Bundle-Move Connection in Abstracts: A Cross-Journal Study in Applied Linguistics

Nur Rizka Kadir, Prof. Dr. Aris Munandar, M.Hum.

2026 | Tesis | S2 Linguistik

Tesis ini mengkaji penggunaan gugus kata dalam abstrak artikel penelitian yang diterbitkan di Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics (IJAL) dan Applied Linguistics (AL) melalui analisis korpus kuantitatif dan kualitatif. Fokus utama penelitian ini adalah mengungkap persamaan dan perbedaan penggunaan gugus kata secara struktural dan fungsional, serta hubungannya dengan gerak retoris dalam dua komunitas akademik yang berada dalam disiplin yang sama. Meskipun kajian tentang gugus kata dan gerak retoris telah banyak dilakukan, keterkaitan antara keduanya khususnya dalam konteks pengembangan genre penulisan akademik masih relatif kurang mendapat perhatian. Oleh karenanya, penelitian ini menawarkan sudut pandang baru tentang peran gugus kata dalam membangun retorika abstrak artikel penelitian. Studi ini membandingkan abstrak yang ditulis oleh penulis Indonesia di IJAL dan penulis penutur asli bahasa Inggris di AL untuk menyoroti variasi penulisan akademik antara penulis native dan non-native, sekaligus menantang anggapan bahwa variasi gugus kata hanya ditentukan oleh register, disiplin, atau genre. Korpus Journal Abstracts of Applied Linguistics (JAAL), yang terdiri atas 569 abstrak dengan total 111.875 token, dianalisis menggunakan AntConc 4.3.1. Dua puluh gugus kata yang paling berkaitan dengan gerak retoris diidentifikasi dan diuji secara statistik menggunakan uji chi-square. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan kesamaan struktural berupa dominasi gugus berbasis klausa, tetapi perbedaan fungsional yang jelas. Penulis IJAL lebih menonjolkan text-oriented bundles, sedangkan penulis AL lebih banyak menggunakan research-oriented bundles dan self-mention untuk merealisasikan beberapa gerak retoris sekaligus. Temuan ini menegaskan bahwa variasi penulisan tetap hadir dalam satu disiplin ilmu yang dipengaruhi oleh latar belakang sosio kultural, konvensi akademik, dan kebijakan jurnal.

This thesis employs quantitative and qualitative corpus-based analyses of research article abstracts published in the Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics (IJAL) and Applied Linguistics (AL) to examine similarities and differences in the structural and functional use of lexical bundles and their relationship with rhetorical moves across two academic communities within the same discipline. Although lexical bundles and rhetorical moves have been widely studied, their interconnection, particularly in relation to genre development in academic writing, has received limited attention. This study, therefore, offers a new perspective on the role of lexical bundles in constructing rhetorical moves in research article abstracts. By comparing abstracts written by Indonesian authors in IJAL and native-English authors in AL, this thesis contributes to discussions of native and non-native variation in academic writing and challenges the assumption that differences in lexical bundle use are shaped only by register, discipline, or genre, without sufficient attention to authors’ socio-cultural contexts. The corpus, titled Journal Abstracts of Applied Linguistics (JAAL), consists of 569 abstracts totaling 111.875 tokens and was analyzed using a bottom-up approach with AntConc 4.3.1. The top 20 four-word lexical bundles most closely associated with abstract moves were identified based on raw and normalized frequencies, and chi-square tests were conducted to assess the statistical significance of the differences observed. The analysis was carried out in three stages: structural and functional classification of lexical bundles following Biber et al. (1999, 2004) and Hyland (2008); linking bundles to abstract moves using Hyland’s (2008) framework; and interpreting the findings in relation to socio-cultural practices. The results reveal structural similarities between IJAL and AL authors, particularly the dominance of clause-based bundles. Functional differences are more apparent, with IJAL authors favoring text-oriented bundles and AL authors relying more heavily on research-oriented bundles. AL authors also show greater flexibility through the frequent use of self-mention to realize multiple moves simultaneously. Overall, the findings confirm that meaningful variation persists within a single discipline, influenced by socio-cultural backgrounds, academic conventions, and journal policies.

Kata Kunci : Academic Discourse, Applied Linguistics, Lexical Bundles, Research Article Abstracts, Rhetorical Moves