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2009 Fall TESOL Conference
Hae Sung Yang
[email protected] San Francisco State University
Rhetorical Patterns in L2 Writers’ Argumentative Essays
Studies of Rhetorical Patterns in Academic Genres
1. A number of published genres have been studied in the literature, including research articles
(Yang & Allison, 2003; Swales, 1990), abstracts (Yakhontova, 2002), grant proposals
(Connor & Mauranen, 1999), theses and dissertations (Paltridge, 2002).
2. Move analysis has been widely adopted to describe the rhetorical patterns of a genre. A
number of studies using this analysis have found that there is a conventional organizational
structure across texts within a genre.
3. This conventionalized organizational structure of a genre helps experienced readers process
the text efficiently. Many researchers (e.g., Hyland, 2004; Johns, 1997; Swales, 1990) have
argued that the findings of move structure analyses can be translated to the classroom,
especially for L2 writers in tertiary education
4. Pedagogical written genres have been studied to a lesser extent. Hyland (1990) described the
move structure of EFL high school student argumentative essays, and Chandrasegaran
(2005) looked at informal arguments made in on-line forums by two Singaporean high
school students.
Research Questions
1. What are the rhetorical moves and steps employed by L2 college writers in text-responsible
argumentative essays?
2. Are there any differences between high-scored and low-scored essays in terms of move
structures?
Overview of the study
1. Participants:
- 24 L2 students from a first year composition course at a U.S. university
- L1s included Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Greek, Arabic, Spanish, German, and Thai.
2. Data:
- Final drafts of the participants written for their take-home, argumentative essay
assignment.
- 3-5 pages, double-spaced
3. Essay Prompt:
“All of the writers we’ve read before in this unit discuss different ways to respond when faced with an
issue they feel is not just. …. What is your position on dissent?...Write an argumentative essay in
which you react to an opinion by one of the authors in the readings we have done in this unit. You
must paraphrase or summarize the author’s opinion you have chosen in the introduction of the essay
so your reader will understand what you are responding to. As all introductions do, the ideas in the
introduction should lead to your thesis. In this case, your thesis should be a direct response to the
author and must contain your own opinion. To develop and support your reaction to the author’s
opinion, your own opinion (thesis) must be supported with reasons, specific examples, and
explanations from the readings, your own experience and that of others. ”
3. Data Analysis method: Move analysis (Swales, 1990)
4. Identification of high- and low-scored essays: 5 highest scored essays and 5 lowest-scored
based on teacher grades.
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2009 Fall TESOL Conference
Hae Sung Yang
[email protected] San Francisco State University
Move Analysis
1.Major Terms
1) Moves:
A move is a functional unit within a section of a text that serves an overall purpose of the text
(Connor & Mauranen, 1999; Swales, 1990). Each move has internal semantic coherence and
includes at least one proposition. A move can be one clause, a sentence, a paragraph or even
several paragraphs. A move helps the reader to process the text by informing her of a function
of each section of the text. In this study, verbs that explain a purpose of a text unit related to
the overall intention of a text were employed to describe moves. These verbs include
‘Establishing an issue’, ‘Appealing to an authority’, ‘Announcing a position’, and ‘Justifying
the thesis’.
2) Steps:
A step is a rhetorical strategy or technique employed by the writer to realize the purpose of a
move. A move is realized by one step or a combination of steps (Bhatia, 1993). Steps do not
indicate functions related to the realization of an overall purpose of a genre. They are rather
discourse techniques that serve to realize moves (Yang & Allison, 2003; Bhatia, 1993). For
this study, a step is described by the verbs indicating the discourse strategies such as
‘Describing a general theme’, ‘Stating a thesis’, ‘Providing evidence to back up the reason’,
and ‘Revisiting the thesis and reasons’.
2. Procedures to identify moves and steps
- The data was re-coded several times until 100% intra-rater reliability was reached.
- Clear move and step categories were developed that could capture all of the moves and steps
present in the 24 essays.
- All the moves and steps that appeared at least once included
3. Examples of moves and steps
Figure 1. Moves and Steps Identified in the first paragraph of an essay
Move 1- Establishing an issue
[Step 2. Describing an issue] How do we bring social changes? Do we all follow laws? Laws
keep the peace over a country through people’s obedience to them; on the other hand, they can be
the restriction of people’s social changes and lead to disobedience for these changes.
Move 2- Appealing to an authority
[Step 1. Providing an expert’s opinion] In “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King
Jr. shows the cruelty of racial prejudice in the United States and asks for immediate integration.
When he wrote this letter, he was actually in jail because he had marched for protesting against
segregation and his actions were regarded as offensive direct ones. To explain his actions, Dr.
