relatively short.
64
On the other hand, the moves used for presenting facts or generally accepted opinions
were lengthy.
What might not be immediately obvious from the table is that the moves
associated with asserting Writer A’s definite opinions, such as Deduction Move, were
relatively brief when compared to the moves used for presenting facts or generally
accepted opinions, such as the Information Move. In Thesis A, the Information Move was
It should be noted that because of the difference in how sentences are separated 12
sentence in Thai. This is relevant when one considers that most of the moves in Thesis A
were dependent clauses. This might be because in Thai culture, writers generally try to
avoid stating their ideas directly. Writer A may have been trying to avoid asserting her
opinions directly. Consequently, as evidenced by the use of the RPR move, in a two-
clause sentence, for instance, Writer A would state her opinion in a first clause and would
In addition, since most Thai writers tend not to assert their opinion directly in
writing, they often express it indirectly through the Hypothesis Move. The finding
showed that Writer A referred to another researcher’s work in the first clause and used
Due to this disposition, the length of the Deduction Move employed in Thesis A
was rather short. In contrast, the lengths of the moves used to convey facts, the
12
For instance, ”จึงทําใหผูเขารับการทดสอบรูสึกไมเครียด ไมวิตกกังวลมากจนเกินไป “which is a dependent clause in Thai is equivalent to
the English sentence “As a result, the participants were not overly stressful or anxious.” Therefore, this
difference could explain why most of the moves in Thesis A were only dependent clauses.
65
Information Move and SOR, were relatively long, indicating the writer’s confidence to
According to Table 2.3, the lengths of Writer A’s Recommendation Move were
relatively long, suggesting that Writer A was more comfortable using it, perhaps because
the writer did not have to sound as assertive making suggestions as when stating
opinions.
Therefore, the length of the moves that Writer A employed suggested the
possibility that the Information Move and SOR were favored by Thai writers when
Overall, the lengths of the moves found in Thesis B were closer to Thesis C than
Thesis A 13 . Writer C seemed to equally emphasize both the recommendation section and
presenting the data in the discussion chapter. Similarly, Writer B seemed to recognize the
English writing conventions by attempting to use the Recommendation Move in the same
manner as Writer C. In addition, when examining the Evaluation Move that did not
appear in Thesis A, the lengths of this move in both Thesis B and Thesis C were nearly
equal. Thus, the similar lengths of the moves found in Thesis B and Thesis C suggested
that Thai writers may recognize the accepted conventions in English writing and attempt
to adhere to them. Writer B in this study was relatively successful in using such moves.
Nevertheless, the findings showed that the lengths of moves that Writer B used for
presenting facts or information, the Information Move and SOR, were lengthy and rather
similar to the lengths of these moves in Thesis A. Furthermore, the length of the moves
13
For instance, the length of the RPR move in Thesis B was closer to the length of the same move found in
Thesis C than Thesis A. Furthermore, the lengths of the Occupying the Niche and Hypothesis Move of
Thesis B and Thesis C were almost equal. The only small difference found was that Writer C used the
Occupying the Niche Move longer than Writer B. When looking at the Recommendation Move, the lengths
of this move found in Thesis B and Thesis C were similar.
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that Writer B used for making a concrete statement, the Deduction Move, was similar to
the length of the Deduction Move found in Thesis A. In contrast, the similar moves found
in Thesis C were not considerably long compared to the other two theses.
The following table summarizes the frequency of the moves found in the
discussion chapters of all three papers. The first column on the left shows the names of
the moves. The second, third, and fourth columns indicate the frequency of each move.
Table 2.4: Summary of the Frequency of the Moves Found in the Discussion
Chapter
Information Move 1 8 12
SOR 11 17 16
RPR (Support) 11 5 9
Deduction 9 2 13
Hypothesis 8 4 14
Evaluation of Method - 2 4
Recommendation 1 4 17
The most frequently occurring move was different in each thesis. The results of
the frequency of the moves complied with the results from examining the lengths of the
presentation and the references of other researchers in the chapter since both SOR and
14
See Table 2.3 for the summary of the lengths
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RPR occurred the most frequently, which would be consistent with the findings that these
The SOR accounted for approximately 30% of the total number of moves in both
Thesis A and B, but only for about 18% of the total moves in Thesis C. Therefore, Writer
C did not emphasize the presentation of the results as much as the Thai writers.
In addition, looking at the frequency of the RPR move suggests that the Thai
writers tended to emphasize references to other researchers much more than the
Another compliant finding was that the Information Move was used quite
frequently in Thesis B, but not very often in Thesis A. However, as Table 2.3, shows, the
length of the move, employed only at the beginning of the chapter, was extremely long 15 .
