Cover not available
Article published In:
Australian Review of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 46:3 (2023) ► pp.339–372

Identifying a pedagogical genre of literature review

ORCID logo | Institut Agama Islam Negeri (IAIN) Kediri
This article reports initial parts of a classroom-based action research aimed to teach students to write a literature review (LR), which is considered as a critical, yet often overlooked genre, thus posing difficulties to the students. The existing works on LRs appear to treat the ability to write overviews of individual studies, and to combine them in acceptable ways, as assumed knowledge. In fact, for the learners in the context of the study, and in many second- and foreign-language learning contexts, such abilities are not shared among learners. Therefore, in the implementation of an initial short course, a genre analysis of 60 literature reviews from publications and completed theses in applied linguistics was conducted to identify suitable generic patterns used in literature reviews that could be implemented in the context. The result is a pedagogical genre of literature review, a genre description of LRs appropriate for the students’ English proficiency level, outlined in detail in this article with the teaching implication for this pedagogical context.
Keywords: pedagogical genre, fractal patterns, author-focused paragraphs, content-focused paragraphs, listing sections, integrating sections
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
    • 2.1Genre
    • 2.2Literature reviews
    • 2.3From pedagogical grammar to pedagogical genre
  • 3.Methodology
  • 4.Annotated bibliographies as an entry point to literature review writing
  • 5.Pedagogical genre of literature review
    • 5.1Reviewing paragraphs: Author-focused and content-focused
    • 5.2Sections: Listing and integrating
      • 5.2.1 Listing sections
      • 5.2.2 Integrating sections
  • 6.Implications for teaching
  • 7.Conclusion
  • References
Published online: 23 May 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/aral.21044.afi
References (46)
References
Akhtar, R., Hassan, H., & Saidalvi, A. (2020). The effects of ESL student’s attitude on academic writing apprehensions and academic writing challenges. International journal of psychosocial Rehabilitation, 24 (5), 5404 – 5412. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Al Badi, I. A. H. (2015). Academic writing difficulties of ESL learners. WEI International Academic Conference Proceedings. [URL]
Andrade, M. S., Evans, N. W. & Hartshorn, K. J. (2015). Perceptions and realities of ESL students in higher education: An overview of Institutional Practices. In N. W. Evans, N. J. Anderson, & W. G. Eggington (Eds.), ESL readers and writers in higher education: Understanding challenges, providing support (pp.18–35). Routledge.Google Scholar
Azizifar, A., Mansoor, K., & Lofti, A. R. (2010). An analytical evaluation of locally produced Iranian high school ELT textbooks from 1970 to the Present. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 3 1, 36–44. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Badenhorst, C. (2018). Citation practice of postgraduate students writing literature reviews. London Review of Education, 16 (1), 121 – 135. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Beach, R., Bigelow, M., Brendler, B., Coffino, K., Dillon, D., Frederick, A., Gabrielli, M., Helman, L., Ngo, B., O’Brien, D., Rambow, A., Scharber, C., Sethi, J., Braaksma, M., Janssen, T., Thein, A. H., Liang, L., & Stornaiuolo, A. (2012). Annotated bibliography of research in the teaching of English. Research in the Teaching of English, 47 (2), AB1–AB101.Google Scholar
Bednarek, M., Crosthwaite, P., & Garcia, A. (2020). Corpus linguistics and education in Australia. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 43(2), 105–116. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bitchener, J. (2016). The content feedback practices of applied linguistics doctoral supervisors in New Zealand and Australian universities. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 39(2), 105–121. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Boote, D. N., & Beile, P. (2005). Scholars before researchers: On the centrality of the dissertation Literature Reviews in research preparation. Educational researcher, 34 (6), 3–15. DOI logo
Bunton, D. (1999). The use of higher level metatext in Ph.D. theses. English for Specific Purposes, 18 (Supplement 1), S41–S56. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2002). Generic moves in Ph.D. thesis introductions. In J. Flowerdew (Ed.), Academic discourse (pp. 57–75). Routledge.
