Use of Authorial Stance Markers in Different Rhetorical Moves of Dissertation Abstract by International Students in China: A Corpus-Based Comparative Study

: The abstract is a critical component of an academic genre as it enables readers with an overview of the contents. Based on two self-constructed corpora, this study examined the use of rhetorical move structure and stance markers in dissertation abstracts by international students in China and native Chinese speakers through a comparative analysis. The results show that the majority of dissertation abstracts by international students in China contain three essential moves (M1, M2, M3), while the majority of native Chinese speakers' abstracts included four essential moves (M1, M2, M3, M4). International students in China spend more space on "Background" Move while native Chinese speakers focus more on "Results" Move. Overall, the distribution of stance markers between the two corpora is quite similar, with hedges, self-mentions, boosters, and attitude markers appearing in descending order. However, the preference in the usage of stance markers varies from move to move in this study based on the different functions of each move. The findings of this study suggest that the importance of rhetorical move structures and stance markers in academic writing proficiency for international students in China, and it is necessary to provide appropriate teaching and guidance to help CSL students improve their academic writing proficiency.