Discourse Structure of Indonesian Research Article Introductions in Selected Hard Sciences

Research articles (RAs) play a significant role in knowledge construction and therefore have attracted a huge amount of attention from applied linguists (e.g. Lopez 1982; Swales 1981, 1990,2004; Nwogu 1990, 1997; Samraj 2002; Yang/Allison 2004). Research article introductions (RAIs) in particular have also been extensively studied as they are considered as one of the most difficult parts of RAs to write (Swales 1990). In his studies of Hong Kong scholars trying to publish in international journals, Flower-dew (l999b) found, among other things, difficulties with the writing of introduction and discussion sections because of the rhetorical demands they place on the author. For example, many scholars found it difficult to structure literature reviews, to give sufficient prominence to the significant contribution of the study, and to present convincing arguments. Flowerdew considered that this type of difficulty is crucial as this could "critically affect what gets published by NNSs on a global scale" (l999b: 259). Indeed, difficulties in writing introduction and discussion sections have also been identified by other scholars who note that it is from these sections that editors judge whether the research reported in the article is sound, significant, and worthy of publication (Atkinson 1990, Swales 1990).