Rhetorical strategies in PhD conclusions of computer science: From the review of the study to consolidation of research space

[ES] Este artículo analiza los patrones de movimientos que predominan en los capítulos finales de conclusión de 48 tesis doctorales de informática en una universidad británica. Se centra en la naturaleza y frecuencia de las conexiones entre pasos del Movimiento 1 sobre la revisión del trabajo de investigación y los pasos del Movimiento 2, de consolidación del espacio investigador. Las combinaciones más comunes relacionan (1) el resumen del trabajo de la tesis con el producto y su evaluación, (2) el propósito y la hipótesis inicial con los resultados, (3) las preguntas de investigación con la metodología, el producto y la reivindicación, (4) un problema o necesidad con una metodología específica, un nuevo producto y/o una reivindicación, y (5) un resumen del trabajo realizado en cada capítulo con los resultados y reivindicaciones. Algunos de los resultados obtenidos son específicos del área de la informática. Del estudio se desprenden implicaciones pedagógicas para cursos de inglés para fines específicos (IFA).[EN] This study investigates the predominant moves and move patterns used in the separate final conclusion chapters of 48 PhD theses of computer science at a UK university. The focus is on the most salient connections of steps in the review of the study (Move 1) with steps for the consolidation of research space (Move 2). The most common combinations relate (1) a summary of the thesis work to the product and the evaluation of the product, (2) the purpose, thesis statement or hypothesis to the findings or results, (3) the research questions to the methodology, product or claim, (4) a problem or need to a specific methodology, a new product and/or a claim, and (5) a summary of the work done in each thesis chapter to the findings and claims. Some findings are specific of the field of computer science. The study has pedagogical implications for courses of English for Academic Purposes (EAP).Soler Monreal, C. (2019). Rhetorical strategies in PhD conclusions of computer science: From the review of the study to consolidation of research space. Revista Española de Lingüística Aplicada/Spanish Journal of Applied Linguistics. 32(1):356-384. https://doi.org/10.1075/resla.16034.solS356384321Badley, G. (2009). Academic writing as shaping and re-shaping. Teaching in Higher Education, 14(2), 209-219. doi:10.1080/13562510902757294Basturkmen, H. (2009). Commenting on results in published research articles and masters dissertations in Language Teaching. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 8(4), 241-251. doi:10.1016/j.jeap.2009.07.001Basturkmen, H. (2012). A genre-based investigation of discussion sections of research articles in Dentistry and disciplinary variation. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 11(2), 134-144. doi:10.1016/j.jeap.2011.10.004Bitchener, J., & Basturkmen, H. (2006). Perceptions of the difficulties of postgraduate L2 thesis students writing the discussion section. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 5(1), 4-18. doi:10.1016/j.jeap.2005.10.002Bunton, D. (2005). The structure of PhD conclusion chapters. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 4(3), 207-224. doi:10.1016/j.jeap.2005.03.004Cotos, E. (2014). Genre-Based Automated Writing Evaluation for L2 Research Writing. doi:10.1057/9781137333377Cumming, A., Lai, C., & Cho, H. (2016). Students’ writing from sources for academic purposes: A synthesis of recent research. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 23, 47-58. doi:10.1016/j.jeap.2016.06.002Geng, Y., & Wharton, S. (2016). Evaluative language in discussion sections of doctoral theses: Similarities and differences between L1 Chinese and L1 English writers. