Writing a Research Article

This chapter discusses pertinent research on the structure of research articles from the field of applied linguistics, including the macro-organization of the main sections in articles and patterns in use of rhetorical features, such as metadiscourse and academic criticism. Studies have revealed the importance of particular rhetorical functions, such as the use of alternative explanations in commenting on results in applied linguistics research articles (Basturkmen, Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 241–251, 2009) while also pointing to intra-disciplinary variation in academic norms. In addition, studies have identified a variety of metadiscoursal features used to establish author presence and academic criticism that varies across sections. Following the discussion of features of the applied linguistics research article, the chapter focuses on pedagogical issues related to the instruction of writing the research article, such as rhetorical consciousness raising and the use of annotated corpora. The chapter also presents the novice writer with some questions to consider when constructing a research article in applied linguistics.