Abstract:
Academic writing has tended to focus on research articles far more than on post-graduate theses (Bunton, 2005; Swales, 1990). Of the studies based on theses,relatively little research has focused on the generic structure of Suggestions forfurther research. To supplement the sparse knowledge in this area, the currentstudy investigated the schematic structure (i.e., moves and steps) of Suggestions forfurther research and explored the metadiscoursal features commonly used in thissection of theses. The corpus included 80 PhD dissertations and 80 MA theses fromIranian universities in applied linguistics. The moves and the corresponding stepswere identified and, for a detailed analysis, Hyland’s (2005) classification ofmetadiscourse was used. Findings revealed four moves in this part genre, named,a Email address: ar.jalilifar@gmail.comCorresponding address: Department of English Language & Literature, Faculty ofLetters & Humanities, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Gloestan Boulvard,Daneshgah Square, Ahvaz, Iranb Email address: shahvali8421@yahoo.com80 Writing Suggestions for Further Research in Iranian Applied Linguistics…Justification of the present study, Suggestions for repetition of the current study,Implications of the study, and The researcher’s hopes. The MA and PhD thesesshowed differences in the use of them. The results can broaden the understandingof the nature and function of this part genre and the way the metadiscoursalfeatures are realized; accordingly, the study can have important implications forstudents’ thesis writing
Machine summary:
"Table 2 The Rhetorical Structure of the Suggestions for Further Research Section Moves Steps 1) Reviewing the objectives of the study 1 Reviewing the study 2) Presenting the review of literature 3) Reviewing the methodology 1) Emphasizing the newness of the present study 2 Significance of the 2) Justification of the present study Study 3) Justification for further research 1) Presenting the limitations of the previous studies 3 Limitations of the 2) Reference to the gap(s) in the present study Study 3) Non-generalizability of the study 1) Point of departure 2) Recommendations for extending the current 4 Recommendations study 3) Suggestions for repetition of the current study 4) Implications of the study 5) Further research questions 6) The researcher’s hopes Finally, a detailed analysis was conducted to identify and map the metadiscoursal features most frequently employed to specify the steps in this study, and to do this, Hyland’s (2005) classification of metadiscourse was exploited."