Academic Writing Through a Genre Lens: Investigating the Structure of Thesis Abstracts in Pakistan

An abstract serves as a concise summary of a research article or thesis, guiding readers in deciding whether to engage with the full work. Pakistani science scholars often face challenges in abstract writing due to limited familiarity with academic writing conventions, particularly the structured use of rhetorical moves. This study explores and analyzes the rhetorical moves employed in abstracts of Pakistani research articles and Ph.D. theses in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. A total of 120 abstracts were examined 40 from each discipline, equally divided between articles and theses collected from reputable Pakistani journals and the Higher Education Commission’s repository (2015–2020). Swales’ (2004) and Hyland’s (2000) models of rhetorical moves served as the theoretical frameworks. The findings reveal both similarities and differences in the number, type, and sequence of rhetorical moves across disciplines and genres. Common moves included introduction/overview, aims/objectives, methodology, findings/results, and conclusion. However, key moves such as “rationale” were absent in all abstracts, and “conclusion” was rare. The sequence and frequency of moves varied widely, indicating a lack of adherence to the theoretical models. This inconsistency may limit the clarity and effectiveness of Pakistani science abstracts in global scholarly communication. This study underscores the importance of structured abstract writing and adherence to recognized rhetorical move frameworks. The findings have pedagogical implications for English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses, offering practical insights for improving abstract composition among science scholars in Pakistan.