Copyright©2018

P-ISSN: 1978-8118
E-ISSN: 2460-710X

141

Lingua Cultura, 12(2), May 2018, 141-147
DOI: 10.21512/lc.v12i2.2475

NON-NATIVE SPEAKERS’ RHETORICAL COMMONALITIES
IN WRITING SCRIPT INTRODUCTION SECTION

Iskandar Abdul Samad1; Bustami Usman2; Novalia Rizkanisa3; Siti Sarah Fitriani4 
1, 2, 3,4 English Education Department of Syiah Kuala University, Banda Aceh
Jl. Teuku Nyak Arief, Kopelma Darussalam, Banda Aceh 23111, Indonesia

1iskandar.abdul.samad@unsyiah.ac.id; 2bustami55@yahoo.com;
3novalia.rizkanisa@gmail.com; 4ssfitriani@gmail.com

Received: 01st May 2017/Revised: 28th November 2017/Accepted: 13th December 2017 

How to Cite: Samad, I. A., Usman, B., Rizkanisa, N., & Fitriani, S. S. (2018). Non-native speakers’ rhetorical
commonalities in writing script introduction section. Lingua Cultura, 12(2), 141-147.

https://doi.org/10.21512/lc.v12i2.2475

ABSTRACT

This research analyzed the rhetorical pattern (RP) of script Introduction section written by undergraduate students 
at four selected universities in Aceh. Information about the RP of introduction section had been found in literature, 
including the work of Indonesian students in general. However, specific information about the RP of the work of 
EFL students in Aceh was not determined yet. The main aim of the study was to explore whether Acehnese students 
performed the exact pattern of written Academic English. Understanding the RP of this section was important 
because it helped readers to have a description of the whole script. A qualitative method was applied in this study 
to draw the RP through the content analysis. The data were taken from twenty undergraduate students’ scripts at four 
selected universities. CARS model was used to analyze all the data. In general, the result shows a unique RP of the 
Introduction section by Acehnese students where RP of introduction section maintains the circular way of thinking. 

Keywords: rhetorical pattern, introduction section, writing script, non-native speakers

INTRODUCTION

English is considered as a foreign language in many 
countries, including Indonesia.  Learners whose English is 
not their first language, have tendencies to interfere their 
target language (English) with the convention of their native 
language (L1) in their writing. It is inevitable that this kind 
of fact becomes a challenge to all teachers and students.  
Many kinds of research have been conducted to examine 
students’ writing whose English is not their first language. 
One of the focuses is on the rhetorical pattern (RP) of 
research introduction section.

Swales (1990) who has proposed Creating a Research 
Space (CARS) model and used it as a tool to analyze the 
research article. It finds that in the Introduction section, the 
majority of EFL/ESL journals/articles are influenced by their 
first language convention. The RP of the writing is different 
from the convention in L2. The similar finding is also found 
by Gecikli (2013). In his research, he finds that Turkish 
students do not fully follow the moves and steps application 
in CARS model for their Ph.D. dissertation. Sheldon 
(2011) on his study, also shows considerable variations of 
English writing from the three groups of writers. Writers 

whose English is their L1 is clearly good in writing English. 
Yet, those whose English is their L2 do not display a good 
resemblance to the English convention. These researchers’ 
findings are evidence that different students have their own 
way of writing. These variations are influenced by their 
native language. Therefore, it is convinced that L1 interferes 
L2 in the way of writing the academic texts.

Additionally, what has been done by Choe and 
Hwang (2014) in their research, it finds that even tough 
Korean students maintain good resemblance with CARS 
model, but the content is rather a liberal form of the CARS 
model. A brilliant idea also comes from Wijayanti (2017) 
who analyzes different corpus but it still with the similar 
point. She analyzes the job application letter which becomes 
the introductory part accompanying the resume. Then the 
result yields that Indonesian as a cultural background lies in 
the job application letter.

