Genres will always provide rules but also be somewhat unsatisfying because genre conventions are never rigid rules that tell you exactly which word to choose, how to exactly structure a sentence, how to exactly order a paragraph, and so on.
Still, different rhetorical situations can provide slightly different decisions for a specific genre.
For academic journal articles, the genre you will be writing in for your research-driven writing project, using macro-structures for organization can be helpful to drill down a bit further on what sorts of moves there are to make to help give you a template for writing.
This page and the next three pages will ask you to think about how writing in introductions, methods, analysis, and conclusion sections differ in the three macro-structures of academic writing:
- Thesis-driven
- IMRD
- Problem-solution
While they are all structured a little differently, each structure does have parts that introduce the topic, explain how an analysis of some kind will be conducted, performs some kind of analysis, and concludes in some way.
However, how this writing is done looks a bit different and is carried out in different ways.
To think about this, we are going to look at three different texts that are all on the topic that Baruch student Suhaib Qasim wrote about in the research article you read today for class: immigration.
- Thesis-driven: “Donald J. Trump and the rhetoric of ressentiment“ by Casey Ryan Kelly, published in Quarterly Journal of Speech (a journal in rhetoric)
- IMRD: “‘He said he’d deport me’: Factors influencing domestic violence help-seeking practices among Latina immigrants” by Angelica S. Reina, Brenda J. Lohman, Marta María Maldonado, published in Journal of Interpersonal Violence (cited in the Qasim article; a journal in social science studies of trauma and violence).
- Problem-solution: “Immigration White Paper” published by the Christian Community Development Association (a group that seeks to connect Christians and help under-served communities).
You’ll be asked to compare paragraphs across these texts.
What does it do? How does it do it (look at each sentence)? What does this say about the function of an introduction paragraph in a thesis-driven macro-structure, a IMRD macro-structure, and a problem-solution macro-structure?
In a comment below, look at the first paragraph of each paper and compare the organization of those paragraphs, the sentence structure, the tone, etc. What do you notice? What does each paragraph do? How does it do that? Skim the rest of the paragraphs (if there are other paragraphs) of the introductions, as well. And, finally, do these differences (or similarities) say something about how these structures call for different kinds of functions in introductions? Consider some of these questions in a response of about 150-200 words.
After commenting below, click on the button below to continue.
In the first paragraph of the Donald Trump speech, the main points being told are that Trump uses rhetoric that appeals to the emotions of his supporters and is full of anger and fear-mongering. The second paper uses the IMRD method and the first paragraph begins by explaining the situation that the Latina Americans are experiencing and then it is followed by data after the introduction. The information that is presented in the introduction is crucial to understand the issues that domestic abuse cases and the number of Latinas that have to deal with it. The paper is able to tell us as the audience that this group of people is having difficulty in reaching out and searching for resources that can get them out of this situation in which they are powerless without support. In the last paper, a major issue of immigration is brought up and the way that it is expressed allows the rest of the paper to be formed. The problem-solution method is effective and the introduction is easy to follow. Out of all of the methods, IMRD is my clear favorite at the moment.
In the Thesis-driven analysis, the author starts with an abstract which is a short summary of what their entire analysis is going to be about. The author is clear about going to build their argument around a specific concept (resentment). The abstract is clearly a shorter version of the entire document including the introduction and conclusion.
The IMRD analysis starts with an abstract as well, in which the author goes over the topics and development of the research analysis. In this one, the author acknowledges that their study is different from others because they took into account other variables like race/ethnicity. They also specify the type of methods used in the study (one-on-one interviews) and make mentioning of the problems and circumstances causing the issue.
In the problem-solution analysis, the author starts with an introduction – which usually goes after the abstract. The information they give for their initial argument is very quantitative/numerical and they make a short -or starting- mention of the issue.
In the thesis-driven paper, the first paragraph of the introduction establishes the tone for the rest of the introductory paragraphs. The quote from Trump, in particular, highlights the “rhetoric of resentment.” In the following paragraphs, the author further solidifies the tone by using rhetorical, rather than empirical writing. For example, in the second paragraph, the author writes: “On the other hand, the nation is also personified as a vulnerable adolescent girl who has been subjected to senseless torture by a cruel and implicitly racialized foreign enemy.”
The IMRAD paper has a more formal tone, and aims to establish context to lead the readers into the macrostructure. After the first paragraph, the author summarizes the rest of the paper, introducing methods (literature analysis) and giving a brief conclusion of the results.
