A Genre-based Comparative Study Of Lexical Bundles In Research Article Introductions Of Mathematics And Linguistics

In academic paper writing,an introduction plays a crucial role in explaining the reasons of writing this paper,summarizing the topic,increasing readers' interest and attention to related issues.Thus,the ability to write a research article introduction is important for success in introducing the article and attracting potential readers.The rhetorical organization and linguistic conventions are two key aspects of writing an introduction,particularly the generic structure and the choice of lexical bundles which are conventionally used to achieve the communicative purposes of each part in an introduction.Many scholars have conducted research on introduction from various perspectives.However,the studies which combine generic structure with lexical bundles are scarce.Based on Swales'(1990,2004)CARS model,which is used to analyze research article introductions,and structural and functional classification of lexical bundles proposed by Cortes(2004)and Hyland(2008),this thesis makes a comparative study of generic structure and the use of lexical bundles between introductions of mathematics and linguistics.A total number of 120 introductions are collected from international journals,with 60 from each discipline.The research is aimed at answering the following questions: 1)what is the generic structure of research article introductions in mathematics and linguistics? 2)What are the types,structures and functions of lexical bundles in introductions of mathematics and linguistics? 3)How lexical bundles are used by scholars in mathematics and linguistics to achieve the communicative purposes of moves?The main findings of the research are summarized as follows.The generic structure of introductions in the two disciplines is basically consistent with CARS model(1990,2004).However,two new steps,including Move 1 Step 1(providing background knowledge)and Move 2 Step 1B(retrieving a problem),are detected.In addition,Move 2 Step 1B(retrieving a problem)and Move 3 Step 3(definitional clarification)only occur in the introduction of mathematics.As for the types of lexical bundles,there are 196 types of lexical bundles identified in the introduction of mathematics and 118 in that of linguistics,most of which are three-word lexical bundles in both corpora.It is found that with the length of lexical bundles increasing,the frequency of the bundles decreases.In terms of the structure of lexical bundles,the “noun phrase+ of-phrase fragment” structure is most commonly used in both disciplines.Moreover,the proportion of phrasal fragment is larger than that of clausal fragment.However,the percentage of “prepositional phrase+ embedded of-phrase” is higher in linguistics than that in mathematics.Moreover,scholars in mathematics prefer to use “passive V” and “active V” to present results while those in linguistics are more inclined to use “active V” structure.With respect to the function of lexical bundles,research-oriented bundles enjoy more popularity in mathematics,whereas text-oriented and participant-oriented bundles are more frequently used in linguistics.As for the subcategories,“description” and “resultative” bundles are frequently used in both corpora.There are more “procedure”,“quantification” and “structuring” bundles in mathematics than those in linguistics,whereas the number of “transition” and “framing” bundles in linguistics is larger than that in mathematics.Concerning the use of lexical bundles in moves of introduction,it is proved that there is a close relationship between certain lexical bundles and the move in which they occur.Some unique lexical bundles perform the function of triggering this move,such as aim of the,the method of and the structure of.Moreover,there are also some lexical bundles used repeatedly in more than one move,for example,the number of and in terms of,but they are less triggering.The study makes a genre-based comparative study of lexical bundles in introductions of mathematics and linguistics.The generic structure helps students have a general knowledge of the macro-structure of introductions in their own discipline and variations across disciplines.Frequently used lexical bundles can provide teachers with useful information for material development in preparing lessons and help students know more about the linguistic features of introduction published in international journals.In addition,the use of lexical bundles in each move of introduction can raise learns' awareness on how the communicative purpose of each move is achieved by using unique lexical bundles so that both moves and lexical bundles can be used to construct texts effectively in future writing.