A Genre Investigation of Higher Degree Research Proposals in English Language and English Literature

Abstract

This exploratory study investigates disciplinary variation in higher degree research proposals in English Language and English Literature, informed by Swalesa??s (1990) genre analysis framework. Despite the abundance of literature on academic genres like the research article and the thesis, not much is known about higher degree research proposals, which Swales (1996) identifies as an occluded genre. The purpose of this study was to try and provide a thick description of the higher degree research proposal as an academic genre, using both textual analysis and ethnographic data. Six research proposals, written by successful applicants to higher degree programs in language studies and literary studies at a Singapore-based university, were analyzed in terms of their rhetorical move structure. This analysis was complemented by interviews with the proposal writers and two faculty members, to elicit contextual factors like intended readership, authorial positioning, and institutional expectations affecting the production and reception of this genre.