Mont Fleur Swales CARS Model

SWALES’ CARS MODEL IN WRITING AN INTRODUCTION

Betty E. Puzon

Using the CARS model by John Swales

Based on presentation by Betty E. Puzon, PhD

De La Salle University – [email protected]@yahoo.com

04/20/23Free template from

www.brainybetty.com2

mailto:[email protected]

John Malcolm Swales

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►Professor Emeritus of Linguistics ( University of Michigan)

►Written/co-written 16 books, 120 research articles, 57 invited plenaries,

John Malcolm Swales

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►Linguist

►Best known - genre analysis

►Influenced theories of genre analysis and academic discourse

EXAMPLES OF GENRE

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► Research article, conference proposal, business report, grant application, letter to the editor, reference letter, thesis, dissertation, proposal, lecture, seminar, abstracts, grant proposals, laboratory reports, textbooks, letters, editorials,

► Genre sets: abstract and introduction in the research paper

► Genres and subgenres: Review > book review, film review, CD review Promotional writing > sales letter, tourist

brochure

WHY CARS?

It is an acronym ofC – reate

A –a

R – esearch

S - pace

● It is a model pioneered by John M. Swales in 1981 who investigated introduction sections of research articles (RAs).

RESEARCH PAPER – Genre

Introduction of the RP - Subgenre-

Swales named this as Create a Research Space (CARS) and identified the typical moves in the organization.

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INTRODUCTION as a SUBGENRE

Introduction Section as a Problem

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Publishing academic papers

a key factor in sharing knowledge from research with peers,

promoting researchers in their scientific communities

creating a proper environment for discussion.

Introduction:

• Production of academic paper- the necessity of getting started is INTRODUCTION

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Introductions

opening paragraph

pose a challenge for writers

WHY? writers project themselves for the first time

they prepare the ground for the research to come by referring to previous research

emphasize possible existing gaps in the literature.

Many L2 writers perceived writing introductions as the most difficult section to write. (Flowerdew, 1999; Shaw, 1991; Swales, 1990 as cited in Jogthong, 2001)

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Two main reasons (Swales)

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1. the need to attract an audience

2. the need to compete for acceptance and recognition.

CARS is the answer –in the rhetorical organization of Introduction - (Moves and Steps)

Some Common Pitfalls of an Introduction Section (Swales, 1990)

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Unnecessary background or being repetitive.

Exaggerating (or understating) the importance

Lackluster openers and weak follow-through in the body

Common Pitfalls continued…

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context that will be important to the reader is not grounded.

Not focusing on a clear and compelling research question or hypothesis.

Elements of Introduction

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1. Context

2. Focus

3. Justification

Purpose of Introduction

● Is to create a research space for the writer (CARS) (Swales, 2004; Swales & Feak, 2004)

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Create a Research Space (CARS)

provides a structure based on RAs introduction

based on the consideration of academic writing as hierarchically organized text and as such RA introductions contains three obligatory moves…

THREE MOVES

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Move 1 To establish a research territory

Move 2 To identify a niche or gapin the territory

Move 3 To signal how the topic in question occupies that niche

Each move has a number of steps

THREE OBLIGATORY MOVES OF CARS MODEL

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Move 1

Establishing a Research Territory (citations required)

Topic generalization of increasing specificity

In Move 1

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Typically begins research space by indicating that the general area is in some way significant.

Statements indicate current state of knowledge in the field.

Statements attest that the topic is a prevailing practice or phenomenon.

In Move 1

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Introduces the topic and discusses its importance

Describes the current situation, features and characteristics of that area of study

A more neutral general statement is made about knowledge or practice, or statements about phenomena

EXAMPLE:

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1. Education core courses are often criticized for…

2. A standard procedure for assessing has been… (Swales, 1990:146

SAMPLE TEXT 1 (RA, 2011)

Research on children’s literacy development has underscored the significance of the role of parentalinvolvement in the language development of pre-school children. (M1)

This is M1as a general statement is made about the parental role in the language development of pre-school children

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Interaction between child and parent during reading is important. Such interaction could be in a form of dialogic reading, where an adult or parent and child talk about the book being read (Whitehurst,1992). (M1)

This is accounted for M1 as it gives a generalization about how important interaction is.