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 22, 80-91. doi:10.1016/j.jeap.2016.01.001Holmes, 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. doi:10.1016/s0889-4906(96)00038-5Holmes, R. (2001). Variation and Text Structure. ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 131-132, 107-137. doi:10.1075/itl.131-132.06holJohns, A. M., & Swales, J. M. (2002). Literacy and disciplinary practices: opening and closing perspectives. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 1(1), 13-28. doi:10.1016/s1475-1585(02)00003-6Kuteeva, M., & Negretti, R. (2016). Graduate students’ genre knowledge and perceived disciplinary practices: Creating a research space across disciplines. English for Specific Purposes, 41, 36-49. doi:10.1016/j.esp.2015.08.004Kwan, B. S. C. (2006). The schematic structure of literature reviews in doctoral theses of applied linguistics. English for Specific Purposes, 25(1), 30-55. doi:10.1016/j.esp.2005.06.001Lim, J. M.-H. (2014). Formulating research questions in experimental doctoral dissertations on Applied Linguistics. English for Specific Purposes, 35, 66-88. doi:10.1016/j.esp.2014.02.003Lim, J. M.-H., Loi, C.-K., Hashim, A., & Liu, M. S.-M. (2015). Purpose statements in experimental doctoral dissertations submitted to U.S. universities: An inquiry into doctoral students’ communicative resources in language education. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 20, 69-89. doi:10.1016/j.jeap.2015.06.002Paltridge, B. (2002). Thesis and dissertation writing: an examination of published advice and actual practice. English for Specific Purposes, 21(2), 125-143. doi:10.1016/s0889-4906(00)00025-9Paltridge, B., Starfield, S., Ravelli, L. J., & Tuckwell, K. (2012). Change and stability: Examining the macrostructures of doctoral theses in the visual and performing arts. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 11(4), 332-344. doi:10.1016/j.jeap.2012.08.003Parkinson, J. (2011). The Discussion section as argument: The language used to prove knowledge claims. English for Specific Purposes, 30(3), 164-175. doi:10.1016/j.esp.2011.03.001Peacock, M. (2002). Communicative moves in the discussion section of research articles. System, 30(4), 479-497. doi:10.1016/s0346-251x(02)00050-7Posteguillo, S. (1999). The Schematic Structure of Computer Science Research Articles. English for Specific Purposes, 18(2), 139-160. doi:10.1016/s0889-4906(98)00001-5Samraj, B. (2008). A discourse analysis of master’s theses across disciplines with a focus on introductions. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 7(1), 55-67. doi:10.1016/j.jeap.2008.02.005Soler-Monreal, C. (2015). Announcing one’s work in PhD theses in computer science: A comparison of Move 3 in literature reviews written in English L1, English L2 and Spanish L1. English for Specific Purposes, 40, 27-41. doi:10.1016/j.esp.2015.07.004Soler-Monreal, C., Carbonell-Olivares, M., & Gil-Salom, L. (2011). A contrastive study of the rhetorical organisation of English and Spanish PhD thesis introductions. English for Specific Purposes, 30(1), 4-17. doi:10.1016/j.esp.2010.04.005Swales, J. M. (2004). Research Genres. doi:10.1017/cbo9781139524827Swales, J., & Feak, C. (2000). English in Today’s Research World. doi:10.3998/mpub.9059Ruiying, Y., & Allison, D. (2003). Research articles in applied linguistics: moving from results to conclusions. English for Specific Purposes, 22(4), 365-385. doi:10.1016/s0889-4906(02)00026-1Yayli, D. (2011). From genre awareness to cross-genre awareness: A study in an EFL context. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 10(3), 121-129. doi:10.1016/j.jeap.2011.02.00

