RHETORICAL MOVES IN PROBLEM STATEMENT SECTIONS OF POSTGRADUATE THESES OF ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

This research is aimed to find out kind of moves, the dominant moves and steps
and the most common pattern of rhetorical moves in Problem Statement Sections
of Postgraduate Theses of English Education Study Program Students at the
University of Bengkulu in the Academic Year 2018 and 2019. The documentation
technique and checklist were used in this research. Twenty six theses were
analyzed by using descriptive quantitative, along with Swales’ CARS Model
(1990). The results showed that Move 1 (Establishing a Territory), Move 2
(Establishing a Niche) and Move 3 (Occupying the Niche) were found in each
thesis. The writers dominantly used Move 2 and Step 1B (Indicating a Gap) and
the other step was Step 1A (Outlining Purposes) of Move 3. That is to say, the
writers understood that Move 2 was the key component of Problem Statement
(PS), and that makes Move 2 as the obligatory move. Further, the most common
pattern is Incomplete Pattern. The PS which has this pattern only involved one
move in it. Meanwhile, the other PS which has two moves which belong to Semi-
Complete and another one has three moves, and it belongs to Complete Pattern.
In conclusion, the Problem Statement by Postgraduate Students of English
Education Study Program did not fulfill the structure based on CARS Model by
Swales (1990).
Keywords : problem statement; rhetorical moves; a move; a step; CARS Model