Generic Moves In Selected M.Phil Research Proposals From A Public University In Ghana

ABSTRACT In the last few decades, genre scholars have shown considerable interest in using Swales’ modified version of the Create-A-Research-Space (CARS) model in analyzing academic genres such as the Research Article (RA) which is regarded as the lifeblood that sustains the academic community. Mono-disciplines and multi-sections of the RA such as the abstract, introduction, method, literature review have been duly studied. Despite the contribution of the Research Proposal (RP) to knowledge production, it has attracted relatively little attention in the existing literature. To bridge this gap, forty MPhil research proposals written by graduate students of a public university in two unrelated disciplines: English Language Studies (ELS) and Agricultural Science (AG) are randomly selected and analyzed based on the modified version of the CARS model and Halliday’s (1985) concept of linguistic choices available to users of a language. The study analyzed both the generic structures of the overall sections of research proposal and linguistic resources in terms of structural types of sentences found in the selected research proposals. Four key findings were made. First, the ELS researchers use six Moves while the AG researchers use five. Secondly, the ordering of the Moves in both sets of data does not follow a linear pattern, also the ELS researchers use more textual space than the AG researchers. Lastly, the analysis reveals other notable divergences and convergences between the two disciplines. The complex and simple sentences are most frequently used by researchers in both disciplines. Sentences selected by both groups of researchers range from one to three dependent clauses based on a number of reasons. The study found that the selected dependent clauses are of different types used in realizing each Move. The study has theoretical and pedagogical implications for future research on genre analysis.