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SAMPLE PHRASES USED IN MOVE 1

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The concept of MTV... is well known

There is now much evidence to support the hypothesis that ...

It is generally accepted that...

A standard procedure for assessing... has been...


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It is commonly suggested that..

Comparisons of spatially separated populations tend to consist of...

...is a common finding in patients with...

An elaborate system of...is found in the...

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Establishing a Niche (citation possible)

STEP 1 A – (Obligatory) indicating a gap (or)

STEP 1 B – Adding to what is known (or)

STEP 2 – Presenting positive justification

Move 2

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Writers find “niche” by showing that previous research is not complete or there are still aspects of research field that require further examination

The most common way is to present a negative evaluation of some features of research territory described in Move 1.

In Move 2

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Integrating justifications - helps the writer indicate precisely the values or the necessity of doing the present research by exemplifying its motivations or research methods.

STEP 2 – (Presenting positive justification)

In Move 2

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Move 2– the key move -“hinge” that connect M1 to M3 (Swales & Feak, 1994, p. 185

- “mini-critique” and often consists of not more than a sentence

In Move 2

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By indicating a knowledge gap, the writer builds up a “demand” for the current contribution.

Essentially the gap - represents unresolved question current contribution seeks to solve”

In Move 2

Linguistic Indicators of GapsGaps(Swales(Swales & Feak 1994 & 2004)

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(A) Contrastive statements: however; while; but; although; nevertheless; as opposed to; rather than; with a few exceptions.

(B) Quantifiers and quasi-negatives: limited; few; little.

(C) Negatives: none of; not been; no [work/research/data/study].


The role of reading in the development of other literacy skills cannot be underestimated.. However, it is alarming to note that more and more Filipino children could hardly read. (M2S1A)

M2 S1 is realized in this statement indicating the gap about Filipino children who are poor readers.

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Evidence on this question is presently inconclusive.

However, the previously mentioned methods suffer from some limitations ....

The first group .... cannot treat ..... and is limited to ...

Despite the importance of..., few researchers have studied...


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A considerable amount of research has been... but little research has...

X...has been extensively studied. However, less attention has been paid to... As a result, no comprehensive theory appears to exist.

Despite the importance of..., few researchers have studied...

OCCUPYING THE NICHE

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Step 1 (Obligatory)- Announcing present research descriptively and/or purposively

Step 2 (Optional) – Presenting research question or hypotheses

Move 3

MOVE 3 OCCUPYING THE

NICHE

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Step 3 (optional) – Definitional Clarifications

Step 4 (optional) – Summarizing methods

Step 5 (PISF) - Announcing principal outcomes

Step 6 (PISF) - Stating the value of the present research

Step 7 (PISF) - Outlining the structure of the paper.

IN MOVE 3

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● writer states how s/he intends to fill the gap by announcing present research (obligatory)

● describes what s/he considers to be the main features of the research.

● provides opportunities to expand upon the news value or interestingness of their work

SAMPLE TEXT 1 (RA, 2011)In response to this concern, the Languages and Literature Department of DLSU-D is embarking….. will help parents in becoming better facilitators of learning at home ..Results of the study ….. organizers in making decisions about the content of the training. The said project …. move for the department to involve the community in the development of early literacy skills…(M3 S6) community.

This is M3 S6 as it states the value of the present research.

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• This study aims to answer the following questions:

• 1. What is the profile of the respondents…?

• 2. What are the respondents….

• 2.1 the kind of materials they read……..;

●Finally, the text realized its M3 S1 on the following sentences

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•2.2 strategies used when reading to their children?

•3. Is there a relationship between the respondents’ educational attainment …. (M3 S1)

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The two research questions were...

This paper reports on the results obtained from...

This paper presents data on the results obtained from...

This study is concerned with...

The present study tested... and measured...


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In the present research, the researchers shall examine...

