--

15(4)2025

Rhetorical structure of introduction chapter in Vietnamese English-majored undergraduate’s theses


Author - Affiliation:
Loan Thi To Pham - Thuongmai University, Hanoi , Vietnam
Tung Ngoc Vu - University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University - Hanoi, Hanoi , Vietnam
Corresponding author: Loan Thi To Pham - phamtoloan84@gmail.com
Submitted: 02-04-2024
Accepted: 20-05-2024
Published: 12-09-2024

Abstract
This research investigates the rhetorical structure of the Introduction chapter of English major undergraduate theses, adopting Swales’ Create-A-Research-Space framework (Swales, 1990, 2004). The data encompassed Introduction chapters of 30 theses written by English-majored students at a university in Vietnam. Move analysis was used to identify the frequencies of moves, steps, and patterns. Results indicated that all the introduction chapters in the corpus conform strictly to three moves in the model. However, students tend to employ fewer steps, in which gap-indication and result-presentation steps are not given sufficient attention. Findings from this research offer pedagogical implications for embedding the rhetorical genre structure of the thesis in writing courses for English major students. The study also recommends integrating critical thinking skills in the educational program at B University and other institutions of similar contexts to sharpen their scientific mindset in academic writing skills.

Keywords
critical thinking skill; English majors; introduction chapter; rhetorical structure; theses

Full Text:
PDF

References

Amnuai, W., Wannaruk, A. (2013). An analysis of moves in introductions in international and Thai journal research articles. PASAA, 45, 61–90.


Bhatia, V.K. (2006). Analyzing Genre: Some Conceptual Issues. In M. Hewings (Ed.) Academic Writing in Context: Implications and Applications (pp.79-92). Birmingham: University of Birmingham Press.


Bunton, D. (2002). Generic moves in Ph.D. thesis introductions. In J. Flowerdew (Ed.), Academic discourse (pp. 57-75). London: Pearson Education Limited.


Cotos, E. (2012). Move analysis. The encyclopedia of applied linguistics. 1-8


Fitriati, S.W., Gunawan, W., Farida, A.N., & Gayatri, N.M. (2021). Rhetorical Structure of Thesis Introduction Chapters Written by English Native Speakers. Proceedings of the 9th UNNES Virtual International Conference on English Language Teaching, Literature, and Translation, ELTLT 2020, Semarang, Indonesia.


Fitriyah, U. (2020). Rhetorical moves in thesis introduction written by English major students. Journal of language and literary studies, 3(2), 119-132.


Gao, S. & Pramoolsook, I. (2023). A cross-cultural move analysis of electronic engineering research article introductions: The case of Chinese, Thai, and native English scholarly writers. Ampersand, 10, 1-10.


genre-based study. Journal of English Academic Purposes, 9, 267–279


Gollin-Kies, S. (2014). Methods reported in ESP research articles: A comparative survey of two leading journals. English for Specific Purposes, 36, 27-34.


Hirano, E. (2009). Research article introductions in English for specific purposes: a comparison between Brazilian Portuguese and English. English for Specific Purposes, 28, 240-250


Indrian, R. D. & Ardi, P. (2019). Rhetorical Structures of English-Major Undergraduate Thesis Introduction Chapters, Indonesian Journal of EFL and Linguistics, 7(2), 195-214.


Kanoksilapatham, B. (2005). Rhetorical structure of biochemistry research articles. English for Specific Purposes, 24(3), 269-292.


Kawase, T. (2018). Rhetorical structure of the introductions of applied linguistics PhD theses. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 31,18-27.


Kwan, B. S. C. (2006). The schematic structure of literature reviews in doctoral theses of applied linguistics. English for Specific Purposes, 25(1), 30-55.


Loi, C.K. (2010). Research article introductions in Chinese and English: a comparative genre-based study. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 9(4), 267-279.


Maher, P. & Milligan, S. (2019). Teaching master thesis writing to engineers: Insights from corpus and genre analysis of introductions. English for Specific Purposes, 55, 40-55.


Nguyen, L.T., & Pramoolsook, I. (2014). Rhetorical Structure of Introduction Chapters written by Novice Vietnamese TESOL postgraduates. 3L The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 20(01), 61-74.


Nguyen, M., Terlouw, C., & Pilot, A. (2005), Cooperative learning vs


Confucian heritage culture’s collectivism: confrontation to reveal some


conflicts and mismatch, Asia Europe Journal, 3(3), 403-419.


Nguyễn, V. T. (2019). An Introduction to Scientific Research. Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House.


Nhat, H. T., Lien, N. T., Tinh, N. T., Hang, N. V. T. , & Trang, N. T. (2018). The Development of Critical Thinking for Students in Vietnamese Schools: From Policies to Practices. American Journal of Educational Research, 6(5), 431-435.


Pujiyanti, I., Arsyad, S., & Arsyad, A.A. (2018). Rhetorical Structure Analysis on Introduction Chapters of English Master Theses by Indonesian Postgraduate Students. Indonesian Journal of English Education, 5(2), 143-164.


Samraj, B. (2002). Introductions in research articles: variations across disciplines. English for Specific Purposes, 21, 1-17.


Samraj, B. (2008). A discourse analysis of master's theses across disciplines with a focus on introductions. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 7, 55-67.


Soler-Monreal, C. (2015). Announcing one's work in PhD theses in computer science: A comparison of Move 3 in literature reviews written in English L1, English L2 and Spanish L1. English for Specific Purposes, 40, 27-41.


Soler-Monreal, C., Carbonell-Olivares, M., & Gil-Salom, L. (2011). A contrastive study of the rhetorical organisation of English and Spanish PhD thesis introductions. English for Specific Purposes, 30, 4-17.


Swales, J. (1990). Genre analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.


Swales, J. M. (2004). Research genres. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.


Tsai, J.L., Miao, F.F., Seppala, E., Fung, H.H., Yeung, D.Y. (2007). Influence and adjustment goals: sources of cultural differences in ideal affect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92, 1102-1117.


Wang, W., & Yang, C. (2015). Claiming centrality as promotion in applied linguistics research article introductions. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 20, 162-175.


Xu, M., Huang, C. & You, X. (2016). Reasoning patterns of undergraduate theses in translation studies: An intercultural rhetoric study. English for Specific Purposes, 41, 68-81.



DOI: https://doi.org/10.46223/HCMCOUJS.soci.en.15.4.3339.2025
Creative Commons License
© The Author(s) 2025. This is an open access publication under CC BY NC licence.