GENRE-BASED ANALYSIS OF ANBAR EFL POST-GRADUATE STUDENTS' M. A LINGUISTICS THESIS ABSTRACTS

Abstract

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the rhetorical moves (move-step analysis) of abstract section of MA theses in linguistics. Genre-Based analysis has been approached from different perspectives. However, to the researcher’s best knowledge, no study to analyze Iraqi MA thesis abstracts in University of Anbar, department of English, according to rhetorical moves. The current study aims at analyzing the rhetorical move structure of Anbar MA English linguistics thesis abstracts by post-graduate students. To this end, ten abstracts have been purposively selected.  The data were qualitatively analyzed based on Swales’ CARS (2004) model of rhetorical moves. Based on the analysis, some similarities and differences were found regarding cyclicity (move structure) and move-step frequency of occurrence. The findings of the present study are useful for Iraqi non-native writers by presenting the important factors that make them familiar with rhetorical move-step structure of MA thesis abstracts.