In this paper, we will investigate...

In this study, the... was investigated by means of...

To evaluate the hypotheses that..., I shall examined...

To better understand...,I investigated...

The focus will be on...

SWALES’ CARS MODEL (2004)

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MOVE 1 ESTABLISHING A TERRITORY

●Topic generalization of increasing specificity

MOVE 2 ESTABLISHING A NICHE

Step 1 A –indicating a gap

Step 1 B- Adding to what is know

Step 2 - Presenting positive justification

SWALES’ CARS MODEL (2004)

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MOVE 3 OCCUPYING THE NICHEOb- Step 1 - Announcing the present research descriptively and /or purposivelyOp- Step 2—Presenting research questions or hypothesesOp - Step 3—Definitional clarificationsOp- Step 4—Summarizing methodsPISF- Step 5—Announcing principal outcomesPISF- Step 6—Stating the value of the present researchPISF -Step7—Outlining the structure of the paperOb*Obligatory Op* Optional PISF*Probable in some field

Concluding Statement

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Introductions as a subgenre of research are known to be problematic for most academic writers since getting started on a piece of academic writing is often regarded as more difficult than writing the continuation.

Concluding Statement

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According to Harwood (2005 as cited in Isik Tas, 2008) the introduction part constitutes a vital part of packaging, designed to alert potential users, to persuade them that this is a valuable product, one that they cannot do without.

Swales’ Create a Research Space Model (CARS) provides a structure that would serve as a guide in writing an introduction.

REFERENCESIsik Tas, E. ( 2008). A corpus-based analysis of genre-specific discourse of research: The research article and the PhD thesis in ELT. Unpublished PhD Thesis. Middle East Technical University, Ankara. Retrieved from www.elsevier.com.

Jogthong, C. (2001). Research article introduction in Thai: Genre analysis of academic writing. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV.. In PROQUEST Information and Learning Company, USA.

• Swales, J. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research Settings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

• Swales, J., & Feak, C. B. (2004). Academic writing for graduate students. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.

http://www.elsevier.com/

SAMPLE INTRODUCTION Showing the Moves

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► Multiple studies suggest that writers prefer audio-taped feedback on their writing to traditional handwritten comments (Dragga, 1991; Neuwirth et al.,1994; Pearce & Ackley, 1995;van Horn Christopher, 1995).

MOVE 1

SAMPLE 1 INTRODUCTION

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► However, these studies have primarily observed technical and business writers. Moreover, these studies have not compared students,’ perceptions of audio-taped comments with “live” forms of teacher feedback such as student-teacher conferences.

MOVE 2

SAMPLE INTRODUCTION

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► To assess the possible effects of different forms of teacher feedback in a general composition setting, this study asks students enrolled in a variety of English writing course to rank their preferences of different forms of feedback.

MOVE 3

SAMPLE 2: CAN YOU IDENTIFY THE THREE MOVES IN THIS INTRODUCTION

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In a qualitative study involving 123 students writing arguments based on letters to the editor, Wolfe (in press) argues that giving students annotated readings can influence their perceptions of the social context of a reading-to-write task. Students receiving readings accompanied by evaluative annotations wrote argumentative essays that were less reliant on summary and more engaged with the source materials than students receiving the same reading without annotations. A follow-up study (Wolfe, 2001) lends support to these findings and further suggests that annotations reflecting the viewpoints of two readers with differing perceptions of the source materials are more influential than other types of annotations in affecting students’ argumentative activities.

However, the source texts used in these earlier studies of reading-to-write activities were short, easily digested letters to the editor. How students might respond to annotations accompanying lengthier and more academic materials is unclear. Will these annotations help students view an argumentative social context for their writing as the annotations in the earlier studies seemed to? Or will annotations on academic materials possible interfere with students’ comprehension and retention of the materials, as Reder (1985) suggests that elaborations sometimes do?

The current study attempts to address these questions by examining how students’ written responses to an academic essay might be influenced by the presence of accompanying annotations that evaluate the source materials.

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Mont Fleur Swales CARS Model