A Corpus-driven Study of it Lexical Bundles in Applied Linguistics Postgraduate Genres

Abstract

Lexical bundles are recurrent word combinations that commonly occur in different registers. They have been the subject of much research as they serve important functions as building blocks of coherent discourse. While much of previous research has been mainly concerned with variations in the use of these word sequences across different registers and a number of disciplines, very few studies have focused on their use within postgraduate genres. This study zoomed on possible generic variations in the use of it bundles as a particular group of these word combinations with important interpersonal roles in academic register. More specifically, this study addressed range, frequency and function of theses word clusters in EFL postgraduate genres by examining applied linguistics master these and doctoral dissertations. The results obtained indicated that it bundles were generally used infrequently in both postgraduate genres. The study also showed that while there were some overlaps between the two genres, doctoral students seemed to rely more on it bundles in the development of their texts. Functional analysis of lexical bundles showed that it lexical bundles served a wide variety of functions. The findings call for a more increased pedagogical focus on different multi-word sequences like it lexical bundles. They also stress a more genre-focused EAP (English for academic purposes) especially in advanced writing courses.