SWALES CARS MODEL

IN WRITING AN INTRODUCTION
Betty E. Puzon

Using the CARS model by John Swales

Based on presentation by Betty E. Puzon, PhD De La Salle University Manila bepuzon@dlsud.edu.ph thebs10ph2002@yahoo.com

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Free template from www.brainybetty.com

John Malcolm Swales

Professor Emeritus of Linguistics

( University of Michigan)

Written/co-written 16 books, 120

research articles, 57 invited plenaries,

John Malcolm Swales

Linguist Best known - genre analysis Influenced theories of genre analysis and academic discourse

EXAMPLES OF GENRE
Research article, conference proposal, business report, grant application, letter to the editor, reference letter, thesis, dissertation, proposal, lecture, seminar, abstracts, grant proposals, laboratory reports, textbooks, letters, editorials,

Genre sets: abstract and introduction in the research

paper

Genres and subgenres: Review > book review, film review, CD review Promotional writing > sales letter, tourist brochure

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WHY CARS?
It is an acronym of

C reate A a R esearch S - pace

It is a model pioneered by John M.

Swales in 1981 who investigated introduction sections of research articles (RAs).

RESEARCH PAPER Genre Introduction of the RP - Subgenre Swales named this as Create a

Research Space (CARS) and identified the typical moves in the organization.

INTRODUCTION as a SUBGENRE

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Introduction Section as a Problem

Publishing academic papers
a key factor in sharing knowledge
from research with peers,

promoting researchers in

their scientific communities

creating a proper environment for

discussion.
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Introduction:

Production of academic paper- the necessity of getting started is INTRODUCTION

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Introductions
opening paragraph pose a challenge for writers

WHY?
writers project themselves for
the first time

they prepare the ground for the

research to come by referring to previous research in the literature.

emphasize possible existing gaps

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Many L2 writers perceived writing introductions as the most difficult section to write. (Flowerdew, 1999; Shaw, 1991; Swales, 1990 as cited in Jogthong, 2001)

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Two main reasons (Swales)

1. the need to attract an audience 2. the need to compete for acceptance and recognition.
CARS is the answer in the

rhetorical organization of Introduction - (Moves and Steps)

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Some Common Pitfalls of an Introduction Section (Swales, 1990)

Unnecessary background or being
repetitive.

Exaggerating (or understating)

the importance

Lackluster openers and weak followthrough in the body

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Common Pitfalls continued

context that will be important to the reader is not grounded. Not focusing on a clear and compelling research question or hypothesis.

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Elements of Introduction
1. Context 2. Focus
3. Justification

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Purpose of Introduction

Is to create a research space for the writer (CARS) (Swales, 2004; Swales & Feak, 2004)

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Create a Research Space (CARS)

provides a structure based on RAs introduction based on the consideration of academic writing as

hierarchically organized text

and as such RA introductions contains three obligatory moves

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THREE MOVES
Move 1 To establish a research territory Move 2 To identify a niche or gap
in the territory

Move 3 To signal how the topic in

question occupies that niche

Each move has a number of steps

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THREE OBLIGATORY MOVES OF CARS MODEL

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Move 1
Establishing a Research Territory (citations required)

Topic generalization of increasing specificity

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In Move 1

Typically begins research space

by indicating that the general area is in some way significant. state of knowledge in the field.

Statements indicate current

Statements attest that the topic is

a prevailing practice or phenomenon.

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In Move 1

Introduces the topic and discusses

its importance

Describes the current situation,

features and characteristics of that area of study
is made about knowledge or practice, or statements about phenomena

A more neutral general statement

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EXAMPLE:
1. Education core courses are often criticized for
2. A standard procedure for assessing

has been (Swales, 1990:146

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SAMPLE TEXT 1 (RA, 2011)

Research on childrens literacy development has underscored the significance of the role of parental involvement in the language development of pre-school children. (M1) This is M1as a general statement is made about the parental role in the language development of preschool children

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SAMPLE TEXT 1 (RA, 2011)

Interaction between child and parent during reading is important. Such interaction could be in a form of dialogic reading, where an adult or parent and child talk about the book being read (Whitehurst,1992). (M1)
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This is accounted for M1 as it gives a generalization about how important interaction is.

