Demystifying a Rare Spoken Genre: Rhetorical Move Structure of Oral Presentations of Thesis Defenses in Applied Linguistics
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
In recent decades, academic oral presentations have emerged as a significant spoken genre. The oral presentation of a graduate thesis defense (OPTD) has a pivotal role in the rites of passage for graduate students in graduate education. However, this academic spoken genre remains relatively overlooked in current EAP genre research since the majority of genre analyses have historically focused on written academic discourse. This study attempts to redress this gap by examining the rhetorical move structure of 18 OPTDs in applied linguistics. To this end, it has adapted Chen and Kuo's (2012) framework and employs a combined top-down and bottom-up approach. The results show that OPTDs consist of 20 moves which can be divided into seven phases: Initiation, Introduction, Literature Review, Method and Procedure, Results and Discussion, Conclusion and Termination. The rhetorical move structure of OPTDs closely follows the structure of thesis writing while also revealing some unique features particular to oral presentations. The moves and steps identified in the present study enhance an understanding of OPTD genre knowledge, offering comprehensive templates and references for graduate students within the time constraints of an oral presentation.
Article Details
References
Amnuai, W. (2012). A comparative study of English applied linguistics research articles between Thai and internationally published journals: Moves and formulaic sequences [Doctoral dissertation, Suranaree University of Technology]. https://sutir.sut.ac.th/jspui/handle/123456789/4094
Bastola, M.N., & Ho, V. (2023). Rhetorical structure of literature review chapters in Nepalese PhD dissertations: Students’ engagement with previous scholarship. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 65, 101271. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2023.101271
Burhan-Horasanlı, E. (2024). Conference presentation preparation sessions as a site for academic discourse socialization in an engineering research team. English for Specific Purposes, 76, 41–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2024.06.002
Bhatia, V. K. (1993). Analyzing genre: Language use in professional settings. Longman.
Biber, D., Connor, U. and Upton, T. (2007). Discourse on the move: using corpus analysis to describe discourse structure. John Benjamins.
Chang, Y. J., & Huang, H. T. (2015). Exploring TED talks as a pedagogical resource for oral presentations: A corpus-based move analysis. English Teaching and Learning, 39(4), 29–62. https://doi.org/10.6330/ETL.2015.39.4.02
Chen, T.-Y., & Kuo, C.-H. (2012). A genre-based analysis of the information structure of master’s theses in applied linguistics. The Asian ESP Journal, 8(1), 24–52. https://www.asian-esp-journal.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Volume-8-1.pdf
Deng, L., & Wannaruk, A. (2021). A contrastive study of rhetorical move structure of English medium instruction lectures given by native English and Chinese lecturers. LEARN Journal: Language Education and Acquisition Research Network, 14(2), 451–477. https://so04.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/LEARN/article/view/253276
Dubois, B. L. (1980). Genre and structure of biomedical speeches. Forum Linguisticum, 5, 140-168.
Flowerdew, J. (2002). Genre in the classroom: A linguistic approach. In A. M. Johns (Ed.), Genre in the classroom: Multiple perspectives (pp. 91-102). Routledge
Flowerdew, L. (2004). The argument for using English specialized corpora to understand academic and professional language. In U. Conner & T. A. Upton (Eds.), Discourse in the professions: Perspectives from corpus linguistics (pp. 11-33). John Benjamins.
Greene, J. C., & Caracelli, V. J. (1997). Defining and describing the paradigm issue in mixed-method evaluation. New directions for evaluation, 74, 5-17. https://doi.org/10.1002/ev.1068
He, M., & Pramoolsook, I. (2022). Master’ s Thesis Defense Presentation Slides in Applied Linguistics: Move Analysis of the Introduction by Chinese Students. PASAA Journal, 64(1), 138–162. https://doi.org/10.58837/chula.pasaa.64.1.7
Hu, G., & Liu, Y. (2018). Three-minute thesis presentations as an academic genre: A cross-disciplinary study of genre moves. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 35(9), 16-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2018.06.004
Hyon, S. (1996). Genre in three traditions: Implications for ESL. TESOL Quarterly, 30(4), 693-722. https://doi.org/10.2307/3587930
Kimouche, A. (2022). Challenges in academic oral presentations: The case of EFL master students at Bejaia University. Année, 19(1), 375-389. https://www.asjp.cerist.dz/en/article/187124
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. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2005.06.001
Lee, J. J. (2016). “There’s intentionality behind it …”: A genre analysis of EAP classroom lessons. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 23(9), 99–112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2015.12.007
Lindenberg, D. (2023). Modes and intersemiotic cohesion in student presentations performed online: An SF-informed multimodal discourse analysis. English for Specific Purposes, 69(1), 67–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2022.10.002
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. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2019.05.001
Mežek, Š., & Swales, J. M. (2016). PhD defences and vivas. In K. Hyland & P. Shaw (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of English for academic purposes (pp. 361-375). Routledge.
Moreno, A. I., & Swales, J. M. (2018). Strengthening move analysis methodology towards bridging the function-form gap. English for Specific Purposes, 50, 40-63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2017.11.006
Pieketaleyee, A., & Bazargani, D. T. (2018). Exploring the Moves and Steps in TEFL M.A. Theses Introduction and Review of Literature PowerPoint Presentations: A Genre Analysis Approach. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 8(9), 1186–1194. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0809.12
Rau, G., & Shih, Y. S. (2021). Evaluation of Cohen’s kappa and other measures of inter-rater agreement for genre analysis and other nominal data. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 53(January), 101026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2021.101026
Rowley-Jolivet, E., & Carter-Thomas, S. (2005). The rhetoric of conference presentation introductions: Context, argument and interaction. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 15(1), 45-70. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1473-4192.2005.00080.x
Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge University Press.
Swales, J. M. (2004). Research genres: Explorations and applications. Cambridge University Press.
Tian, S., & Mahmud, M. (2018). A study of academic oral presentation anxiety and strategy employment of EFL graduate students. Indonesian Journal of EFL and Linguistics, 3(2), 149-170. https://doi.org/10.21462/ijefl.v3i2.78
Xu, X. (2022). A genre-based analysis of questions and comments in Q&A sessions after conference paper presentations in computer science. English for Specific Purposes, 66, 63–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2021.12.002
Yang, R., & Allison, D. (2003). Research articles in applied linguistics: Moving from results to conclusions. English for Specific Purposes, 22(4), 365-385. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0889-4906(02)00026-1
You, Y. ling, & Li, M. C. (2021). Move Analysis of the Literature Review Chapters in Taiwanese Graduate Students’ TESOL Theses and Dissertations. English Teaching and Learning, 45(2), 119–143. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42321-020-00069-9
Zareva, A. (2013). Self-mention and the projection of multiple identity roles in TESOL graduate student presentations: The influence of the written academic genres. English for Specific Purposes, 32(2), 72–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2012.11.001