Evaluation of controlled vocabularies by inter-indexer consistency

Introduction. Several controlled vocabularies are used for indexing three journal articles to check if with a list of descriptors are achieved better or equals of consistency rates that with a standard thesaurus and augmented thesaurus. Method. A set of terminology of Library and Information Science was used to build a list of descriptors with equivalence relations (USE and UF), a standard thesaurus and a augmented thesaurus (all the descriptors have scope notes). Subsequently, three articles were indexed by selected indexers who had varying degrees of experience – on the one hand Library and Information Science students and on the other, professionals from various documentation centres. Hooper’s measure to find the consistency between pairs of novice indexers and experts has been applied. Analysis. Data were tabulated and analysed systematically according pairs of novice indexers and experts has been applied. Results. The tool with the best results is the list of descriptors (39.5% consistency), followed by the augmented thesaurus (29.8%) and, with an almost identical value, the standard thesaurus (27.5%). Conclusion. It is concluded that the list of descriptors in both groups returns better indexing consistency but we need more research

A move-step analysis of the concluding chapters in computer science phd theses

[EN] This paper describes how computer science doctoral writers construct the closing chapters of their PhD theses. The data are drawn from the chapters playing a concluding role of 48 PhD theses defended at the University of Glasgow from 2008 to 2014. The analysis applied a qualitative-quantitative approach. The titles of the concluding chapters of the theses were first examined and also their divisions into sections and sub-sections. Then the chapters were subjected to a move-step analysis: Move 1 (M1) “Revisiting the study”; Move 2 (M2) “Consolidating research space”; Move 3 (M3) “Proposing practical applications and implications”, Move 4 (M4) “Recommending future work” and Move 5 (M5) “Recapitulating the study”. The results revealed that most of the computer science PhD theses have one final concluding chapter with three main moves: M1, M2 and M4. The most frequent steps are “reviewing the work carried out” and “summarizing the specific work reported in every thesis chapter” in M1, “presenting results and contributions”, “answering the initial research questions or hypotheses”, and “making claims” in M2, and “acknowledging limitations” and “suggesting further research” in M4. Movestep patterns appear in recurrent cycles throughout the concluding chapters. Several suggestions for pedagogical purposes are provided.[ES] Este artículo describe cómo los autores de tesis doctorales en el área de la informática elaboran los capítulos de conclusión. Los datos proceden de los capítulos finales de 48 tesis doctorales defendidas en la Universidad de Glasgow entre 2008 y 2014. Para el análisis se siguió un enfoque cualitativo y cuantitativo. En una primera etapa, se examinaron los títulos de los capítulos de conclusión de las tesis así como sus divisiones en secciones y subsecciones. Posteriormente, se analizaron los capítulos atendiendo a unidades informativas organizadas en movimientos y pasos: Movimiento 1 (M1) “Revisión del estudio”; Movimiento 2 (M2) “Consolidación del espacio de investigación”; Movimiento 3 (M3) “Propuesta de aplicaciones prácticas e implicaciones”, Movimiento 4 (M4) “Recomendaciones para futuras investigaciones” y Movimiento 5 (M5) “Recapitulación del estudio”. Los resultados indican que la mayoría de las tesis de este corpus de informática tiene un único capítulo final de conclusiones con tres movimientos principales: M1, M2 y M4. Los pasos más frecuentes consisten en “revisar el trabajo llevado a cabo” y “resumir el trabajo específico desarrollado en cada capítulo de la tesis” en M1, “enunciar los resultados y las contribuciones en respuesta a las hipótesis y preguntas iniciales” y “reivindicar su aportación” en M2, y “reconocer limitaciones de la investigación” y “sugerir investigaciones futuras” en M4. La práctica habitual consiste en utilizar patrones de movimientos y pasos en ciclos recurrentes a lo largo de la conclusión. Se aportan sugerencias con fines pedagógicos.Soler Monreal, C. (2016). A move-step analysis of the concluding chapters in computer science phd theses. Ibérica. (32):105-132. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/80709S1051323

El Club Católico de Montevideo: confesionalidad, sociabilidad y polémica (1875-1893). Una biografía colectiva

This article examines the organization of the Catholic cultural elite of Montevideo during the last quarter of the 19th Century, in the context of secularization and of the progressive articulation of academics and intellectuals, who were taking distance from the Catholic Church. The Catholic Club was born as a cultural center and as a space of intellectual sociability, which progressively showed its confessional profile. There are two interesting aspects in addition to the academic activity, the controversy as a constant item and the unquestioned Catholic profile: the emphasis on Christianity as the foundations of «civilization» and the connection of its activities with the definition of the national sentiment.Este artículo estudia los intentos de organización de la élite cultural católica montevideana en el último cuarto del siglo XIX, en el contexto de los avances secularizadores y de la progresiva articulación de los universitarios y letrados que tomaban distancia de la Iglesia. El Club Católico nació como centro cultural y espacio de sociabilidad intelectual, que concretó progresivamente su perfil confesional. A la actividad académica, la polémica como constante y el indiscutido perfil católico, se suman dos aspectos de interés: el énfasis en asociar el cristianismo a los fundamentos de la «civilización» y la vinculación de su accionar con la definición del sentimiento nacional

An exploratory study of discourse conventions in the European Parliament: Thanking in Spanish, French and Dutch

