Bridging the function-form gap: a multidimensional move analysis of English research article introductions in applied linguistics by L1 English and L1 Chinese scholars

Abstract Combining move analysis with multidimensional analysis (MDA), this study investigates salient linguistic co-occurrence patterns (“dimensions”) as well as linguistic variations in the rhetorical moves of English research article introductions (RAIs) in applied linguistics written by L1 English and L1 Chinese scholars. Our MDA of a corpus of move segments of RAIs from thirteen applied linguistics journals identifies five functionally interpretable dimensions: grounded evaluation, criticism with caution, stated purposes, author-involved narration of current study versus existing knowledge, and research- versus non-research-related information density. A comparative analysis reveals systematic variation in the linguistic features of specific moves between the RAIs written by L1 English and L1 Chinese scholars. Our findings have useful implications for research and pedagogy of English for academic purposes.