In Indonesia, writing a script is a must for 
undergraduate students to graduate (Samad & Adnan, 
2016). This script is written in a formal way that sounds 
academic. The academic writings include script, thesis, and 
dissertation. In Indonesia, the term used for these academic 
texts is different according to the level of education. For 



142 LINGUA CULTURA, Vol. 12 No. 2, May 2018, 141-147   

undergraduate, it is called script; the thesis is called for 
Master’s degree, and dissertation is for Doctoral degree 
(Samad, 2016). Writing the script is essential for university 
students to complete their studies. Even, students are 
required to perform orally and defend it to what has been 
written in the script. If they do not complete it, they can 
not graduate and receive a bachelor certificate (Samad & 
Adnan, 2017). For the purpose of this research, researchers 
attempt to find out students’ RP of their undergraduate script 
Introduction section at two universities, Islamic and non-
Islamic universities in Aceh.

The common issue among students in this country is 
that students find it difficult to produce appropriate writing 
for the Introduction section. Swales and Feak (2001) 
have mentioned that dealing with the introductory part is 
difficult and quite troublesome for non-native speakers. The 
introductory part maintains the richness of a research idea. 
Understanding the rhetorical pattern of writing this section 
is important because it is considered as a window to the 
whole script.

Some researchers have provided in the literature the 
RP of Introduction section (e.g., Hinkel, 2004; Swales & 
Feak, 2001). One of the examples of the RP of Introduction 
section can be seen in the overall shape of a research article 
in Figure 1.

Figure 1 Overall Pattern of Research Article
(Swales & Feak, 2001)

Figure 1 indicates the typical pattern of a research 
article which consists of Introduction, Methods, Results 
and Discussion. For this research, the focus is limited to the 
Introduction section of the script written by EFL students 
in Aceh. This section is important because it attracts the 
reader’s attention. As stated by Swales and Feak (2001) that 
the introduction section provides the rationale for the paper, 
moving from general discussion of the topic to the particular 
question or hypothesis being investigated. The students are 
required to locate their research ideas into paragraphs to 
give the clear direction of what the writers are going to find 
out. The Introduction section provides relevant idea related 
to the topic in the research so that readers understand.

Creating a Research Space (CARS) is a common 
model used by researchers to analyze RP of research article 
Introduction. This model is pioneered by Swales (1990) that 
provides a series of analytical units in terms of moves and 
steps. There are three moves in CARS Model. Move 1 is 
establishing a territory with three steps. Step 1 is claiming 
centrality, Step 2 is making the topic generalization, and 
Step 3 is reviewing items of previous research. Move 2 is 
establishing a niche with Step 1 is counter-claiming, Step 2 

is indicating the gap, Step 3 is the question – raising, and Step 
4 is continuing the tradition. Move 3 is occupying a Niche 
with Step 1 is outlining the purpose, Step 2 is announcing 
present research, Step 3 is announcing principal findings, 
and step 4 is indicating the structure of research article.

After the previous version, Swales (2001) has 
proposed a new version with three moves. Move 1 is 
establishing a research territory. It can be done by; (a) 
showing that the general research area is important, central, 
interesting, problematic, or relevant in some way. (optional), 
(b) introducing and reviewing items of previous research in 
the area (obligatory). Move 2 is establishing a Niche that 
can be done by indicating a gap in the previous research, 
raising a question about it, or extending previous knowledge 
in some way (obligatory). Move 3 is occupying a Niche. 
It can be done by; (a) outlining purposes or stating the 
nature of the present research (obligatory), (b) announcing 
principal findings (optional), (c) indicating the structure of 
Research Paper (optional).

The Swales’ model above has several moves and 
steps. This revised CARS model in 2001 seems easy to 
understand. The term obligatory and optional are used in 
each move.

Swales keeps revising the model in which in 2005 
that he completed another model. This model is the latest 
model. The researchers use this model as an analytical tool 
for this research. The details of moves and steps can be seen 
in Figure 2.

