Schematic Move Structural Analysis of Theses Abstracts in Social Sciences

Abstract

Abstract of any research thesis reflects the entire efforts of a researcher at one glance. The postulant researchers of M. Phil. encounter insurmountable arduousness for writing a compact, concise and complete abstract. The present work is of high significance for the future researchers of M. Phil in social sciences as this work bridges the gap of the area from the past to the present. This research article aims at bringing out the salient features of certain rhetorical move structural analysis of the abstract section of the theses of M. Phil. in social sciences. The purpose of this research is to bring to light the use of different moves in the writing of the abstracts of the theses. The researchers selected 78 abstracts from 10 different disciplines of 06 different universities of Pakistan. The abstracts of the theses range from 1997 to 2018.  The researchers based this qualitative study on Hyland's (2000) five-move model.  The findings of the research show the significance of five Moves in an abstract of a thesis i.e., introduction, purpose, methodology, product and conclusion. By working on these areas abstracts of the theses can be written in appropriate way.