King points out the need of slight tension, nonviolent direct actions once negotiation fails, and
understanding by clergymen and segregationists in the letter. Then he states that postponement of
integration remains injustice in the society, so immediate acceptance and decisions for integration
are necessary. [Step2. Expressing agreement with the expert] I agree with Dr. King’s idea.
Move 3- Announcing a position
[Step 1. Stating a thesis] Although part of social responsibility is honoring laws, violating laws
because of people’s strong opinions and morality is sometimes necessary for future development.
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2009 Fall TESOL Conference
Hae Sung Yang
[email protected] San Francisco State University
Findings
Research Question 1: Moves and steps identified
The moves and steps observed in the text-responsible argumentative essays are displayed below.
Table1.
Moves
and
Steps
identified
in
24
argumentative
essays
Stage
Thesis
Argument
Moves
Establishing
an
issue
Definition
Appealing
to
an
authority
Reinforcing the writer’s
position by citing an expert
on the issue
Announcing
a
position
Showing the writer’s position
on the issue before
introducing main arguments
Validating the author’s
position by providing a
reason and evidence for the
position.
1.
Stating
a
thesis
2.
Stating
reasons
Strengthening the writer’s
position by demonstrating the
weaknesses of the
counterargument
1.
Stating
the
counter‐argument
2.
Stating
partial
validity
of
the
counterargument
3.
Stating
a
reason
to
go
against
the
counterargument
4.
Providing
evidence
to
weaken
the
counterargument
5.
Providing
an
example
to
illustrate
the
counterargument
6.
Stating
disagreement
with
the
counterargument
7.
Rebutting
the
counter‐
argument
8.
Restating
the
thesis
1.
Revisiting
the
thesis
and
reasons
1.
Stating
some
action
to
be
Justifying
the
thesis
(This move can be
repeated several times
according to the number of
reasons or examples the
writer gives.)
Addressing
the
counterargument
(This
move can be repeated
several times according to
the number of reasons or
examples the writer gives.)
Informing the reader of an
issue in question
Conclusion
Consolidating
the
position
Calling
to
an
action
Reinforcing the writer’s
position by revisiting the
thesis and points
Showing the significance of
the position by relating it to
real life or the future
1. 7 discourse moves were identified: 3
Steps
1.
Describing
a
general
theme
2.
Describing
an
issue
[related
to
the
theme]
1.
Providing
an
expert’s
opinion
2.
Expressing
agreement
with
the
expert
1.
Restating
the
thesis
2.
Stating
a
reason
3.
Providing
evidence
to
back
up
the
reason
4.
Connecting
the
evidence
to
the
reason
5.
Restating
the
reason
taken
2009 Fall TESOL Conference
Hae Sung Yang
[email protected] San Francisco State University
-‘Establishing an issue’, ‘Appealing to an authority’, ‘Announcing a position’, ‘Justifying
the thesis’, ‘Addressing the counterargument’, ‘Consolidating the position’, and ‘Calling to
an action’
2. The most frequent moves were: ‘Establishing an issue’ (100%), ‘Appealing to an authority’
(92%), ‘Announcing a position’ (96%), ‘Justifying the thesis’ (88%), and ‘Consolidating the
position’ (88%).
- Three moves among them (‘Appealing to an authority’, ‘Announcing a position’ and
‘Justifying the thesis’) appeared in the prompt.
3. The least frequent moves were: ‘Addressing the counterargument’ (58%) and ‘Calling to an
action’ (33%).
- These moves were not present in the prompt.
4. The ‘Justifying the thesis’ move in the argument stage was repeated more than two times in
20 essays.
5. One or two steps were observed for the moves in the introductory and conclusion stages
whereas 5 and 8 steps appeared for each of the ‘justifying the thesis’ and ‘addressing the
counterargument’ moves in the argument stage.
7. The number of steps and their sequence under the ‘justifying the thesis’ and ‘addressing the
counterargument’ moves varied across writers. A preferred step sequence under these moves
employed by the majority of the writers was not identified.
Research Question 2: Differences between high- and low-scored essays
1. No major differences were observed in the move patterns used by these groups.
2. However, differences were observed in the two groups’ sequencing of steps under the
‘Justifying the thesis’ move. (Figure.2)
- The high-scored essays followed a predictable, parallel step structure for the ‘Justifying
the thesis’ move.
- In contrast, the low-scored essays often did not follow a consistent step structure for the
same move and the order of the steps was also different across these repeated moves.
- The low scored essays often did not include the ‘connecting the evidence to the reason’ step
and kept repeating the thesis or reason. (Figure. 3)
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2009 Fall TESOL Conference
Hae Sung Yang
[email protected] San Francisco State University
Figure
2.
A
comparison
of
step
structure
under
the
repeated
‘Justifying
the
thesis’
move
between
a
high‐
scored
essay
and
a
low‐scored
essay.
A
high‐scored
essay
(Grade
‘A’)
Moves
Steps
Justifying
the
thesis
2.
