Structural Analysis of Rhetorical Moves in Research Article Abstracts: Philippine E-Journals

The abstract is a crucial component of a Research Article (RA). Authors must capture readers’ attention from the very first sentence of their abstracts to encourage them to continue reading both the abstract and the full article. Consequently, it is essential for an abstract to be well-crafted. This study aimed to investigate the rhetorical moves and linguistic features found in a research article abstract (henceforth RAA) published in Philippine E-Journals. A corpus of 20 published RAs from Philippine E-Journals, 10 for qualitative and 10 for quantitative, have been analyzed following J.M. Swales (1990 and 2004) move analysis. The results showed that the RAAs consist of five moves (Moves 1 to 5). Authors showed a clear preference for Moves 2 (Present/Research/Purpose), 3 (Methods/Materials/Subjects/Procedures), and 4 (Results/Findings), which were consistently used across all analyzed abstracts from Philippine E-Journals and considered obligatory. The analysis of linguistic features revealed that authors predominantly used the Simple Past Tense in Moves 2, 3, and 4, while Moves 1 and 5 primarily employed the Simple Present Tense. Additionally, the findings demonstrated a preference for active voice, with many authors expressing their moves more naturally in this form, particularly in Moves 1, 2, 4, and 5. In conclusion, this study highlights the importance of well-structured rhetorical moves and the effective use of linguistic features in research article abstracts published in Philippine E-Journals, demonstrating a clear preference for essential components that engage readers and enhance the clarity of the research presented.