Prof.

Nelson ::: ENGL 1302 ::: F22

Rhetorical Moves of the Research Analysis Genre (aka Literature Review)

Introduction: principle of general to specific

1. Topic sentence introducing major topics of the paper and how scholars typically or
apparently (from a brief glance at the scholarly literature) discuss those topics in peer-
reviewed articles
 How do Strange, et al., do this? Analyze the parts of their topic sentence for strategies or
scripts you can imitate in your writing
 I can imitate their topic sentence concerning their generalization of
major articles that talk about the topic. For example, I can follow
their example of stating “Over the past few decades…” to indicate
how articles have talked about my chosen topic in the past.
 I can include a definition of the major word in my topic. In my
case, that would be the term immigration. I should define this term
either in scholarly words or my own. This way, I can present the
topic clearly and focus the reader’s attention on the term as a major
topic, as did Strange et al did this with the word “flexibility”.
 Strange et al emphasize what articles were included and what
articles were left out. I can follow this strategy by focusing on
specific perspectives that surround a specific topic. For example,
instead of talking about general Immigration in the US, I can talk
about Mexican Immigration in the US.
 I can explain in my essay how I found the articles as did Strange et
al. This way, my readers have a source of credibility to how I
found the articles and how they can find them as well.
 I can present other’s arguments and present clear counterarguments
like Strange et al by using the key phrases, “Although arguments
could be made for...” and “We decided it was premature to
conduct…”.
 I can define factors contributing to or unnecessary to my topic as
did Strange et al when describing what factors were considered to
eliminate articles from the review list.
 Topics are organized from general to specific.

2. Follow-up sentences that narrow the scholarly topic so that focus rests on the perspectives
that are provided in the essay, only the perspectives are synthesized in the essay
 How do Strange, et al., do this? Analyze the parts of their introductory paragraphs for
strategies or scripts you can imitate in your writing
 Prof. Nelson ::: ENGL 1302 ::: F22

3. Thesis statement that is clear and direct, a claim that describes the perspectives of the
chosen topic that are the focus of the essay; another way to think of this is as a claim
revealing how scholars really talk about the topic, which is only evident through careful
analysis—the sub-topics, relationships between topics, non-obvious patterns and/or gaps
 How do Strange, et al., do this? Analyze the parts of their thesis statement for strategies
or scripts you can imitate in your writing

Body divided into sections based on sub-points

1. Sections focus on only one sub-point but connect to the other sub-points (transition) as well
as the overall thesis (topic sentence) and are labelled with appropriate section headers (sub-
titles)
 How do Strange, et al., do this? Analyze the parts of their sections for strategies or scripts
you can imitate in your writing

2. Paragraphs that follow standard paragraph structure: 1. topic sentence that overviews the
focus of the paragraph as it connects to the thesis and/or section topic; 2. examples /
evidence from multiple, relevant peer reviewed sources; 3. synthesis of evidence from
multiple, relevant peer reviewed sources; 4. concluding sentence that reviews the focus of the
paragraph as it connects to your thesis; 5. transition to next paragraph
 How do Strange, et al., do this? Analyze the parts of their paragraphs for strategies or
scripts you can imitate in your writing

Conclusion 1. reviews the essay’s major sub-points and thesis statement, 2. addresses the
significance of the multiple perspectives on the topic, and 3. tells readers what they should do
with the knowledge given them
 Prof. Nelson ::: ENGL 1302 ::: F22

 How do Strange, et al., do this? Analyze the parts of their conclusion for strategies or
scripts you can imitate in your writing