Thus, this finding does not necessarily indicate that Writer A did not emphasize
providing the readers with information. On the contrary, Writer B used the Information
Move moderately, throughout the chapter. In Thesis C, the Information Move was ranked
fifth of eight moves. Therefore, the study suggests that the Thai writers stressed the
importance of the Information Move in the discussion chapter more than the American
writer.
these two moves: Occupying the Niche and the Evaluation of Method, while in Thesis A,
Thus, the findings suggest that a Thai writer may tend to concentrate on using
SOR, RPR, and the Information Move in the discussion chapter, as well as emphasizing
the use of SOR much more than an American writer will. However, in the discussion
15
See Table 2.3 for the summary of the lengths
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chapter, the American writer might put more emphasis on the use of Recommendation
The following table presents the summary of the signals of the moves found in the
discussion chapter of each thesis. The first column on the left lists the names of the
moves. The second, third, and fourth column shows the signals.
Table 2.5: Summary of the Signals of the Moves Found in the Discussion Chapter of
found that
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will/ might/ may/
could be
related to/
According to…, …
consequently
presented…, …, …
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Evaluation of Method N/A N/A N/A
The examination showed that the three writers used both specific and unspecific
words or phrases to signal the moves. The specific words used to signal the moves were
relatively obvious. For instance, the signals of the Hypothesis Move were modal verbs
such as “might”, “may”, and “will” or words such as “possible” and “probably”.
However, none of the writers used specific signals in the Information Move and
the Evaluation of Method Move. This may be because the writers used the Information
Move to provide the readers various pieces of information such as reviewing the purposes
of the study and results of the study and providing background of the study. Therefore,
the signals of this move were appropriate to the information contained in those particular
sections.
In addition, the Occupying the Niche Move, which was not used in Thesis A at
all, appeared only three times in Thesis B, using fewer signals than were used in Thesis
C. Writer C used various phrases when applying this move such as “This section will”
The investigation of the signals of the moves showed that Writer A did not vary
her word choice as much as the other writers. This practice seems more acceptable in
Thai writing where it is not considered overly repetitious. English conventions seem less
tolerant of this kind of repetition, as evidenced by the various signal words used by
Writers B and C. Thus, Writer C used many more uniquely occurring words or phrases
than other two theses, especially in the SOR and Hypothesis Move. Writer B’s use of
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signals suggested that she was aware of English writing conventions and successfully
In conclusion, ten rhetorical moves were found in the entire text of all three
theses: Occupying the Niche, Information Move, SOR, RPR (support), Hypothesis,
However, the moves found in the discussion chapter from each thesis were varied. Six
rhetorical moves were found in the chapter from Thesis A; eight were found in Thesis B;
eight were found in Thesis C. Thesis B had more in common with Thesis C than with
Thesis A in terms of the types of moves. However, each of the selected theses had some
differences in the types, the frequency, the lengths, and the signals of the moves.
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Chapter 5
recommendations for educators who want to teach Thai students, and recommendations
According to the analysis of rhetorical moves in three theses, one thesis written in
Thai by a Thai student, one thesis written in English by a Thai student, and one thesis
written in English by an American student, the results of the study are as follows.
First, these master’s theses aimed to share the writers’ views on their subjects and
to convince the readers of their results. Ten identical rhetorical moves were found in each
of the entire theses: Occupying the Niche, Information Move, SOR, RPR (support),
Appreciation.
Second, the moves found in the discussion chapter from each thesis were varied.
For Thesis A, which was written in the Thai language by a Thai student, six rhetorical
moves were found: Information Move, SOR, Hypothesis, RPR (support), Deduction, and
Recommendation. On the other hand, Thesis B, which was also written by a Thai student
but in English, and Thesis C, which was written by an American student in English,
shared the same eight rhetorical moves: Occupying the Niche, Information Move, SOR,
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Third, this analysis revealed several similarities and differences among the moves
from the three theses, in terms of the types of the moves, the lengths of the moves, the
Regarding the types of moves, it was found that Writer B used similar moves to
Writer C. Two of the moves, Occupying the Niche and Evaluation of Method, were
Regarding the lengths of moves, the lengths used by Writers B and C were similar
to each other, but much different from the lengths of moves used by Writer A.
Regarding the frequency of the moves, the Thai writers used moves with similar
frequency.
