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This corpus-based exploratory study investigates the rhetorical organization of research article (RA) introductions in the field of social sciences, using an adapted version of Swales' (1990) framework of move analysis. A corpus of 75 research article introductions in English by American academic writers and in English and Turkish by Turkish academic writers formed the data. The data were analyzed using Sheldon's adaptation of Swales' CARS model. The findings indicate that the three corpora follow the model, employing the three moves to a great extent. However, the introductions differ in the extent to which the steps are used. Both the English and Turkish article introductions by Turkish academic writers display resemblance to the established English discourse conventions. Yet, they also vary from the established discourse conventions in English in some aspects, displaying compliance with local discourse community conventions. The findings of the present study have been discussed with reference to the findings of previous studies and pedagogical implications have been discussed.

The purpose of this study was to investigate Turkish EFL learners' ability in composing cohesive texts in their first language and in English as their foreign language, and to examine whether there are similarities between lexical reiteration cohesive devices they employ in composing cohesive texts both in Turkish and in English. The study was conducted with the participation of 40 students. The data of the study came from written accounts of a story in both languages based on a set of pictures with eight episodes. The analysis of the data has revealed striking similarities between English and Turkish in terms of the employment of lexical reiteration cohesive devices. The results have shown that repetition of the same lexical items was by far the most frequently used type of lexical cohesion in both languages. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for writing.