[EN] In this paper, we analyze a small-scale corpus with Spanish, French and Dutch interventions in the plenary debates in the European Parliament, in order to verify whether there exist cultural differences in the use and the expression of the particular politeness strategy of thanking somebody. We find that thanking is more frequent in Spanish and French than in Dutch. In addition, it plays a more prominent role, e.g. because the acknowledgements are longer and receive more emphasis. Previous studies found that Dutch speakers tend to use many routine acknowledgements in contexts where there may be a threat to the negative face of one of the speech participants. Our study shows that French and Spanish speakers use more acknowledgements than Dutch when public positive face is at stake. The data also show the relevance of the concept of valuating politeness, as opposed to mitigating politeness, in order to describe the Spanish data.[ES] En este trabajo analizamos un corpus piloto de intervenciones españolas, francesas y neerlandófonas en los debates plenarios del Parlamento Europeo, con el fin de averiguar si existen diferencias interculturales en cuanto al uso y la expresión de una estrategia de cortesía particular, que son los agradecimientos. Comprobamos que los agradecimientos figuran con mayor frecuencia en los discursos de los españoles y los franceses que en los discursos de los neerlandófonos. Además, cobran más relieve, por ejemplo porque son más extensos y se enfatizan más. Estudios anteriores han observado que los neerlandófonos tienden a usar muchos agradecimientos rutinarios en contextos donde podría existir una amenaza para la imagen negativa de uno de los interlocutores. Nuestro estudio muestra que los franceses y los españoles usan más agradecimientos que los neerlandófonos cuando está en juego la imagen positiva. Los datos apuntan además hacia la relevancia del concepto de la cortesía valorizante, por oposición a la cortesía mitigadora, para describir los datos españoles.Goethals, P.; Blancke, B. (2013). Un estudio exploratorio de las convenciones discursivas en el parlamento europeo: los agradecimientos en español, francés y neerlandés. Revista de Lingüística y Lenguas Aplicadas. 8(1):93-102. doi:10.4995/rlyla.2013.1251.SWORD9310281Bravo, D. (2008a). "(Im)politeness in Spanish-speaking socio-cultural contexts: introduction", Pragmatics 18/4, 563-576.Bravo, D. (2008b). "The implications of studying politeness in Spanish-speaking contexts: A discussion", Pragmatics 18/4, 577-603.Brown, P. y Levinson, S. (1987). Politeness: Some Universals in Language Use. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Calzada Pérez, M. (1997). Transitivity in translating: the interdependence of texture and context. A contrastive study of original and translated speeches in English and Spanish from the European Parliament. Edinburgh: Heriot-Watt University.Chilton, P. (1990). "Discourse, politics and diplomacy", Discourse & Society 1/2, 201-224. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0957926590001002005Connor, U. (2004). "Intercultural rhetoric research: beyond texts", Journal of English for Academic Purposes 3, 291-304. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2004.07.003De Landtsheer, C. (1998). "The political rhetoric of a unified Europe", en O. Feldman (ed.) Politically speaking: a worldwide examination of language used in the public sphere. Westsport: Praeger Publishers, 129-145.Goffman, E. (1974). Frame Analysis. An Essay on the Organization of Experience. New York: Harper.Haverkate, H. (1993). "Acerca de los actos de habla expresivos y comisivos en español", en H. Haverkate, K. Hengeveld, G. Mulder y S. Berniell (eds.) Aproximaciones pragmalingüísticas al español. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 149-180.Haverkate, H. (1994). La cortesía verbal. Madrid: Gredos.Hernández-Flores, N. (2008). "Politeness and other types of facework: Communicative and social meaning in a television panel discussion", Pragmatics 18/4, 681-706.Hickey, L. (2005). "Politeness in Spain: Thanks but no 'Thanks'", en L. Hickey y M. Stewart (eds.) Politeness in Europe. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, 317-330.Hickey, L. y Stewart, M. (eds., 2005). Politeness in Europe. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.Kaplan, R. (1966). "Cultural thought patterns in intercultural education", Language Learning 16/1, 1-20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-1770.1966.tb00804.xKerbrat-Orecchioni, C. (2004). "¿Es universal la cortesía?", en D. Bravo y A. Briz (eds.) Pragmática sociocultural: estudios sobre el discurso de cortesía en español. Madrid: Ariel, 39-54.Kerbrat-Orecchioni, C. (2005). "Politeness in France: How to buy bread politely", en L. Hickey y M. Stewart (eds.) Politeness in Europe. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, 29-44.Laborda, X. (2002). "Ironía, sarcasmo y cortesía en el agradecimiento político", Oralia 5, 315-323.Moreno, A. I. (2004). "Retrospective labelling in premise-conclusion metatext: an English-Spanish contrastive study of research articles on business and economics", Journal of English for Academic Purposes 3, 321-339. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2004.07.005Moreno, A. I. (2008). "A study of critical attitude across English and Spanish academic book reviews", Journal of English for Academic Purposes 7/1, 15-26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2008.02.009Soler-Monreal, C., Carbonell-Olivares, M., y Gil-Salom, L. (2011). "A contrastive study of the rhetorical organisation of English and Spanish PhD thesis introductions", English for Specific Purposes 11/1, 4-17

Combinaciones Léxicas en el Inglés de la Tecnología.

