Finding pedagogical value by rhetorically analysing scientific article introductions

When applying the traditional and expected Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (IMRaD) structure to scientific article writing, framing the introduction presents an opportunity for authors to guide reviewers and readers through a carefully curated presentation of relevant literature, clarify the nature of the research problem, and claim its centrality. In this chapter, we offer a qualitatively enriched approach to understanding the important pedagogical areas and relationships between author, teacher, and editor before articles enter scientific discourse, providing nuanced rhetorical understandings of what introductions perform for readers. First, we present a Swales’ style analysis of introductions from 20 scientific manuscripts in the medical field and compare them (eight by medical students, eight by resident physicians, and four published article introductions written and edited by two co-authors). Using Swales’ Create a Research Space (CARS) model as an analytical tool and stasis theory as a helpful rhetorical frame, we aim to show how writing identities can evolve along a continuum from student to expert and provide a glimpse of writing across the lifespan. We then triangulate our CARS analysis with information elicited through interviews with published and unpublished writers. We conclude by making suggestions for writing pedagogy useful in both author–teacher and author–editor contexts.