Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Evaluation of Generic Structure of Research Letters Body Section: Create a Research Letter Body Section Model

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Evaluation in Foreign Language Education in the Middle East and North Africa

Part of the book series: Second Language Learning and Teaching ((SLLT))

  • 606 Accesses

Abstract

Research Letters (henceforth RLs) are short scientific papers reporting new and innovative research findings. Previous research has identified that they are shorter in terms of number of papers (Maci, 2008; Rutkowsky & Ehrenfest, 2012). However, studies have not focused sufficiently on the generic structure of this genre, which is the concern of this chapter. This paper aims at investigating the organizational structure of RLs Body sections and suggesting a model for their formation. The researcher resorted to content analysis to statistically evaluate the place of every sentential function and identify the different phases and the obligatory and optional kind of sentences required for this part of RLs. RL body sections were selected and analysed sentence by sentence. Each sentence was allocated a particular structural element or key. The occurrence and frequency of these functions in the Body sections of each RL were counted in order to identify the shared rhetorical patterns among the 37 randomly chosen RLs. The aim is to contribute to the effort of identifying the hidden structure of this new and under researched genre. The main result of this research paper is the identification of Create A Research Letter Body Model (CARL Body Model). It suggests that the Body of any publishable RL is to contain 58 sentences where 49 are obligatory and 9 are optional. Such a finding is important for it helps researchers in scientific disciplines in writing publishable RLs. Additionally, it supports ESP teachers in teaching writing to future researchers.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Adams-Smith, D. E. (1984). Medical discourse: Aspects of author’s comments. The ESP Journal., 3(1), 25–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Akar, D., & Louhiala-Salminen, L. (1999). Towards a new genre: A comparative study of business faxes. In F. Bargiela-Chiappini & C. Nickerson (Eds.), Writing business: Genres, media and discourses (pp. 207–226). Essex, UK: Pearson Education Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bazerman, C. (1988). Shaping written knowledge. Madison: WI, University of Madison Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berkenkotter, C., & Huckin, H. (1995). Genre knowledge in disciplinary communication: Cognition, culture, power. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhatia, V. K. (2004). Worlds of written discourse: A genre-based view. London: Continuum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carley, K. (1990). Coding choices for textual analysis: A comparison of content analysis and map analysis. Unpublished working paper.

    Google Scholar 

  • Connor, U. (2000). Variation in rhetorical moves in grant proposals of US humanists and scientists. Text, 20(1), 1–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Connor, U., & Mauranen, A. (1999). Linguistic analysis of grant proposals: European Union research grants. English for Specific Purposes, 18(1), 47–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dubois, B. L. (1997). The biomedical discussion section in context. Greenwich, Conn: Ablex Pub. Corp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dudley-Evans, T., & St John, M. (1998). Developments in ESP: A multi-disciplinary approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilbert, G. N., & Mulkay, M. (1984). Opening Pandora’s Box: A sociological analysis of scientists’ discourse. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gotti, M. (2007). Identity and cross-cultural communication. In Proceedings of the 72nd Annual Convention of the Association for Business Communication. Washington, DC, October 10–12, 2007.

    Google Scholar 

  • Halliday, M. A. K., & Martin, J. R. (1993). Writing science: Literacy and discursive power. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hasan, R. (1984). The nursery tale as a genre. Nottingham Linguistics Circular, 13(7), 1–102.

    Google Scholar 

  • Helan, R. (2012). Analysis of published medical case reports: Genre-based study. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. Masaryk University, Czech Republic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henry, A., & Roseberry, R. L. (2001). A narrow-angled corpus analysis of moves and strategies of the genre: Letter of application. English for Specific Purposes, 20, 153–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holmes, R. (1997). Genre analysis, and the social sciences: An investigation of the structure of research article discussion sections in three disciplines. English for Specific Purposes, 16(4), 321–337.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hyland, K. (2000). Disciplinary discourses: Social interactions in academic writing. Harlow, England: Longman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knorr-Cetina, K. (1981). The manufacture of knowledge: An essay on the constructivist and contextual nature of science. Oxford: Pergamon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krippendorff, K. (2004). Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Li, L.-J., & Ge, G.-C. (2009). Genre analysis: Structural and linguistic evolution of the English-medium medical research article (1985–2004). English for Specific Purposes, 28(2), 93–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maci, S. (2008). The research letter: An emerging medical genre. In G. Di Martino, V. Polese, & M. Solly (Eds.), Identity and culture in English domain-specific discourse (pp. 367–390). Napoli: Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin, J. R., & Veel, R. (Eds.). (1998). Reading science: Critical and functional perspectives on discourses of science. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martinez, I. A. (2001). Impersonality in the research article as revealed by analysis of the transitivity structure. English for Specific Purposes, 20, 227–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nwogu, K. N. (1997). The medical research paper: Structure and functions. English for Specific Purposes, 16(2), 119–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paltridge, B. (1994). Genre analysis and the identification of textual boundaries. Applied Linguistics, 15(3), 288–299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paltridge, B. (1997). Genres, frames and writing in research settings. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Pettinari, C. (1981). The function of a grammatical alternation in fourteen surgical reports. Applied Linguistics, 4(1), 55–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rutkowsky, J. L., & Dohan Ehrenfest, D. M. (2012). Research letters: A new editorial format for the rapid disclosure of innovative data and concepts, didactic demonstrations, and scientific discussions. Journal of Oral Implantology, 38(2), 101–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salager-Meyer, F. (1985). Specialist medical English lexis: Classificatory framework and rhetorical functions. EMP Newsletter, 2(2), 5–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salager-Meyer, F. (1994). Hedges and textual communicative function in medical English written discourse. English for Specific Purposes, 13(2), 149–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Samraj, B. (2005). An exploration of a genre set: Research article abstracts and introductions in two disciplines. English for Specific Purposes, 24, 141–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skelton, J. R. (1994). Analysis of the structure of original research papers: An aid to writing original papers for publication. British Journal of General Practice, 44(387), 455–459.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swales, J. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Upton, T. (2001). Understanding direct mail letters as a genre. International Journal of Corpus Linguistics, 7(1), 65–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Kairouan, Kairouan, Tunisia

    Mimoun Melliti

Authors
  1. Mimoun Melliti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mimoun Melliti .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. English Language Institute, University of Jeddah , Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

    Sahbi Hidri

  2. Higher Colleges of Technology , Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Christine Coombe

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Melliti, M. (2017). Evaluation of Generic Structure of Research Letters Body Section: Create a Research Letter Body Section Model. In: Hidri, S., Coombe, C. (eds) Evaluation in Foreign Language Education in the Middle East and North Africa. Second Language Learning and Teaching. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43234-2_7

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43234-2_7

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-43233-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-43234-2

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation