Generic structure and citation functions in introductions of biological science articles in English-medium international journals

Abstract

Although studies on the rhetorical structure of research article introductions and citation analysis are independently available in the literature, there are none that focus on the functions of citations in the context of generic moves in these introductions. To address this gap, the present study analyzes the generic structure as well as citation functions in introductions of biological science articles in English-medium international journals. Specifically, the aim is to examine the relationship between generic moves and citation functions in individual moves. The findings on the relationship between moves and citations indicate that there is a preference for certain types of citations in specific parts of article introductions. This study will not only enable biological science graduate students to better understand research article introductions but also facilitate the writing of these in their own field.

Keywords

• article introductions
• genre analysis
• citation analysis