4.2.2　The Definition of Move

The Move-Step model is the most widely used approach to genre analysis.Since Swales(1981)developed the CARS model,the method has been extended to examine a broad range of genres,such as Application Letters(Ding,2007;Samraj &Monk,2008),Book Reviews(Nodoushan,Mohammad,&Montazeran,2012;Hedgcock,2012),Grant Proposals(Connor &Mauranen,1999),and Theses &Dissertations(Bunton,2005).Although nearly all genre analysts claim that they followed the Swalesian genre analysis method,the definition of move used in many studies differ from that in Swales(1990,2004).Based on the definition of move adopted,the studies can be seen to follow two approaches,namely Move as the Content and Move as the Function.The first approach distinguishes and describes move units based on content.For example,Nwogu(1997)contends that“the term move means a text segment made up of a bundle of linguistic features which give the segment a uniform orientation and signal the content of discourse in it”.In his move model,he uses the content described in a move unit to name the move,such as Presenting Background Information,Reviewing Related Research,and Presenting New Research.Although many genre analysts do not clearly articulate their definition of move,they name the moves based on content(e.g.Hopkins &Dudley-Evans,1988;Kanoksilapatham,2005;Yang &Allison,2003).The second approach defines a move unit based on its communicative function.For example,Swales(2004)defines move as“a discoursal or rhetorical unit that performs a coherent communicative function in a written or spoken discourse”(p.228).In his move model,moves are named based on their functions rather than content,such as Establishing a Territory,Establishing a Niche and Occupying the Niche(Swales,1990).Here I follow the Move as the Function approach and uses the term move to refer to the communicative function of a rhetorical unit,and step to refer to the content used to realise a function.