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SAMPLE PHRASES USED IN MOVE 1

The concept of MTV... is well known There is now much evidence to
support the hypothesis that ...

It is generally accepted that... A standard procedure for assessing...

has been...

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SAMPLE PHRASES USED IN MOVE 1

It is commonly suggested that.. Comparisons of spatially

separated populations tend to consist of...

...is a common finding in patients with... An elaborate system of...is found in the...
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Move 2
Establishing a Niche (citation possible)
STEP 1 A (Obligatory) indicating a gap (or)

STEP 1 B Adding to what is known (or)

STEP 2 Presenting positive justification

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In Move 2

Writers find niche by showing that

previous research is not complete or there are still aspects of research field that require further examination

The most common way is to present a

negative evaluation of some features
of research territory described in Move 1.

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In Move 2

STEP 2 (Presenting positive justification)

Integrating justifications - helps the writer indicate precisely the values or the necessity of doing the present research by exemplifying its motivations or research methods.

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In Move 2

Move 2 the key move -hinge that connect M1 to M3 (Swales & Feak, 1994, p. 185 - mini-critique and often consists of not more than a sentence

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In Move 2

By indicating a knowledge gap, the

writer builds up a demand for the current contribution.

Essentially the gap - represents

unresolved question current contribution seeks to solve

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Linguistic Indicators of Gaps (Swales & Feak 1994 & 2004)

(A) Contrastive statements: however; while;

but; although; nevertheless; as opposed to; rather than; with a few exceptions.
(B) Quantifiers and quasi-negatives:

limited; few; little.

(C) Negatives: none of; not been; no

[work/research/data/study].
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SAMPLE TEXT 1 (RA, 2011)

The role of reading in the development of other literacy skills cannot be underestimated.. However, it is alarming to note that more and more Filipino children could hardly read. (M2S1A) M2 S1 is realized in this statement indicating the gap about Filipino children who are poor readers.

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SAMPLE PHRASES USED IN MOVE 2

Evidence on this question is presently
inconclusive.

However, the previously mentioned

methods suffer from some limitations .... is limited to ...

The first group .... cannot treat ..... and Despite the importance of..., few
researchers have studied...
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SAMPLE PHRASES USED IN MOVE 2

A considerable amount of research has

been... but little research has...

X...has been extensively studied.

However, less attention has been paid to...

As a result, no comprehensive theory

appears to exist.

Despite the importance of..., few

researchers have studied...
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Move 3
OCCUPYING THE NICHE
Step 1 (Obligatory)- Announcing

present research descriptively and/or purposively question or hypotheses

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Step 2 (Optional) Presenting research

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MOVE 3 OCCUPYING THE NICHE

Step 3 (optional) Definitional Clarifications
Step 4 (optional) Summarizing methods

Step 5 (PISF)
Step 6 (PISF) Step 7 (PISF)

- Announcing principal

outcomes

- Stating the value of the

present research of the paper.

- Outlining the structure

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IN MOVE 3
writer states how s/he intends to fill the gap by announcing present research (obligatory)

describes what s/he considers to be the main features of the research.

provides opportunities to expand upon the news value or interestingness of their work
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SAMPLE TEXT 1 (RA, 2011)

In response to this concern, the Languages and Literature Department of DLSU-D is embarking.. will help parents in becoming better facilitators of learning at home ..Results of the study .. organizers in making decisions about the content of the training. The said project . move for the department to involve the community in the development of early literacy skills(M3 S6) community.

This is M3 S6 as it states the value of the present research.

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SAMPLE TEXT 1 (RA, 2011)

This study aims to answer the following questions: 1. What is the profile of the respondents? 2. What are the respondents. 2.1 the kind of materials they read..;

Finally, the text realized

its M3 S1 on the following sentences

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SAMPLE TEXT 1 (RA, 2011)

2.2 strategies used when reading to their children? 3. Is there a relationship between the respondents educational attainment . (M3 S1)

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SAMPLE PHRASES USED IN MOVE 3

The two research questions were... This paper reports on the results obtained
from...

