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Results identify five core moves—Introduction, Reading Summary, Listening Summary, Evaluation/Comparison, and Conclusion—each with functional sub-moves, with frequent reporting of topic, thesis, and content summaries. Linguistic patterns are interpreted through Halliday’s systemic functional linguistics using AntConc.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/a-corpus-based-analysis-of-rhetorical-moves-insights-from-high-scoring-toefl-integrated-writing/488135/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/a-corpus-based-analysis-of-rhetorical-moves-insights-from-high-scoring-toefl-integrated-writing/488135.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"EvelynWrites","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-12","2026-09-30",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",9,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What dataset and method does the study use to analyze rhetorical moves?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"The study uses a corpus of 100 high-scoring TOEFL integrated writing essays and performs a qualitative, corpus-driven rhetorical move analysis supported by MAXQDA 2019.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"Which major rhetorical moves are identified in the high-scoring essays?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Five principal moves are identified: Introduction, Summary of Reading, Summary of Listening, Evaluation/Comparison, and Conclusion, each including functional sub-moves.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What key frequency and linguistic findings are reported?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"Frequency analysis shows consistent essential moves, including topic presentation (89%), thesis statements (73%), reading summaries (100%), lecturer counter-claims (100%), and concluding contrasts (91%). Linguistic analysis links introductions to formal academic nouns, modals, and stance verbs, while summaries use reporting verbs, domain terms, contrastive language, and varied clause structures.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},488135,1790830904,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,111,115,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":107,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":108,"show_sort_weight":109,"slug":110},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":112,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":113,"slug":114},8,30,"research-report",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":112,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":113},687212989558,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_a8503ba1806abce46bf441b54a3ca4cd","Volume 5, Issue 2, 052509 (254-265)  \nJournal of Applied Linguistics Studies (JALS)  \n[https://doi.org/10.57647/jals.2025.0502.09](https://doi.org/10.57647/jals.2025.0502.09)  \nA Corpus-Based Analysis of Rhetorical Moves: Insights From High-Scoring TOEFL Integrated Writing  \nFariba Jamallivani , Atefeh Nasrollahi Mouziraji* , Hamed Barjesteh  \nDepartment of English language and Literature, Am. C., Islamic Azad University, Amol, Iran  \n*[Corresponding author:](Corresponding author: nasrollahi.atefeh59@gmail.com)[ nasrollahi.atefeh59@gmail.com](Corresponding author: nasrollahi.atefeh59@gmail.com)  \n\n| Original Article\u003Cbr>Received: 2025-10-01\u003Cbr>Revised: 2025-11-02\u003Cbr>Accepted: 2025-12-05\u003Cbr>Published in Issue: 2025-12-30\u003Cbr>©2025 The Author(s) . Published by the OICC Press under the terms of the CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. | Abstract:\u003Cbr>This study explored the rhetorical organization, frequency distribution, and linguistic characteristics of high-scoring Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) integrated reading and listening-to-write argumentative essays responses. Drawing on a corpus of 100 successful essays, a qualitative, corpus-driven rhetorical move analysis was conducted using MAXQDA 2019 and guided by an adapted model from Swales (1990) and Toulmin (1958) . Findings revealed five principal rhetorical moves—Introduction, Summary of Reading, Summary of Listening, Evaluation/Comparison, and Conclusion—each containing functional sub-moves essential for effective integrated writing. Frequency analysis indicated consistency in essential moves, such as presenting the topic (89%), stating the thesis (73%), summarizing the main reading ideas (100%), presenting lecturer counter-claims (100%), and restating key contrastsin the conclusion (91%) . Linguistic analysis through AntConc 3.5.8 was interpreted using an adapted framework of Halliday’s (1994) systemic functional linguistics, showing that introductions predominantly used formal academic nouns, modals, and stance verbs to present topics and thesis statements. Meanwhile, summaries of reading and listening employed reporting verbs, domain-specific terms, and contrastive language alongside a mix of present tense, passive constructions, and conditional clauses to achieve clarity and coherence. Pedagogically, the results highlighted the importance of teaching movebased writing strategies that prioritized clear topic framing, objective summarization, and effective contrast while treating explicit evaluation and interpretive insight as optional enhancements.\u003Cbr>Keywords: Corpus-Based Analysis; Genre Analysis; Linguistic Features; Rhetorical Moves; TOEFL Integrated Writing |\n| --- | --- |\n\nCite this article: Jamallivani, F., Nasrollahi Mouziraji, A., Barjesteh, H. (2025) A Corpus-Based Analysis of Rhetorical Moves: Insights from High-Scoring TOEFL Integrated Writing. Journal of Applied Linguistics Studies, 5(2), 254-265.  \n[https://doi.org/10.57647/jals.2025.0502.09](https://doi.org/10.57647/jals.2025.0502.09)  \nINTRODUCTION  \nWriting serves as a fundamental skill crucial for academic achievement across all languages. This holds particularly true for learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), who not only utilize writing to demonstrate their language proficiency but also rely on it as an essential medium for organizing and articulating intricate ideas with clarity (Kozhakhmet et al., 2022) . The significance of this skill intensifies within academic environments, especially as learners advance through different levels of education (Hosseini et al., 2013) . Nevertheless, EFL students often  \nencounter difficulties in mastering the conventions of academic writing, which tend to be uniquely tailored to the English language (Aldabbus & Almansouri, 2022) . Academic writing conventionally emphasizes attributes such as precision, coherence, and logic","cbCaiom0rpLyhcdJ","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiom0rpLyhcdJ","pdf",304960,12,"English","# Introduction\n# Abstract\n# Keywords\n# Rhetorical Move Analysis","[{\"question\":\"What dataset and method does the study use to analyze rhetorical moves?\",\"answer\":\"The study uses a corpus of 100 high-scoring TOEFL integrated writing essays and performs a qualitative, corpus-driven rhetorical move analysis supported by MAXQDA 2019.\"},{\"question\":\"Which major rhetorical moves are identified in the high-scoring essays?\",\"answer\":\"Five principal moves are identified: Introduction, Summary of Reading, Summary of Listening, Evaluation/Comparison, and Conclusion, each including functional sub-moves.\"},{\"question\":\"What key frequency and linguistic findings are reported?\",\"answer\":\"Frequency analysis shows consistent essential moves, including topic presentation (89%), thesis statements (73%), reading summaries (100%), lecturer counter-claims (100%), and concluding contrasts (91%). Linguistic analysis links introductions to formal academic nouns, modals, and stance verbs, while summaries use reporting verbs, domain terms, contrastive language, and varied clause structures.\"}]","A Corpus-Based Analysis of Rhetorical Moves: Insights From High-Scoring TOEFL Integrated Writing | PDF",1790810508]