Expert writers’ recommendations in economics research articles : implications for the teaching of English for academic purposes
The presentation of economics research results often constitutes the climax of data-driven research articles in the discipline, but how writers make recommendations based on their results remains a fertile area for an in-depth investigation. To date, no research has been conducted to ascertain the...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2021
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18034/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18034/1/47402-167683-1-PB.pdf |
| Summary: | The presentation of economics research results often constitutes the climax of data-driven research articles in the
discipline, but how writers make recommendations based on their results remains a fertile area for an in-depth
investigation. To date, no research has been conducted to ascertain the extent to which economics researchers
incorporate such recommendations, and how they use language resources to perform the communicative functions
involved. Our genre-based study employed the Swalesian move-step analytical framework to examine the
occurrence of this pivotal rhetorical category, which makes suggestions based on research findings in economics.
This largely qualitative analysis was triangulated via interviews with specialist informants in the field. Our results
have shown that recommendations, being a quasi-obligatory move that comprises two noteworthy optional steps,
are strategically linked with not only research results but also limitations of the research being reported. The
expert writers employ a wide spectrum of language resources, particularly adjectives depicting indeterminacy
and noun phrases denoting industrial and policy implications, to tacitly accentuate the value of their results. In
regard to pedagogical implications, it is suggested that instructors devise exercises requiring novice writers to
construct sentences involving suggestion indicators and verb phrases signalling epistemic modality while guiding
learners to make recommendations for future research. With respect to recommendations for practical
applications, text-completion exercises may be designed to familiarise learners with the use of active clauses
containing nominalisations, which are largely intended to minimise self-mentions and increase objectivity while
proposing actions to be taken in real-life settings. |
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