Rhetorical structure

This study aimed at investigating the tendency of research article (RA) authors for the application of nominalization in RA discussion sections from the perspective of two discourse communities. To this end, 150 RA discussion sections were selected from local and international Applied Linguistics journals. Following the rhetorical structure analysis of the corpus and the move tagging, the authors analyzed the vertical and horizontal distribution of the nominalization types within and between the journals. The results demonstrated that international RA authors show a greater preference to use nominalization in certain moves of the discussion sections, and this can be explained by considering the move function and nominalization types. It was also revealed that a large number of nominalizations are located in some moves than others. In other words, authors use nominalization in these moves to ameliorate the style and the language of the discussion sections to sound more persuasive. Finally, fine-grained qualitative analyses are presented

Rhetorical structure is helpful in improving how the writers maintain cohesion in their writings. This study examines how the Iraqi writers maintain cohesion in the text by analyzing the various rhetorical moves in Azzaman, an online Iraqi newspaper. To this purpose, twelve opinion articles from Azzaman Iraqi newspaper, published from January 2013 to June 2013 were analyzed. The findings revealed a common rhetorical pattern: the introduction section, the intermediate section, and the coda section (conclusion stage). All these were frequently used, but the use of intermediate section (solution stage) and coda section (moral stage) were less frequently-used in comparison with the introduction section. The findings of this study reflect the way Iraqis write opinion articles in English newspapers, and generally show that the use of similar patterns in the rhetorical structure mirrors the writing of second language writers’ writing to convey information to second language readers.

Thematic development refers to the way theme and rheme in the clause are developed. The theory of rhetorical structure can be defined as the strategies that follow specific ways to make writing more persuasive. The present study aimed to examine how Iraqi writers maintain cohesion in the text by analyzing the patterns of thematic progression in various rhetorical sections in an online Iraqi newspaper, Azzaman (Zaman). To carry out the study, the news articles were collected from January 2013 to June 2013. Actually, 2 opinion articles which focused on the most important political issues were taken each month, collected and analyzed. The analysis focused on the thematic progression and rhetorical structures. The results revealed that thematic progression patterns were used in every rhetorical section of the newspaper. The findings of the study showed the occurrence of thematic progression with different rhetorical patterns in writing English opinion articles and the influence of culture on the rhetorical structure.

This study aimed at investigating the differential effects of three types of mediational artifacts (EMW, EDW, and EMDW) through the CBI approach on EFL learners’ expository writing and learning transfer of rhetorical genre. Therefore, 57 advanced students were randomly assigned into one of three mediational groups, namely EMW, EDW, and EMDW. Participants in the EMDW group were provided with all mediational mechanisms, including instructors’ oral deductive explanation of concepts, SCOBAs material, students’ demonstration of their understanding, and writing practices. However, in the EMW group, students received instructors’ explanations of concepts along with SCOBAs material and writing practices, while the EDW group was provided with students’ demonstrations of their understanding instead of SCOBAs material. After assuring homogeneity of the participants in three groups at the outset of the study with regard to their pre-task scores, the CBI was held over a course of three weeks on expository rhetorical structure. Data for the first research question was gathered through a post-task on expository writing after the treatment. Learners’ opinions were also reflected through a semi-structured interview after the post-task. To testify transferability of rhetorical structure, a delayed post-task was administered after one week. The obtained results indicated that three mediational conditions led to differential expository writing performance. Further improvement was determined in the EMDW group, followed by the EMW group. Furthermore, rhetorical transfer to a new writing task was significantly different among the groups, as the EMDW group could outperform the other groups. Finally, the satisfaction of participants toward CBI was reflected.