Chen, X., & Li, M. (2019). Chinese learner writers’ niche establishment in the literature review chapter of theses: A diachronic perspective. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 39 1, 48–58. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cheng, A. (2007). Transferring generic features and recontextualizing genre awareness: Understanding writing performance in the ESP genre-based literacy framework. English for Specific Purposes, 26 1, 287–307. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Coe, R. M. (2002). The new rhetoric of genre: writing political briefs. In A. M. Johns (Ed.), Genre in the classroom: multiple perspectives (pp.197–210). Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Derewianka, B. (2001). Pedagogical grammars: Their roles in English language teaching. In A. Burns & C. Coffin (Eds.), Analyzing English in a global context: A reader (pp. 240–268). Routledge.Google Scholar
Ellis, R. (1994). The study of second language acquisition. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Forey, G., Besser, S., & Sampson, N. (2015). Parental involvement in foreign language learning: The case of Hong Kong. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 16 (3), 383–413. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gil-Salom, L., & Soler-Monreal, C. (2014). Writers’ positioning in literature reviews in English and Spanish computing doctoral theses. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 16 1, 23–39. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hart, C. (1998). Doing a literature review: Releasing the social science research imagination. Sage Publications.Google Scholar
(2018). Doing a literature review: Releasing the research imagination. Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Hector-Mason, S., and Bardack, S. (2010). Annotated bibliography. English Language Learner Center American Institutes for Research.Google Scholar
Hood, S. (2010). Appraising research: Evaluation in academic writing. Palgrave Macmillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hopkins, A., & Dudley-Evans, T. (1988). A genre-based investigation of the discussion section in articles and dissertations. English for Specific Purposes, 7 1, 113–121. [URL]
Hyland, K. (2015). Genre, discipline & identity. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 19 1, 32–43. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hyon, S. (1996). Genre in three traditions: Implications for ESL. TESOL Quarterly, 30 (4), 693–722. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Johns, A., Bawarshi, A., Coe, R., Hyland, K., Paltridge, B., Rieff, M., & Tardy, C. (2006). Crossing the boundaries of genre studies: Commentaries by experts. Journal of Second Language Writing, 15 1, 234–249. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kwan, B. S. C. (2006). The schematic structure of literature review in doctoral theses of applied linguistics. English for Specific purposes, 25 1, 30–55. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Martin, J. R. (2009). Genre and language learning: A social semiotic perspective. Language and Education, 20 1, 10–21.Google Scholar
(2014). Looking out: Functional linguistics and genre. Linguistics and the Human Sciences, 9 (3), 307–321. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Martin, J. R., & Matthiessen, C. M. I. M. (1991). Systemic typology and topology. In F. Christie (Ed.), Literacy in social processes: Papers from the inaugural Australian Systemic Linguistics Conference, held at Deakin University, January 1990 (pp. 345–383). Centre for Studies in Language in Education, Northern Territory University, Australia.Google Scholar
Martin, J. R., & Rose, D. (2007). Working with discourse: Meaning beyond the clause. Continuum.Google Scholar
Ng, B. C., & Wigglesworth, G. (2007). Bilingualism: An advance resource book. Routledge.Google Scholar
Ratnawati, R., Faridah, D., Anam, S., & Retnaningdyah, P. (2018). Exploring academic writing needs of Indonesian EFL undergraduate students. Arab World English Journal, 9 (4), 420–432. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rose, D. (2012). Genre in the Sydney School. In J. P. Gee & M. Handford (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of discourse analysis (pp. 209–225). Routledge.Google Scholar
Schleppegrell, M. J. (2012). Academic language in teaching and learning: Introduction to special issue. The Elementary School Journal, 112 (3), 409–418. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Soler-Monreal, C. (2015). Announcing one’s work in PhD theses in computer science: A comparison of move 3 in literature reviews written in English L1, English L2 and Spanish L1. English for Specific Purposes, 40 1, 27 – 41. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Soler-Monreal, C., & Gil-Salom, L. (2011). A cross-language study on citation practice in PhD theses. International Journal of English Studies, 11 (2), 53 – 75. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Starks, D., & Lewis, M. (2003). The annotated bibliography: structure and variation within a genre. Australian review of applied linguistics, 26 (2), 101–117. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
(2004). Research genres: Exploration and applications. Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2012). A text and its commentaries: Towards a reception history of ‘Genre in three traditions’ (Hyon, 1996). Iberica, 241, 103–116.Google Scholar
Swales, J. M., & Feak, C. B. (2012). Academic writing for graduate students (3rd ed). University of Michigan Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Thompson, P. (2009). Literature review in Applied PhD theses: Evidence and problems. In K. Hyland & G. Diani (Eds.), Academic evaluation: Review genres in university settings (pp. 50–67). Palgrave Macmillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Xie, J. (2016). Direct or indirect? Critical or uncritical? Evaluation in Chinese English-major MA thesis literature reviews. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 23 1, 1–15. DOI logo
(2017). Evaluation in moves: An integrated analysis of Chinese MA thesis literature reviews. English Language teaching, 10 (3), 1–20. DOI logo