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Use of Authorial Stance Markers in Different Rhetorical Moves of Dissertation Abstract by International Students in China: A Corpus-Based Comparative Study

Received: 3 March 2023    Accepted: 28 March 2023    Published: 11 April 2023
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Abstract

The abstract is a critical component of an academic genre as it enables readers with an overview of the contents. Based on two self-constructed corpora, this study examined the use of rhetorical move structure and stance markers in dissertation abstracts by international students in China and native Chinese speakers through a comparative analysis. The results show that the majority of dissertation abstracts by international students in China contain three essential moves (M1, M2, M3), while the majority of native Chinese speakers' abstracts included four essential moves (M1, M2, M3, M4). International students in China spend more space on "Background" Move while native Chinese speakers focus more on "Results" Move. Overall, the distribution of stance markers between the two corpora is quite similar, with hedges, self-mentions, boosters, and attitude markers appearing in descending order. However, the preference in the usage of stance markers varies from move to move in this study based on the different functions of each move. The findings of this study suggest that the importance of rhetorical move structures and stance markers in academic writing proficiency for international students in China, and it is necessary to provide appropriate teaching and guidance to help CSL students improve their academic writing proficiency.

Published in International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 11, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijll.20231102.13
Page(s) 49-57
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Dissertation Abstract, Move Structure, Stance Markers, Comparative Analysis

References
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  • APA Style

    Siying Hu. (2023). Use of Authorial Stance Markers in Different Rhetorical Moves of Dissertation Abstract by International Students in China: A Corpus-Based Comparative Study. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 11(2), 49-57. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20231102.13

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    ACS Style

    Siying Hu. Use of Authorial Stance Markers in Different Rhetorical Moves of Dissertation Abstract by International Students in China: A Corpus-Based Comparative Study. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2023, 11(2), 49-57. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20231102.13

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    AMA Style

    Siying Hu. Use of Authorial Stance Markers in Different Rhetorical Moves of Dissertation Abstract by International Students in China: A Corpus-Based Comparative Study. Int J Lang Linguist. 2023;11(2):49-57. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20231102.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijll.20231102.13,
      author = {Siying Hu},
      title = {Use of Authorial Stance Markers in Different Rhetorical Moves of Dissertation Abstract by International Students in China: A Corpus-Based Comparative Study},
      journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
      volume = {11},
      number = {2},
      pages = {49-57},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20231102.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20231102.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20231102.13},
      abstract = {The abstract is a critical component of an academic genre as it enables readers with an overview of the contents. Based on two self-constructed corpora, this study examined the use of rhetorical move structure and stance markers in dissertation abstracts by international students in China and native Chinese speakers through a comparative analysis. The results show that the majority of dissertation abstracts by international students in China contain three essential moves (M1, M2, M3), while the majority of native Chinese speakers' abstracts included four essential moves (M1, M2, M3, M4). International students in China spend more space on "Background" Move while native Chinese speakers focus more on "Results" Move. Overall, the distribution of stance markers between the two corpora is quite similar, with hedges, self-mentions, boosters, and attitude markers appearing in descending order. However, the preference in the usage of stance markers varies from move to move in this study based on the different functions of each move. The findings of this study suggest that the importance of rhetorical move structures and stance markers in academic writing proficiency for international students in China, and it is necessary to provide appropriate teaching and guidance to help CSL students improve their academic writing proficiency.},
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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    AU  - Siying Hu
    Y1  - 2023/04/11
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    AB  - The abstract is a critical component of an academic genre as it enables readers with an overview of the contents. Based on two self-constructed corpora, this study examined the use of rhetorical move structure and stance markers in dissertation abstracts by international students in China and native Chinese speakers through a comparative analysis. The results show that the majority of dissertation abstracts by international students in China contain three essential moves (M1, M2, M3), while the majority of native Chinese speakers' abstracts included four essential moves (M1, M2, M3, M4). International students in China spend more space on "Background" Move while native Chinese speakers focus more on "Results" Move. Overall, the distribution of stance markers between the two corpora is quite similar, with hedges, self-mentions, boosters, and attitude markers appearing in descending order. However, the preference in the usage of stance markers varies from move to move in this study based on the different functions of each move. The findings of this study suggest that the importance of rhetorical move structures and stance markers in academic writing proficiency for international students in China, and it is necessary to provide appropriate teaching and guidance to help CSL students improve their academic writing proficiency.
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Author Information
  • School of Foreign Languages, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, China

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