Figure 2 Moves and Steps
in Research Article Introduction (Swales, 2005)

Many researchers have used this latest CARS model. 
Sheldon (2011) uses the model in Figure 2 to examine the 
rhetorical differences in Introduction of the research article 
by English L1, L2, and Castilian Spanish L1. Suryani et 
al. (2014) also use that model toward English written text 
by Malaysian. Then, Khamkhien (2015) also conducts the 
research by using this model toward Thai journal.

As aforementioned, this present study attempts 
to draw the RP of Introduction section of English 
undergraduate script that is written by Acehnese students 
with the standardized rhetorical pattern of the Introduction 



143Non-Native Speakers’ Rhetorical .... (Iskandar Abdul Samad et al.)      

section. This finding could be considered as the initial stage 
prior to giving any treatment for participants to be able to 
write appropriate Introduction section which is suitable 
for international readers. This research contributes to two 
benefits; practically, this article could help lecturers to teach 
their students. Secondly, this article could contribute to 
the body of knowledge by filling the gap in the literature 
regarding the RP of Introduction section written by Acehnese 
EFL students in four universities/institutes in Aceh, 
Indonesia. The combination of Islamic and non-Islamic 
universities is still rare to be presented. Therefore, the result 
of this research could contribute significant benefits to both 
practical and knowledge significance.

METHODS

This research is conducted by using a qualitative 
study that is investigating the RP of Introduction section of 
the scripts written by the Acehnese students. The qualitative 
research focuses on the research of social phenomena on 
giving and obtaining culturally specific information to the 
feelings and perceptions of the participants under research 
(Lodico, Spaulding, & Voegtle, 2006). The content analysis 
is used in this study, which attempts to analyze the rhetoric 
reflected in students’ Introduction section (Schreiber 
& Asner-Self, 2011). The corpus data are required to 
deal with the number of English undergraduate scripts 
written by Acehnese students. The researchers collect 20 
undergraduate scripts of English Education Department 
students from four selected universities/institutes in Aceh. 
Two universities are Islamic universities (IAIN Zawiyah 

Cotkala Langsa and UIN Ar-Raniry) and the other two are 
non-Islamic universities (Samudra Langsa University and 
Syiah Kuala University). The data are acquired from each 
university library and official digital library.

The researchers analyze the whole part of 
Introduction section using Creating a Research Space 
(CARS) model proposed by Swales (2005). It is scrutinized 
to discover the rhetorical pattern in the Introduction section 
based on Swales’ framework. As stated by Sheldon (2011) 
that a move describes patterns of organizational content, 
which carry a particular role in the overall goals of the 
Research Introduction.

 

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The Introduction section is considered to be the 
most complicated part for some writers, especially for EFL 
writers. By adapting the CARS model by Swales (2005), 
this research analyzes the rhetorical pattern reflected in the 
Introduction section of twenty Acehnese undergraduate 
students’ scripts. Then, the analysis is done by utilizing the 
CARS model by Swales which proposes three moves. The 
whole part of the Introduction section is analyzed in this 
analysis.

The researchers analyze the whole parts of 
Introduction section by using CARS model. Then, the 
data are gathered from the move analyses which then are 
tabulated in Table 1. UGS is Undergraduate Script. Move 1 
contains one step and eight sub-steps. Move 2 contains three 
steps. And Move 3 contains seven steps.

