| Syntactic complexity,an important construct in second language acquisition and second language writing,has long been employed to describe the sophistication and variation of sentence structures.Prior syntactic complexity study mainly concerns its language forms while few research has shed light on function dimension of syntactic complexity,i.e.,the use of complex linguistic forms to perform communicative purpose.Besides,most relevant study focuses more on research article context while study regarding learner corpus has drawn insufficient attention.To fill in the abovementioned limitations,this study investigated the syntactic complexity across rhetorical move-steps in MA thesis Introductions in Applied Linguistics,especially how rhetorical move-steps perform in terms of global,clausal and phrasal complexity and their differences.Specifically,this study aims to answer the following three research questions: 1)What are the general features of rhetorical move-steps in Applied Linguistics MA thesis Introductions? 2)How does syntactic complexity realize rhetorical move-steps in terms of global,clausal and phrasal complexity in Applied Linguistics MA thesis Introductions? What are the significantly different syntactic complexity characteristics across rhetorical move-steps in Applied Linguistics MA thesis Introductions? 3)What are the differences in regard to syntactic complexity characteristics between focal and less focal rhetorical move-steps in Applied Linguistics MA thesis Introductions?This study,by utilizing stratified and random sampling,selected 60 MA thesis in Applied Linguistics from CNKI MA thesis database ranging from 2019 to 2021,so as to compile a small size self-built corpus of MA thesis Introduction.By adopting the mixed method of qualitative and quantitative research methods,this study investigated the syntactic complexity of realizing rhetorical move-steps in MA thesis Introductions.Initially,this study employed Prof.Sun’s revised CARS model to conduct a move-stpe analysis on MA thesis Introduction.Then,based on L2 SCA developed by Prof.Lu,this study conducted an in-depth analysis on rhetorical move-steps of MA thesis Introductions using 7 syntactic complexity measures in terms of global,clausal as well as phrasal complexity.Results indicated that: Firstly,with regard to generic structure evaluated through genre analysis,MA students generally are aware of the three-move schema in thesis Introduction composing,which is establishing a territory,establish a niche and occupy it.However,MA students are still under crucial position to achieve the rhetorical function of Move 2 “establish a niche”.When compared with expert Introduction writings(Lu et al.,2020),there were still nuances with regard to the specific step choices.Secondly,quantitative analysis via SPSS showed that sentences relaying the rhetorical functions tend to employ varied syntactically complex structures.Sentences realizing 14 rhetorical move-steps differed significantly in most syntactic complexity measures except in coordinate clause captured by T/S.Lastly,obligatory rhetorical move-steps exhibited a comparatively advanced level of syntactic complexity while optional rhetorical move-steps displayed varied proficiency level ranging from intermedium to advanced level.The significance of the present study lies in it theoretical and practical sense.Theoretically,present study enriches the function dimension of syntactic complexity research and justify the Prof.Sun’s revised CARS model of MA thesis Introductions to the nationwide scenario.In its practical vein,this study brings some insights to students,teachers using genre-based language teaching,and textbook compilation.For students,they can be fully aware of the syntactic knowledge implicit in the rhetorical move-steps and increase their awareness of rhetorical and syntactic structures.For teachers,they can recognize students’ syntactic preference from rhetorical move-steps perspective and use explicit teaching methods to improve students’ ability of writing Introduction writing.This study can also provide examples for the development of genre-based textbooks so that beginning students can critically learn or imitate the composition of rhetorical move-steps.Certain limitations,however,still exist in the present study,such as comparatively small corpus size and solely use of large-grained syntactic complexity measures.Future research may shed light on larger corpus size and fine-grained measures to enrich the function dimension of syntactic complexity research. |
