This study is a genre analysis carried out on postgraduates＇ theses and dissertations in Iran as an Asian academic setting. The researchers seek to uncover： （1） the generic structure of MA theses, （2） the generi...This study is a genre analysis carried out on postgraduates＇ theses and dissertations in Iran as an Asian academic setting. The researchers seek to uncover： （1） the generic structure of MA theses, （2） the generic structure of Ph.D. dissertations, （3） any probable differences between these two groups. ＂statement of the problem＂ section of 48 MA and Ph.D. dissertations from 2001 to 2008 in Teaching English as a Foreign Language （TEFL） at Mazandaran, Tehran and Allame Tabatabaee universities was selected. For the quantitative method of data analysis, frequency counts, and for the qualitative method, genre analysis was used. Samples were categorized both according to the year they were written and the university they belonged to. The study enjoyed a second rater with inter-rater reliability about 0.93. Results revealed that there was a significant difference in writing ＂statement of the problem＂ in different time periods and different universities in the sense that students in different degrees, time periods, and universities employed quite different generic structures for writing. However, postgraduates in recent years （especially 2005-2008）; regardless of their degree and university, seem to use much more similar generic structures which indicates a general genre awareness.展开更多
文摘This study is a genre analysis carried out on postgraduates＇ theses and dissertations in Iran as an Asian academic setting. The researchers seek to uncover： （1） the generic structure of MA theses, （2） the generic structure of Ph.D. dissertations, （3） any probable differences between these two groups. ＂statement of the problem＂ section of 48 MA and Ph.D. dissertations from 2001 to 2008 in Teaching English as a Foreign Language （TEFL） at Mazandaran, Tehran and Allame Tabatabaee universities was selected. For the quantitative method of data analysis, frequency counts, and for the qualitative method, genre analysis was used. Samples were categorized both according to the year they were written and the university they belonged to. The study enjoyed a second rater with inter-rater reliability about 0.93. Results revealed that there was a significant difference in writing ＂statement of the problem＂ in different time periods and different universities in the sense that students in different degrees, time periods, and universities employed quite different generic structures for writing. However, postgraduates in recent years （especially 2005-2008）; regardless of their degree and university, seem to use much more similar generic structures which indicates a general genre awareness.
