Gabriella Jenei: Referential Cohesion in Academic Writing • A descriptive and exploratory theory- and corpus-based study of the text-organizing role of reference in written academic discourse
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9. STAGE 5: THE NEW ANALYTICAL TOOL: REFERENTIAL COHESION IN RESEARCH ARTICLES AND MA THESES
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9.6. Results: Patterns of Referential Cohesion
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9.6.6. General observations relating to the structure and layout of the papers
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9.6.6.4. Stating the obvious

9.6.6.4. Stating the obvious

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

The MA thesis is a pedagogical genre, and as such, it has its typical characteristics that reflect the explicit teaching of its structure. One such feature that strikes the reader is stating the purpose of a particular section in general, instead of applying the guidelines for the paper. There are 1-2 such examples in every single thesis in the MA thesis corpus, the sentences below come from a high rated one:

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

9. The Results and Discussion part presents the findings of the data analysis and also evaluates the results in a summary of findings.
10. The Conclusion part gives answers to the research questions and draws the final conclusions.
(HTH6)
 

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

Reference-wise, there is a distinction between general (extended) and cohesive reference. The problem is that it is highly likely that the intention of the author of HTH6 is to provide guidance to the reader as to where certain areas of discussion are located in the particular thesis. However, sentences 9 and 10 above can also be interpreted as general statements concerning the expected structure of a thesis paper. This feature is thesis-specific; articles did not have such statements about the structure of the paper. The RA sentences (from RA3 and RA16 below) come from their abstracts, the sentences correspond to those used in HTH6 above, but the RA examples show how specific expert writers are when they put the above guidelines into practice to present findings, summarize and interpret them, and specify what the conclusion will involve. Note that RAs use fewer definite pronouns and if they do, their reference is specified by a subsequent prepositional phrase or (relative) clause.
 

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

Results:
s. 9–s.10
Conclusion: s. 11
9. After accounting for initial midterm test score differences, results showed that students who used the VLH for 100 minutes or more scored, on average, 15% higher in their second midterm.
10. The student perceptions of the VLH were also highly favourable.
11. Directions for future research in resource development and implications for educators are also discussed.
(RA3)
Results:
s. 7
Conclusion: s. 8
7. An analysis of the data shows that students tend to use SASC resources more autonomously as a result of having a web-based database.
8. The survey results suggest that SASC managers can encourage more autonomous use of center materials by providing a website and database to help students find appropriate materials to use to learn English.
(RA16)
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