Table 1 Moves Occurrences in English Undergraduates Thesis Introduction

Number of Scripts MOVES Move Cycle Number of Paragraph
MOVE 1 MOVE 2 MOVE 3

UGS 1 6 2 5 1 2 1 2 3 12
UGS 2 7 2 5 1 2 1 2 1 3 18
UGS 3 7 2 5 1 2 1 2 1 3 10
UGS 4 8 2 5 1 2 1 2 1 3 15
UGS 5 7 2 5 1 2 1 2 3 7
UGS 6 8 1 5 1 2 1 3 6
UGS 7 5 2 5 1 2 1 3 10
UGS 8 4 2 5 1 2 1 3 6
UGS 9 2 2 4 1 2 3 6
UGS 10 5 2 5 1 2 1 2 3 6
UGS 11 5 2 6 1 2 1 2 1 3 11
UGS 12 4 2 5 1 2 1 2 3 5
UGS 13 5 2 6 1 2 1 3 11
UGS14 6 2 6 1 2 1 2 1 3 14
UGS 15 6 1 6 1 2 1 3 8
UGS 16 5 1 4 1 2 3 11
UGS 17 6 2 5 1 2 1 2 3 13
UGS 18 6 2 5 1 2 1 2 3 10
UGS 19 6 2 5 1 2 1 2 3 11
UGS 20 4 2 5 1 2 1 2 3 11



144 LINGUA CULTURA, Vol. 12 No. 2, May 2018, 141-147   

Based on Table1, it can be seen that 20 scripts of 
Introduction have considerable variations of moves. The 
number in the column Move 1-3 is referring to items of each 
section in Figure2, which is used as an analytical tool for this 
research. Besides, the move cycle shows how the students 
create their rhetorical pattern that becomes their preference 
in their writing. Most of the written texts have similar move 
cycles in the Introduction section. Furthermore, as revealed 
by Gecikli (2013), the length of introduction results in a 
change in the number of moves. The longer the length of 
introduction is, the higher frequencies of moves are. 

Above all, the researchers carry out closer scrutiny 
of each of the three moves. Notably, all undergraduate 
scripts contain the three main moves which are considered 
as complete. The steps and the sub-steps in each move in the 
theses are discussed in more detail. Table 2 is the description 
of the first move. Move 1 is establishing a territory (citation 
required).

Table 2 Detailed Occurrences of Move 1
in Introduction Section

Structure of Move 1 Number 
of scripts 

Step 1 Topic generalization of increasing 
specificity

20

(i) Reporting conclusion of previous 
studies

10

(ii) Narrowing the field 20
(iii) Writer’s evaluation of existing 

research
14

(iv) Time-frame of relevance 20
(v) Research objective/process of previ-

ous studies
13

(vi) Terminology/definitions 20
(vii) Generalizing 6
(viii) Furthering or Advancing knowledge 0

From Table 2, it can be seen that Step 1 of Move 1 
which informs readers that the basic field of their research 
is surely employed by all Acehnese students. The following 
text illustrates Step 1. UGS 1 is “Reading is one of the four 
language skills taught and learned at school and university. 
Through reading, the students can develop another language 
skill such as writing”. The sub-step (i) is “Reporting 
conclusions of previous studies” was used only in 11 scripts 
which are illustrated:

UGS 2 (i) Based on previous research on teaching 
speaking, it was found that the general 
problem faced by students in speaking skill is 
the student cannot speak English actively.

  
The finding of previous studies can reflect the 

richness of the current literature, but there are only ten 
scripts that put sub-step (i). The rest of the scripts locate too 
much general knowledge in this part or making the general 
statement toward the study.

Then, the sub-step (ii) “Narrowing the field” is an 
obligatory in Acehnese undergraduate scripts. It is firmly 
shaped, for example, in the Introduction section written by 
UGS 8:

UGS 8 (ii) This thesis talks about bitter experiences. 
Bitter experience is the great unhappiness or 
sad event in person’s life.

 The corpus texts of UGS 8 imply the scope of the 
research area that is proposed by the students to narrow their 
present research. Yet, the term narrowing the field does not 
solely indicate the placement of the thesis.

The next sub-step is (iii) “Writer’s evaluation of 
existing research” with only 14 scripts using it. One of the 
examples is written by UGS 14.

UGS 14 (iii) Some writers define a difficult text according 
to the sentence-length. The text with the 
longer sentence and longer words are more 
difficult to understand.

Having the current literature can increase the 
certainty of the research. Similarly, sub-step (iv), “Time-
frame of relevance” presents the supporting disciplines in 
the research where citations are required in this sub-step.

