A Small-Scale Genre Analysis Study of the Introductions of a Corpus of Postgraduate Essays in the Field of Applied Linguistics

Abstract

Most English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses focus on developing general academic writing skills. Swales (1990) argues that prominence should be given not only to the general writing skills but also to discipline related specific skills in such study courses. Therefore, it is necessary to identify EAP and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) skills that students need to master. The present study analysed a corpus of 19 essays focusing on their introductions in order to identify both EAP and ESP features involved in writing assignment. Swales’ (1990) CARS model was applied to analyse the features in these introductions. The findings reveal that the introductions in this corpus closely follow CARS model with some of the Steps described in the model receiving prominence in these essay introductions. The findings also reveal that the students in this study module need to master EAP skills as well as ESP skills, relating relevant discipline specific contexts into writing and using discipline specific terminology in order to produce successful writing assignments. Thus, it is suggested to incorporate both EAP and ESP features in pre-sessional and/or in-sessional courses aimed at students who take similar courses of study.