This paper presents data on the results

obtained from...

This study is concerned with... The present study tested... and measured...

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SAMPLE PHRASES USED IN MOVE 3

In the present research, the researchers
shall examine...

In this paper, we will investigate... In this study, the... was investigated by

means of...

To evaluate the hypotheses that..., I shall

examined...

To better understand...,I investigated...

The focus will be on...
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SWALES CARS MODEL (2004)

MOVE 1 ESTABLISHING A TERRITORY Topic generalization of increasing specificity MOVE 2 ESTABLISHING A NICHE

Step 1 A indicating a gap Step 1 B- Adding to what is know Step 2 - Presenting positive justification
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SWALES CARS MODEL (2004)

MOVE 3 OCCUPYING THE NICHE
Ob- Step 1 - Announcing the present research descriptively and /or purposively Op- Step 2Presenting research questions or hypotheses Op - Step 3Definitional clarifications Op- Step 4Summarizing methods PISF- Step 5Announcing principal outcomes PISF- Step 6Stating the value of the present research PISF -Step7Outlining the structure of the paper Ob*Obligatory Op* Optional PISF*Probable in some field

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Concluding Statement
Introductions as a subgenre of research are known to be problematic for most academic writers since getting started on a piece of academic writing is often regarded as more difficult than writing the continuation.

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Concluding Statement

According to Harwood (2005 as cited in Isik Tas, 2008) the introduction part
constitutes a vital part of packaging, designed to alert potential users, to persuade them that this is a valuable product, one that they cannot do without.

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Swales Create a Research Space Model (CARS) provides a structure that would serve as a guide in writing an introduction.

REFERENCES
Isik Tas, E. ( 2008). A corpus-based analysis of genre-specific discourse of research: The research article and the PhD thesis in ELT. Unpublished PhD Thesis. Middle East Technical University, Ankara. Retrieved from www.elsevier.com.
Jogthong, C. (2001). Research article introduction in Thai: Genre analysis of academic writing. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV.. In PROQUEST Information and Learning Company, USA.

Swales, J. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research Settings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Swales, J., & Feak, C. B. (2004). Academic writing for graduate students. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.

SAMPLE INTRODUCTION Showing the Moves

MOVE 1
Multiple studies suggest that writers prefer audio-taped feedback on their writing to traditional handwritten comments (Dragga, 1991; Neuwirth et al.,1994; Pearce & Ackley, 1995;van Horn Christopher, 1995).

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SAMPLE 1 INTRODUCTION

MOVE 2 However, these studies have

primarily observed technical and business writers. Moreover, these studies have not compared students, perceptions of audiotaped comments with live forms of teacher feedback such as studentteacher conferences.
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SAMPLE INTRODUCTION

MOVE 3 To assess the possible effects of

different forms of teacher feedback in a general composition setting, this study asks students enrolled in a variety of English writing course to rank their preferences of different forms of feedback.
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SAMPLE 2: CAN YOU IDENTIFY THE THREE MOVES IN THIS INTRODUCTION

In a qualitative study involving 123 students writing arguments based on letters to the editor, Wolfe (in press) argues that giving students annotated readings can influence their perceptions of the social context of a reading-to-write task. Students receiving readings accompanied by evaluative annotations wrote argumentative essays that were less reliant on summary and more engaged with the source materials than students receiving the same reading without annotations. A follow-up study (Wolfe, 2001) lends support to these findings and further suggests that annotations reflecting the viewpoints of two readers with differing perceptions of the source materials are more influential than other types of annotations in affecting students argumentative activities. However, the source texts used in these earlier studies of reading-towrite activities were short, easily digested letters to the editor. How students might respond to annotations accompanying lengthier and more academic materials is unclear. Will these annotations help students view an argumentative social context for their writing as the annotations in the earlier studies seemed to? Or will annotations on academic materials possible interfere with students comprehension and retention of the materials, as Reder (1985) suggests that elaborations sometimes do? The current study attempts to address these questions by examining how students written responses to an academic essay might be influenced by the presence of accompanying annotations that evaluate the source materials.
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