Variability in the rhetorical structure of research article introductions: The case of civil engineering

Previous genre studies have mostly examined article introductions either in the Introduction-Method-Results-Discussion (IMRD) context or without specifying whether they are followed by a Literature Review section. This paper presents a detailed structural analysis of 30 article introductions, which are all followed by a Literature Review, in an applied discipline (i.e., civil engineering). The analysis identifies different types of introductions based on their major communicative functions, structural flows, and the nature and orientations of the studies reported. Among them, the two major categories of introductions were systematically studied and compared (i.e., the “Two-move Orientation” type and the “Research-oriented Traditional Creating a Research Space” type). They were found to differ greatly concerning their length, functions and organization. However, generally, when there is a subsequent Literature Review, the introductions are fairly flexibly yet simply structured with no dense use of sub-moves. The findings help to inform genre-based EAP writing instruction and materials writing.