A Corpus-Based Study of Generic Features in Thesis Acknowledgments by Iranian MA Graduate Students Majoring in Persian Language Teaching (AZFA) and TEFL

The aim of the current study was to examine the theses acknowledgements written by Iranian MA students majoring in Persian Language Teaching (AZFA) and TEFL in terms of their generic structures, linguistic choice, preferred authorial subject, and acknowlegees. To this end, 81 (40 in AZFA and 41 in TEFL) thesis acknowledgement texts were selected. The corpus was analyzed with reference to Hyland’s (2004) generic structure pattern, Hyland and Tse’s (2004) linguistic choice framework, and Yang’s (2012) category of the acknowledgees and subject types. The results showed that, on the whole, Hyland’s (2004) three-tier structure has been employed in both disciplines. However, five other moves/steps were discovered throughout this study, namely, praising God and His Prophet (PBUH), thanking God, blessing, and closing/signing off. In both disciplines, the most acknowledged individuals were advisors. Both groups selected the first person subject ‘I’ to extend their thanks. Besides, both groups consented in using ‘nominalization’ pattern as the linguistic realization of their gratitude. Although the texts analyzed demonstrated variations in the texts, the fixed conventions of theses genre systems suggest that teachers can help their students by raising their awareness of these conventions and showing them how to best construct their academic identity.