Stating
a
reason
Justifying
the
thesis
Justifying
the
thesis
3.
Providing
evidence
to
back
up
the
reason
4.
Connecting
the
evidence
to
the
reason
5.
Restating
the
reason
2.
Stating
a
reason
3.
Providing
evidence
to
back
up
the
reason
4.
Connecting
the
evidence
to
the
reason
2.
Stating
a
reason
3.
Providing
evidence
to
back
up
the
reason
4.
Connecting
the
evidence
to
the
reason
A
low‐scored
essay
(Grade
C‐)
Moves
Steps
Justifying
the
thesis
2.
Stating
a
reason
Justifying
the
thesis
2.
Stating
a
reason
3.
Providing
evidence
to
back
up
the
reason
4.
Connecting
the
evidence
to
the
reason
Justifying
the
thesis
3.
Providing
evidence
to
back
up
the
reason
2.
Stating
a
reason
Figure 3. Step structure under the ‘Justifying the thesis’ move in a low-scored essay
Move 4- Justifying the thesis
[Step 1. Restating the thesis] In order to change the law, it should be done through legitimate
channels. [Step 3. Providing evidence to back up the thesis] Like the article, “Gays, the Military
and My Son”, Roscoe Thorne did not do anything against the law. He declares that people should
not be judged by their race and sexual orientation beside abilities. … Thorne did not take any
illegal action against the law. … [Step 8. Restating the thesis] It is true that whatever change has
to be relied on the existing legislative process. We are all protected by laws and we must work
within the structure of these laws to have any change.
Pedagogical Implications
1. A number of moves observed in student essays demonstrate the complexity of move
structure in text-responsible argumentative essays.
a. The teacher needs to decide what moves and steps he or she would like students to
include in their essays.
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2009 Fall TESOL Conference
Hae Sung Yang
[email protected] San Francisco State University
b. The teacher can discuss obligatory and optional moves with the students by using
sample texts.
2. Moves required by the prompt were widely adopted.
a. The prompt can be a good place to give explicit instruction on what to include.
3. Differences in move and step structure among students seem to be related to understanding
of contexts.
a. The class can discuss the contexts using student essays and ask the following
questions: Who is the intended audience? What is a relationship between the
audience and the writer? What knowledge do they share?
b. The class can discuss: Is the ‘Describing a general theme’ step necessary? How
detailed should the ‘Providing the evidence to back up the reason’ step be?
4. Less proficient writers showed an unpredictable step sequence under the repeated
‘Justifying the thesis’ moves whereas proficient writers followed a parallel step structure
for the same move.
a. Writing instruction needs to focus on how to sequence steps in the argument stage,
especially if the move is repeated.
5. Less proficient writers did not include the ‘Connecting the evidence to the reason’ step.
a. Clearly explain what ‘claim’, ‘evidence’, and ‘connection’ are.
b. Use easy, consistent metalanguage in discussing and giving guidelines on rhetorical
patterns.
6. Rhetorical patterns should be taught with caution.
a. Rhetorical patterns of classroom genres often vary across disciplines and instructors
(Dudley-Evans, 2002).
References
Bhatia, V. K. (1993). Analysing genre: Language use in professional settings. London:
Longman.
Chandrasegaran, A. (2008). NNS students’ arguments in English: Observations in formal and informal
contexts, Journal of Second Language Writing, 17, 237-254.
Connor, U. & Mauranen, A. (1999). Linguistic analysis of grant proposal: European
Union research grants. English for Specific Purposes, 18, 47-62.
Dudley-Evans, T. (2002). The teaching of the academic essay: Is a genre approach possible? In A. M.
Johns (ed.), Genre in the classroom, pp. 225-237. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
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2009 Fall TESOL Conference
Hae Sung Yang
[email protected] San Francisco State University
Hyland, K. (2004). Genre and second language writing. Ann Arbor, MI: University of
Michigan Press.
Hyland, K. (1990). A genre description of the argumentative essay, RELC Journal, 21(1), 6678.
Johns, A. M. (1997). Text, role and context: Developing academic literacies. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Kaplan,
R.
B.
(1966).
Cultural
thought
patterns
in
intercultural
education.
Language
Learning,
16,
1‐20.
Paltridge, B. (2002). Thesis and dissertation writing: An examination of published advice and actual
practice, English for Specific Purposes, 21, 125-143.
Swales, J. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. New York:
Cambridge University Press.
Yang, L. & Allison, D. (2003). Research articles in applied linguistics: Moving from results to
conclusions, English for Specific Purposes, 23, 264-279.
Yakhnontova, T. (2002). “Selling” or “telling”? The issue of cultural variation in research genres. In J.
Flowerdew (Ed.), Academic discourse (pp. 216-232). London: Longman.
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