A part of corpus-based research has centered on the exploration of lexical phrases (Sinclair 1991; Gledhill 2000a, 2000b; Stubbs 2002) and has presented language as a series of choices determined by the context in which it is employed. Native speakers use recurrent lexico-grammatical patterns when communicating in particular registers. This is especially relevant in scientific academic discourse, where the conventions of genres are interwoven with their linguistic realisations. Following Sinclair (1991: 170), a collocation is defined as “the occurrence of two or more words within a spot of space of each other in a text”. The restrictive character of collocations is basically determined by their repetitive use, which makes word combinations more arbitrary than predictable. This is particularly evident when we try to translate these combinations into other languages. Benson et al. (1986) suggest that collocations are halfway between fixed expressions and free combinations of words. They are co-occurrent groups of words that present a certain degree of stability, although they are not completely lexicalised. Collocations can be situated along a scale or continuum limited by free combinations of words at one end and fixed expressions at the other. The study of collocational patterns has direct pedagogical applications. Learners are not usually taught collocations explicitly. However, we believe that the acquisition of phraseological competence is necessary for effective and precise communication. In the area of English language teaching, the works of Howarth (1993, 1996), Oakey (2002) and Tribble (1990, 2002) point out the importance of collocations in academic writing. Other studies propose the teaching of grammar prioritising the behaviour of individual lexical units (or pattern grammar), i.e. taking account of the lexical patterns of a given register (cf. Hunston 1995, 2002). The aim of this paper is to explore the collocational patterns of three semitechnical and specialised words used in a corpus of 54 engineering research articles in the fields of computing, robotics and nanotechnology: robot, performance and lattice. The analysis shows that, although these words can be found in general English, their collocates contribute to restrict and precise their meaning in a specialised corpus. Making learners aware of these patterns should arouse their consciousness of the use of language in specialized contexts and help them to improve their academic writing as regards accuracy and fluency

Use of film sequences to illustrate news by the information services of a regional television station

A quantitative and thematic study of the use of film sequences in television news editing has been performed. Only cases where films illustrate news pieces about non-cinema related topics were taken into consideration. The basic legal aspects about the use of these sequences are mentioned. The study results can help in the decision-making process about tasks related to the analysis of trailers and electronic press kits. In recent years, there has been a steady increase in the use of film clips in the news, especially on issues of “Society” (40% of total). The results show that 20% of the use is as a metonymic function (when one element is replaced for another with which it has a close relationship, causal, spatial or temporal, and the pictures do not show the narrative element but something that is part of it, such as replacing an author for his work) and 80% environmental or illustrative (supporting the information offered). When extracts do not exceed 20 seconds, may be used without legal permission, what is known as a fair use chrestomathy

Demanda de información de actualidad en un servicio de referencia periodística. Análisis descriptivo de 4.160 solicitudes

4.160 demands for information were posed to the news information service of a regional TV station in 1999. The average daily number of demands was 16,7, with a wide span along the different production periods of the year. No correlation was found between volume of production and number of requests. Most of demands fell in categories like Politics, Social Affairs, Law and Crime, Cinema, the Media, Music, Sports and Geography. Generic questions account for more than a half of demands, while specific data were demanded in 26,32 per cent of the questions. Celebrities focused one third of demands and 11,25 per cent referred to facts. Newsroom journalist were by large the most frequent users, followed by story writters for fictional, public service or entertainment productions. Level of specialized demands and user groups can justify the implementation of SDI facilities.El servicio de documentación escrita de Radiotelevisión Valenciana recibió 4.160 solicitudes de información planteadas por 562 usuarios en 1999. El promedio de peticiones por día (16,7) resultó muy variable a lo largo de los diversos periodos de producción del año (máximo de 33,7 en febrero y mínimo de 10 en agosto). Aunque el tema que más peticiones suscitó sólo acumulaba el 14,2% de las peticiones, 8 de los 42 grupos temáticos centran el 53,75% de las peticiones. Más de la mitad de las peticiones (52,54%) se referían a información genérica, pero en una proporción considerable (26,32%) se recaban datos fácticos sobre diversos asuntos y en casi el 10% de las peticiones se solicitan imágenes, usualmente fotografías. La información centrada en personajes casi acaparaba la tercera parte de las peticiones (30,66). Sobre acontecimientos concretos se han formulado el 11,25% de las peticiones, aunque más de la mitad del total se han centrado en asuntos genéricos. Los servicios informativos fueron los grandes peticionarios de información: han formulado más del 63% de las consultas, mientras no llega al 20% el número de solicitudes de los programas. Una proporción aún menor representan las formuladas por departamentos técnicos, administrativos o de servicio. La distribución temática de las solicitudes confirma el carácter universal de las informaciones tratadas. No se ha observado relación entre la orientación de la producción y los temas solicitados al servicio. Tampoco entre el volumen de producción y el de demandas. En relación con los usuarios, se observa una típica curva de concentración dispersión