UGS 5 (iv) It is important to help the students reduce their 
errors. We need to know the source of error to 
overcome the problem. Scholar mentions two 
main sources of errors, namely inter-lingual 
and intra-lingual. Inter-lingual refers to the 
interference of learner’s mother tongue to 
the target language. Then, intra-lingual refers 
to the students’ lack of knowledge of target 
language.

  The firm sub-step (vi) in the Introduction section 
reflects that the Acehnese students are aware of the 
importance of research literature in their scripts and this part 
absolutely needs to include the citation. Besides, this sub-
step can give readers the background information needed 
to understand the research. Last but not least, the following 
sub-step (vii) has a lower number of occurrences in the 
Introduction section of the Acehnese undergraduate scripts.

UGS 11 (vii) The important thing of the test analysis is 
first, to improve the quality of the test itself 
and the second is to assess and examine 
each test item in order to obtain qualified 
test before use and reuse.

The lower number of occurrences of sub-step (vii) 
is due to the unfamiliarity of the Acehnese students in 
generalizing the whole part in their scripts. The last one is 
sub-step (viii) “Advancing knowledge”. Unfortunately, the 
last sub-step is totally absent in the Acehnese Introduction 
section. From the analysis of step and sub-steps of Move 1, 
the researchers find the sub-steps included in Move 1 are not 
ordered sequentially in their scripts.

Move 2 is establishing the Niche (Citation Possible). 
This second move presents the research through the 
description of the problem and giving a detailed limitation 
of the research. As it can be seen in Table 3, the occurrences 
of move 2 have a larger number.

Eventually, some of the corpus scripts use the 
citation to support the research. Specifically, Step 1 A has 
the greatest occurrences in move 2 which is illustrated in 
the example.



145Non-Native Speakers’ Rhetorical .... (Iskandar Abdul Samad et al.)      

Table 3 Detailed Occurrences of Move 2
in Introduction Section

Structure of Move 2 Number 
of scripts 

Step 1 A (S1A) Indicating a Gap 20
Step 1 B (S1B) Adding to what is 

known
17

Step 2 Presenting positive justi-
fication (optional)

0

UGS 6 (S1A) Even though reading has been taught from 
elementary school, it cannot be sure that all 
students in junior high school level can un-
derstand the reading text well.

Based on the illustration, it can be seen that the 
Acehnese students try to highlight problematic issues in 
their research and give critical comments addressing the 
gap. This step also works as a justification strategy in leading 
them to the necessity of conducting the research question.

On the contrary, step 1B is only included in 17 
scripts. This number shows the Acehnese students are able 
to reinforce the information already known to relate to the 
research question. The example can be seen in UGS 5.

UGS 5 (S1B) Some scholars have same ideas that how 
error analysis can be used to provide the 
information for teachers about the errors 
made by students in their speaking. It might 
help the teachers to reduce students’ error in 
speaking performance.

The next step is Step 2, “Presenting positive 
justification”. As stated in Swales’ model, Step 2 is clearly 
optional. From the analysis, the use of Step 2 in the twenty 
scripts of Acehnese students is absolutely absence.

Based on the description of Move 2, it is found 
that the Acehnese students have enough awareness of 
establishing the niche in their research by writing Step 
1A/1B. Even though, it is undeniable that they still reflect 
their unfamiliarity with English writing convention.

The final move is “Presenting the present work” or 
Move 3 with possible use of citation. As revealed by Swales 
(2005), Move 3 is served by outlining the research purpose, 
stating its structure and main features, and announcing the 
principal outcomes. The detailed description of Move 3 can 
be seen in Table 4.

