Rhetorical structure of research paper introductions in computer science: a comparative analysis

Research paper introductions are considered challenging, especially for academic writers whose native language is different from English. Despite the large interest in the rhetorical organization of research papers across various disciplines and cultures, little is known about the structural patterns used by Russian authors in English-language research paper introductions in Computer Science as one of the fastest growing scientific fields. To fill the gap, this paper investigates the ways Russian academic writers organize their introductions as compared to the norms of the international scientific community where English is the acknowledged lingua franca. The purpose of this study is to identify discrepancies between the approaches to structuring computer science introductions generated in the English language by Russian and Anglophone authors. Drawing evidence from 43 research papers published in highly ranked Russian and Anglophone journals in Computer Science, it addresses the main features specific to research paper introductions in this field and analyzes how rhetorical moves are realized linguistically by both native and non-native academic writers based on the create-a-research-space (CARS) model. The results of the qualitative study show that Russian authors make use of fewer strategies than native English writers; moreover, the former tend to avoid the ‘establishing a niche’ move, which is considered obligatory in the structure of a research paper introduction. The paper adds to the exploration of cross-cultural variations in academic writing.