Del trabajo cooperativo al trabajo colaborativo: el rol del líder

[EN] The main objective of the activity presented in this paper is to practise the competence called effective communication. The learning results were analysed considering written and oral skills. This experimental approach made us consider the way in which students collaborate in teamworks and this is why in this paper we focus on the competences of teamwork and leadership. The activity that we describe has been carried out during the academic year 2015-16 in two faculties at Universitat Politècnica de València: Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Informática and Facultad de Administración y Dirección de Empresas, with the subjects: “Inglés intermedio-alto para la informática”, an optional subject that lasts 90 hours and is scheduled in the fourth year of the degree, and “Inglés para finanzas”, taught at Máster en Dirección Financiera y Fiscal. The activity presented has focused on preparing an oral presentation in English about a specific topic using the tools PoliformaT and Google Docs.[ES] El objetivo principal con el que esta actividad fue diseñada fue trabajar la competencia transversal que se denomina comunicación efectiva. Los resultados de aprendizaje se analizaron tanto a nivel escrito como oral. Esta experiencia nos ha llevado a reflexionar sobre la manera en que los alumnos trabajan en equipo, por lo que en este artículo nos centraremos en las competencias de trabajo en equipo y liderazgo. La actividad que presentamos se ha desarrollado durante el curso 2015-16 en dos centros de la Universitat Politècnica de València: la Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Informática y la Facultad de Administración y Dirección de Empresas, en las asignaturas “Inglés intermedio-alto para la informática”, una asignatura optativa de grado con una duración de 90 horas para alumnos de 4º curso, e “Inglés para finanzas”, impartida en el Máster en Dirección Financiera y Fiscal. La actividad ha consistido en preparar una presentación/exposición formal en inglés sobre un tema de especialidad utilizando Tareas y Chat de PoliformaT y Google Docs.Carrió Pastor, ML.; Skorczynska Sznajder, HT.; Soler Monreal, C. (2016). Del trabajo cooperativo al trabajo colaborativo: el rol del líder. En In-Red 2016. II Congreso nacional de innovación educativa y docencia en red. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/INRED2016.2016.4297OC

Writer's positioning in literature reviews in English and Spanish computing doctoral theses

Making appropriate reference to other texts is an essential feature of successful academic writing (Hyland, 2000; Myers, 1990). Writers are expected to integrate others' ideas into their arguments to indicate what is already known about the area of study of the discipline, or to point out weaknesses, aligning themselves with a particular disciplinary framework (Thompson & Tribble, 2001). Literature reviews (LRs) of PhD theses provide support for the writer's position and show the novelty of her/his work. This study analysed the resources of evaluation at both rhetorical and linguistic levels used by the writers of 20 PhD LRs in computing in English and Spanish. The data reveal that the Spanish and the English PhD LRs have a similar rhetorical structure. However, the English writers use more strategies for the development of each move than the Spanish writers. Attitude markers are the most usual devices doctoral writers use to express opinion in both sets. Epistemic modality and a variety of discourse-based markers are typically found in the English LRs while the Spanish LRs seem to rely mainly on adversatives and certainty markers. Differences respond partly to individual writing styles, but also reflect rhetorical variation in the relationship with the audience. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reservedGil Salom, ML.; Soler Monreal, C. (2014). Writer's positioning in literature reviews in English and Spanish computing doctoral theses. Journal of English for Academic Purposes. 16:23-39. doi:10.1016/j.jeap.2014.08.002S23391