Table 4 Detailed Occurrences of Move 3 
in Introduction Section

Structure of Move 3 Number 
of scripts 

Step 1 (S1) Announcing present 
work descriptively and/
or purposively (obliga-
tory)

20

Step 2 (S2) Presenting research 
questions or hypothesis 
(optional)

20

Step 3 (S3) Definitional clarifica-
tions (optional)

20

Table 4 Detailed Occurrences of Move 3 
in Introduction Section (continued)

Structure of Move 3 Number 
of scripts 

Step 4 (S4) Summarizing method 
(optional)

10

Step 5 (S5) Announcing principal 
outcomes (PISF)*

2

Step 6 (S6) Stating the value of the 
present paper (PISF)*

9

Step 7 (S7) Outlining the structure 
of the paper (PISF)*

0

*PISF: Probably in Some Fields

By verifying the corpus data, the researchers find 
that all of the Acehnese scripts in this research write Step 1, 
“Announcing present work descriptively and/or purposively” 
in the last paragraph of the research background part, which 
is also in the Introduction section. The example is shown in 
UGS 7.

UGS 7 (S1) It is really expected for the teacher to em-
ploy the STAD method in making the good 
achievement for the students to write the de-
scriptive writing. Based on the explanation, 
the writer interested in conducting a research 
entitled “The using STAD method in improv-
ing students writing descriptive paragraph 
to the tenth grade students of MAS Ulumul 
Qur’an Langsa”.

The above example shows that the Acehnese 
students truly make claims of the research. The next step is 
step 2, “Presenting research question or hypothesis” which 
is illustrated in UGS 17.

UGS 17 (S2) Based on the explanation, the problem of 
the study is: does collaborative learning im-
prove reading skill to the class of SMPN 1 
Karang Baru?

All Acehnese students in this research write this step 
in their scripts to give a precise description of what their 
research is trying to find or measure. The further step is step 
3, “Definitional clarifications”. Although Swales highlights 
this step as optional, all Acehnese students include this step 
in their script.  For example:

UGS 10 (S3) As one said, moral value is simply an im-
portant kind of instrumental value. Actions 
and traits of character have moral value in-
sofar as they contribute in certain way of to 
happiness: to enhance pleasure or reduce 
pain or both.

Step 3 in the Introduction is used to inform readers 
of how specific concepts are understood in each study. 
Moreover, the aim of this step is to situate the research in 
a specific area that needs attention. This step has a good 
portion of the Acehnese scripts analyzed for this research.

Only half of the scripts involved in this research 
include Step 4 “Summarizing methods”. The choice of 
step 4 is based on the standard of writing procedure in each 
university. One of the examples is:



146 LINGUA CULTURA, Vol. 12 No. 2, May 2018, 141-147   

UGS 16 (S4) The correlation study is used in this study to 
see the correlation between reading compre-
hension and writing ability to the eleventh 
grade students of SMKN 4 Langsa.

From the example, it can be seen that the research 
methodology is firmly elaborated and outlined to show 
readers the methodology used in the research.

The next one is step 5 “Announcing the principal 
outcomes”. This step has a lower number of occurrences. 
Only two scripts represent this step as in the following 
example:

UGS 15 (S5) Facebook group also allowed for most 
immediate feedback and fun interaction                                     
that the writer hopes will motivate students 
to write. I can claim that Facebook group 
will benefit the students in motivating them 
to write autonomously.

The Acehnese students obviously seem to restrain in 
announcing the main findings of their studies. The examples 
above are not fully good examples of step 5, but the 
tendencies of the text imply the announcing of the principal 
outcome.

Step 6 “Stating the value of the present research” is 
similar to the scope of the study written in students’ scripts. 

UGS 10 (S6) From all the books, the writer just take one 
book entitled “The Aesop for Children; with 
Pictures by Wilo Winter. The writer chose 
this book because the language in this book 
is simpler than other books and each story 
ending has a conclusion or moral value.

There are only nine scripts that include Step 6 in the 
Introduction while this step is absence from the other 11 
scripts. Those who do not include Step 6 in their script think 
that they have presented their research in Step 1, where they 
make strong claims for the validity of their research.

The last one is Step 7 “Outlining the structure of the 
paper”. As stated in the CARS model, Step 7 is in the term 
of PISF which stands for ‘Probably in Some Fields’. From 
the analysis that researchers did to the students’ scripts, none 
of them wrote Step 7. Particularly, the Acehnese students of 
this research have no obligation to announce the structure 
of their paper.

