A Rhetorical Link of RA Conclusions to Introductions in Applied Linguistics

Conclusions can be understood as the prominent Introduction's counterpart in research articles in that writers in the Conclusion should recall issues raised in the Introductions. While a lot of work has been done on English research article (RA) Introductions, RA Conclusions have received little attention in genre analysis, especially in connection with RA Introductions. This paper explores how writers in RA Conclusions in one discipline recall the issues raised in the Introduction. It is an exploratory study on the basis of 23 RAs in academic writing of applied linguistics. The difference of the Conclusion from the Introduction is shown in terms of rhetorical elements, tense, information specificity, attitudes toward propositions, and so forth. The findings would be of use to those who want to gain a good control over academic writing.