A comparative corpus-based investigation of results sections of research articles in Applied Linguistics and Physics

Abstract

Abstract The present study sought to identify the generic structures of the results sections of scientific research articles (RAs) between Applied Linguistics and Physics. Following a manual search approach, a total of 200 RAs in the field of Applied Linguistics and Physics from different top prestigious journals randomly were singled out and analyzed. In addition to offering a tentative template for the rhetorical organizations of results sections, the findings revealed shared and non-shared rhetorical units as well as obligatory and optional steps in the results sections (RSs) of research articles between the disciplines. The findings also indicated that RA writers organize the contents of the RSs around certain rhetorical resources (i.e., M1, M2, M3, M4, and M5) to present key experimental and factual analytical results of their studies. The findings further suggested the existence of common core of rhetorical resources in writing RSs between the disciplines, albeit there are a set of certain steps playing an essential part in distinguishing textual features of each discipline as well as depicting how RSs of individual discipline are developed. The findings generated from the study can offer a number of important pedagogical implications for teaching EAP and ESP courses, especially for Applied Linguistics and Physics teachers and students.