As a matter of fact, the researchers find that the 
Acehnese students in this research realize the use of move 
3 using Step 1, 2, and 3. However, Step 4, 5, and 6 are used 
less in their scripts. The cyclical pattern of CARS move is 
considered essential to see how Acehnese students elaborate 
their research idea in the Introduction section.

Undoubtedly, paying attention to the cyclical pattern 
of moves is also of paramount importance. The previous 
table has already shown the cyclical pattern of moves. Table 
1 shows that 12 scripts display similar move cycles in the 
moves formula of 1-2-1-2. Then, the rest of the scripts 
display the formula 1-2-1-3, 1-2-3, 1,2,2,3. From these 
move cycles, it can be concluded that Acehnese students 
tend to put the foundation of their research territory first 
by providing the background. Although the idea is a little 
unorganized, they still tend to establish the niche and present 
their studies firmly in the last move or Move 3.

Additionally, as it is argued by Swales (2005), the 
length of introduction may affect the shape of the cycle 
moves. Due to this reason, a longer introduction has a greater 
probability of cycling. As mentioned, it can be proven that 
the numbers of paragraphs in the Introduction section of 
students’ scripts influence its move cycling.

Twenty undergraduate scripts in this research 
accomplish all the three moves, namely Move 1 
(Establishing the territory), Move 2 (Establishing the niche), 
and Move 3 (Presenting the present work). Based on the 
scripts, the Acehnese students also completely carry out the 
obligatory part of each move, such as establishing territory 
with citation required, indicating a gap and announcing 
the present research. Notably, according to Swales (2005), 
the use of Step 2 “presenting research question” and 
Step 3 “definitional clarifications” in Move 3 is optional. 
On the contrary, both steps seem to be an obligatory step 
in the Acehnese undergraduate scripts. Indeed, it can 
be proven that the Acehnese students used both steps in 
their  Introduction section. It is also supported by Chahal 
(2014) in his research that Move 1 achieves primarily in 
the Introduction. The students lay the information on the 
research discussed. Conversely, none of them write the 
“Furthering/advancing knowledge”, “presenting positive 
justification” and “outlining the structure of the paper” in 
the script.  Due to their unfamiliarity with those parts, they 
never use those steps/substeps. This unfamiliarity could be 
influenced by the students’ first language as it is also found 
in the work of Gecikli (2013) and Sheldon (2011).

Based on the cyclical pattern of moves, it can be seen 
that most of the cyclical patterns are in the formula 1-2-
1-2-3. The formula shows that Move 1 and Move 2 recur 
in the Acehnese scripts. The recurring patterns to justify 
the identification of gap seem to be a dominant way that 
helps the students build the gap in their research. Hence, 
the Acehnese students tend to apply a circular way in the 
introduction of the script. This result is also found in Huda 
(2016) in which the students apply the circular way in 
presenting their introductory part. They start the introduction 
by explaining the general area of their research. Then, 
narrowing the research is in the middle of introduction, or 
it is placed at the end of the text. Even though most of the 
Acehnese students have applied the rhetorical pattern as 
suggested by Swales, however, the arrangement of the move 
and steps remains disordered. Again, this is evidence that 
students’ first language interferes the way of writing in their 
target language.

CONCLUSIONS

Most Acehnese students write the Introduction 
section for their scripts have fulfilled CARS model as it is 
proposed by Swales (1990). However, the order of steps is 
not exactly the same as in the CARS model. There is slightly 
difference between CARS model and the rhetorical pattern 
used by the Acehnese students. Since the basic language is 
the difference, then the remarkable distinction of written 
academic English exist.

This result becomes a unique and could extend the 
information of types of rhetoric in script writing. Lecturers 
and students could teach students rhetorical pattern of the 
script as it is highly required to make readers convinced 
with the information delivered in the script.



147Non-Native Speakers’ Rhetorical .... (Iskandar Abdul Samad et al.)      

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