Vertextungsstrategien in brasilianischen und deutschen Magistereinleitungen – eine exemplarische Analyse

Abstract

This article focuses on the rhetorical stru cture of introductory sections in Brazilian and German MA dissertations from the field of linguistics. The analysis is based on the CARS (“Create a Research Space”) model proposed by  Swales (1990) for examining introductions in English research papers. We also resort to Hutz (1997), who applies Swales’ CARS model and compares English and German research papers from the discipline of psychology, and compare Brazilian with German text production (case study). The aim of this paper is to investigate whether Brazilian and German MA dissertations  follow the same schematic patterns. Do the differences hold across the two cultures and differe nt disciplines? To what extend can we talk about a ‘universal academic discourse’, as Widdowson (1979) claims?