Regarding the signals of the moves, all three writers applied both overt and subtle
signals of the moves. Both Writer B and Writer C varied the words used for the signals
In conclusion, the analysis of the types of the moves showed that the Thai writers,
when writing in Thai and English, organized the writing of the discussion chapter
differently than the American writer did. The lengths of the moves and the frequency of
the moves suggested that the Thai writers emphasized certain sections that the American
writer did not. Finally, the lack of variety of signals of the moves used in the discussion
chapter of Thesis A indicated that such repeated use of the same signals are acceptable in
Thai written discourse. On the other hand, the variety of the signals of the moves used
both in Thesis B and Thesis C suggested that English written discourse calls for more
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Recommendations
The move analysis used in contrastive studies like this study helps identify the
(1986), the use of genre analysis is useful for identifying patterns. One may use the
findings of this study to teach second language learners about the patterns that are
According to the results of the study, the writer of Thesis A demonstrated the
acceptable norms of Thai writing. It is more common in Thai for paragraphs to not have a
clear topic sentence or conclusion. It should be noted also that a sentence in Thai can
Furthermore, for Thai writers, the accuracy of the content of the thought seems to take
priority over the grammatical structure of the sentence. The analysis of Thesis B revealed
that the writer of Thesis B attempted to follow the writing conventions in English such as
The results of the study showed that writing a thesis in Thai was similar to writing
a thesis in English in terms of the format of the thesis. According to Jogthong (2001),
Thai academic writing is influenced by English academic writing since Thai academic
writing is still in a developing stage. Both this study and Jogthong’s research indicated
that Thai writers were aware of English academic writing conventions to some extent.
However, there are some practices that Thai students need to particularly raise their
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awareness of when writing a thesis in English due to the fact that these practices are not
First of all, as seen from the lack of the move in Thesis A, the writing in Thai
does not usually require the Occupying the Niche Move to indicate the structure of texts;
therefore, the students should be familiarized with this move when writing in English. An
English instructor may create an exercise to facilitate the use of this move such as having
students write an introduction paragraph that ends with the Occupying the Niche Move.
Secondly, due to the fact that direct criticism of someone’s work is not favored by
Thai culture, Thai writers tend to avoid criticizing and evaluating others’ work or
methods. Consequently, the Evaluation Move was not found in Thesis A. An English
instructor should inform the students of the importance of this move when writing a
thesis. The instructor may start by encouraging the students to list both advantages and
disadvantages of a certain writing piece so that the students would become familiar with
the evaluation process. Then, when the students start writing, the instructor may ask them
Thirdly, when writing in Thai, the writer seemed to use the same words,
sentences, or expressions repeatedly throughout the chapter as seen from the lack of
variety in the signals. Therefore, an English instructor should create an exercise that helps
students improve and widen their vocabulary, such as providing guidelines for revision,
or a paraphrasing exercise.
Last but not least, although the move analysis in this study was helpful in
identifying problems that the students might have in their writing, definite conclusions
might not be justified in light of the limitations of the scope of the study; only one
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chapter was chosen for analysis, and the corpus might be considered small. However,
some useful guidelines could be inspired by the findings, especially regarding what
should be included in a discussion chapter when writing a thesis in English. Thai students
would benefit from being shown a template indicating which moves should be included
in the writing, and which moves should be used the most in the chapter.
From the study, the three recommendations for future research are as follows.
First of all, research could focus on a larger corpus, which would provide more
data to result in more definite conclusions. However, when doing a contrastive study, the
most important issue is the criteria used for selecting the data, which must be comparable.
In addition, it should be noted that a contrastive study does not always point out definite
conclusions about the data but rather the possible indications of the data. Thus,
researchers should be wary of assuming universality for the conclusions drawn the study.
thesis should be analyzed. Although this study obtained a great deal of information from
the move analysis and the contrastive study, the analysis of other aspects such as
linguistic features might help to provide a clearer picture of the differences between
languages.
Finally, the analysis of the moves in this study was done on finished products—
published theses. Thus, it might not be obvious how the selected theses were changed
during the writing process and why such changes were made. The study of the process of
the writing could be done by interviewing thesis writers and tracing changes from each
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draft. Such study might help the researcher to learn about the writers’ process. Thus, it
Conclusion
writing conventions. However, some problems in their writing may occur because of the
differences between Thai discourse and English discourse. To solve this problem, the
study at the discourse level might be useful. In this study, the move analysis and the
contrastive study revealed the issues that the students might have when they write a thesis
in English. The study showed that in general the characteristics of Thesis B were closer to
Thesis C than Thesis A. It is undeniable that there are influences from Thai discourse
found both in Thesis A and Thesis B. From the observation of the types of the moves
used, the length of each move, the frequency of the moves, and the signals of the moves,
the data indicated that the types of the moves in each thesis were relatively similar.
Nevertheless, the investigation of the length of each move and the frequency of the
moves suggested that each language had slightly different preferences in the application
Thesis C. It should be noted also that, due to the limited size of the corpus of this study,
and the fact that only one chapter from each thesis was chosen for the analysis, the
conclusion might not be absolute. However, it is possible to provide the readers with the
characteristics of the selected theses in general, the guidelines, and suggestions for
teaching thesis writing to Thai students. Thus, further study should also be conducted that
includes other aspects of the thesis in its analysis. The study of the genre analysis in
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contrastive studies like this one would definitely be useful to English writing instructors
in Thailand.
79