A comparison of rhetorical move structure of research article abstracts of Thai Scopus journals and top-ranked Scopus journals in applied linguistics and English language teaching

The primary objective of this study is to investigate rhetorical move structure evident in the abstracts of research articles published in both Thai Scopus journals and top-ranked Scopus journals focusing on Applied Linguistics and English Language Teaching. A total of ninety abstracts were scrutinized, evenly divided into two distinct corpora: 45 abstracts sourced from Thai Scopus journals and another 45 abstracts obtained from the top-ranked Scopus journals in the respective fields. The analysis was based on Hyland's (2000) five-move model. The analysis revealed insights into the prevalent move patterns within these distinct corpora. Within the Thai Scopus journals, a substantial 40.00% of the selected abstracts followed the I-P-M-Pr-C pattern. Conversely, in the top-ranked Scopus journals, the most prevalent pattern encompassed P-M-Pr-C, accounting for 33.00% of the research article abstracts. Based on the classification system proposed by Kanoksilapatham (2005), the analysis of research article abstracts in Thai Scopus journals reveals varied occurrence percentages for rhetorical moves: Introduction is optional while the Conclusion, Purpose, Method are conventional, and Product is obligatory. In top-ranked Scopus journals, similar trends are observed: Product is obligatory, while Purpose, Method, and Conclusion are conventional. This study's findings hold significant implications as they offer a comprehensive and practical understanding of the structural patterns observed in research article abstracts from both corpora. Such insights can be instrumental in educational settings, providing guidance for instructing students on the effective construction of research article abstracts.