Rhetorical Moves in Problem Statement Section of Iranian EFL Postgraduate Students' Theses

Oct 15, 2026

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The Problem Statement (PS) section of a thesis, typically placed within the first chapter, is intended to justify a study’s objectives. This descriptive research investigates how Iranian master’s (MA) students construct rhetorical moves in their PS. The study examines 30 PSs authored by MA Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) students and analyzes them using Swales’ (1990) Create-a-research-space (CARS) model. Findings identify common flaws, such as emphasizing study significance without clearly addressing an academic problem grounded in research gaps, and omitting practical problem-solving recommendations. Improved awareness of PS rhetorical structure supports higher-quality academic writing and yields theoretical and pedagogical implications.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Problem Statement role and purpose

Rhetorical structure and writing proficiency

Cultural and linguistic challenges for EFL/ESL students

Advances in Language and Literary Studies ISSN: 2203-4714 Vol. 7 No. 4; August 2016 Australian International Academic Centre, Australia | | | | | --- | --- | --- | | | | | | Flourishing Creativity & Literacy | | | Rhetorical Moves in Problem Statement Section of Iranian EFL Postgraduate Students' Theses Vahid Nimehchisalem (Corresponding author) English Language Department, Faculty of Modern Languages & Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia [Email: vahid@upm.edu.my](Email: vahid@upm.edu.my) Zahra Tarvirdizadeh English Language Department, Faculty of Modern Languages & Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia Sara Sayed Paidary English Language Department, Faculty of Modern Languages & Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia Nur Izyan Syamimi Binti Mat Hussin English Language Department, Faculty of Modern Languages & Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia Doi:10 .7575/aiac.alls.v.7n.4p.173 URL: [http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.7n.4p.173](http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.7n.4p.173) Received: 16/04/2016 Accepted: 19/06/2016 Abstract The Problem Statement (PS) section of a thesis, usually a subsection of the first chapter, is supposed to justify the objectives of the study. Postgraduate students are often ignorant of the rhetorical moves that they are expected to make in their PS. This descriptive study aimed to explore the rhetorical moves of the PS in Iranian master ’s (MA) degree theses. The study focused on 30 PSs written by MA Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) students. The samples were analyzed based on Swales’ (1990) Create-a-research-space (CARS) model. The findings revealed the students’ flaws in writing the PS where they typically presented the significance of their study. The results of the analysis of their written samples also showed that some of the students failed to address a problem as an academic issue based on the existing gap in the previous studies and failed to recommend ways to solve the problem. Students’awareness of the rhetorical structure of the PS may help them create higher-quality works in academic settings. This study has theoretical and pedagogical implications, a discussion of which concludes the paper. Keywords: Genre, Rhetorical structure, Problem Statement, Swales CARS model, MA theses, EFL learners 1. Introduction Thesis writing is a challenging task for English as a Second Language (ESL) or English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners (Zhu, 2001) . Although a number of studies have been conducted throughout the world on EFL/ESL students whose mother tongues differ in their rhetorical structures from that of English, still “L2 postgraduate thesis remains something of a neglected genre” (Hyland, 2004, p. 134) . Among various parts of proposals and theses, the Problem Statement (PS) section, despite its fundamental role in a study, has attracted less attention from scholars and educators (Jalilifar, Firuzmand & Roshani, 2011; Ibrahim & Nambiar, 2011) . Previous studies (e.g. Jalilifar et al., 2011; Hernon & Schwartz, 2007; Metoyer-ruraa & Hemon, 1994; Stansbury, 2002) show that PS is the most important section in a thesis and proposal. Samraj (2008) pointed that MA and Ph.D students should be aware of this. The PS section is a part of a research report that contains the topic of the study, the research problem within this topic, a justification for the problem based on past research and practice, deficiencies or shortcomings of past research or practical knowledge, and the importance of addressing it for diverse audiences (Creswell, 2012, p. 12) . Metoyer-Duran and Hernon (1994) have defined the PS as “the crystallization of the issue, the essence of what I am doing”(p. 107) . Ina PS, an academic issue is introduced as a problem or claim which is then established and supported by evidence from the previous literature. In other words, the writer is required to introduce an a

FAQs

What is the purpose of the Problem Statement (PS) section in a thesis?

The PS section is expected to justify the objectives of the study by introducing an academic issue, supporting it with evidence from previous literature, and clarifying what the writer aims to prove.

Which framework is used to analyze students’ PS rhetorical moves?

The analysis uses Swales’ (1990) Create-a-research-space (CARS) model to examine how the PS is constructed.

What kinds of flaws were found in the students’ Problem Statements?

The study found that students often focused on the significance of their study, but some failed to treat the issue as an academic problem linked to gaps in prior research and failed to recommend ways to solve the problem.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Terk