Phraseological patterns supporting effective academic writing rhetoric: The case of pedagogy research paper introductions

The present paper presents pilot investigation of the role of phraseological patterns in conceptualizing rhetorical moves and their steps in pedagogy research paper introductions. It addresses a gap regarding utilizing these patterns and their rhetorical function within the knowledge transfer in pedagogy. The study aims to identify recurring phraseological patterns, delineate their functions in expressing rhetorical moves, and demonstrate how they contribute to the overall coherence and effectiveness of the text. The main research question explores how phraseological patterns contribute to the presentation of rhetorical moves and steps in pedagogy research paper introductions. Employing a corpus-based approach, the paper analyzes ten research papers from the Journal of Pedagogical Research published in 2023. The methodology involves identifying phraseological patterns, analyzing their rhetorical functions, examining their discourse functions, and characterizing their structural nature. The present study identifies phraseological patterns as recurring in pedagogy research papers while acknowledging their non-exclusivity to the field. Research findings reveal four key moves: establishing a thematic territory, surveying previous research, creating a research niche, and occupying the research niche. Each move utilizes specific phraseological patterns to achieve distinct rhetorical purposes. The study highlights the distribution of contiguous and non-contiguous patterns and their multifunctional nature in conveying complex research-related ideas and issues. It uncovers how these patterns interact with rhetorical moves to create cohesive and persuasive introductions. This pilot investigation lays the groundwork for future research on phraseological patterns in scholarly papers, offering insights into the intricate relationship between language patterns and rhetorical structure in academic writing.