The problem-solution paper establishes the problem upfront in the introduction. The intro is short, but puts the problem clearly. It seems as if the only purpose of the intro in that structure is to present the problem. I think that this is may be the most effective intro paragraph out of the three. It is short and sweet, no BS, and cuts straight to the point.
In the Thesis Driven article about the Donald Trump speech, we see how the first paragraph contains more passion and an emotional analysis of Trumps speech. By quoting trump when he says things like “take revenge” it sets up the essay to be a very passionate analysis. Next in the IMRD essay which has a much more factual introduction. We see how they go into the studies and research for every claim. Then the last essay we see how they have many numbers in their sentences which are to the point. They give a analysis based off of the numbers.
In the thesis-driven article, the author makes a point of explaining how President Trump fans the flames of anti-immigrant rhetoric. The author clearly demonstrates how Trump appeals to ethos and pathos as a means of persuading his supporters about the undesirability of immigrants. Nevertheless, Trump fails to offer facts and statistics to back up his claims. On the other hand, the IMRD article uses logos since the author quotes facts and statistics from credible sources to highlight the prevalence of domestic violence among Latino populations in the United States. Even then, the author still notes that further research may be required to establish the pervasiveness of the problem. The last article which adopts a problem-solution approach also uses logos or appeal to logic and goes ahead to suggest that the need for a revision of the country’s immigration legal system. This problem-solution approach seems more appropriate because it goes a further step to explain how the issues in question can be resolved.
In the first paragraph of the thesis-driven text, the author is introducing what is to come in the rest of his text. He shows us that Trump is demonstrating anger and frustration towards these immigrants and is persuading his supporters to feel the same through his rhetoric. This paragraph sets up the basis for the rest.
In the IMRD article, we see more of a factual introduction. The author provides the audience with more facts such as, “Studies have shown that many of the victims of domestic violence are women that have emigrated from Latin American countries (Fry, 2006).” The last sentence of the first paragraph sort of seems like a concluding sentence. This first paragraph can be seen as a summary in my opinion of the rest of paper.
Lastly, the problem-solution text contains an introduction paragraph that is very straight-forward. It gets straight to the point which at times, can be a good thing. Using too many words can become tiring and boring to read.
In the thesis-driven article, the author seems to get right to the point with how trump uses certain rhetorical techniques to makes his supporters feel safe from outsiders, but at the same time, paint the picture that ICE will be able to deal with any illegal activity that they may find. In the IMRD article, the author shows their audience that Latinas in the US are put in a dangerous predicament that leaves them more susceptible to danger. It moves on to share research about the topic and discuss their findings. Lastly, the Problem-Solutions essay presents the problem that many immigrant families who are undocumented are put in a vulnerable situation. Later on in the essay, there is a section that includes possible solutions to this problem
In the thesis driven paper, from the very start the author analyzes part of a speech and also uses it to back up a point or thesis. She begins with no clear viewpoint while presenting the speech and then after presenting she speaks on what she wants the audience to focus on to get her point across.
In the IMRD article, the author goes straight into her argument and immediately beings to back up her point with facts. In contrast from the thesis driven paper, there is no build up to the thesis or sources that need to be analyzed.
In the problem-solution article, was very different from both the IMRD and thesis driven papers. There was an introduction to the topic as well as background on the topic. What is different is that rather than being an analysis of a source or fact, it was sort of an analysis of her subject that had sub-subjects within it.
The thesis driven paper’s introduction almost acts like a complete summary of the rest of the paper. Much of the analysis is packed into there, and the other sections expand on background and context to cover the series of rallies. The IMRD article’s introductions serves as an exposition on the purpose of the paper because it’s scientific in nature. The problem-solution white paper’s introduction is very short due to the constraints of the genre. The information is supposed to be easy to quickly understand, so the overall structure looks like an outline. A longer introduction wouldn’t help that at all.
Within the Thesis-Driven article written Donald Trump and his speech patterns, the first paragraph analyzes President Trump’s speech in an emotional context. The author of the writing piece quotes certain points the president makes such as “Trump’s newly hardened America is “mean” and “tough.” The nation is no longer complacent to be victimized by uncivilized “animals” and “predators.” Trump takes credit for liberating besieged communities across the nation and making America safe from drugs and criminal violence”. The IMRD piece is much more factual and is filled with evidence for the claims made. Lastly, in the Problem-Solution paper, a claim is made and expressed in a certain way, which then lays the foundation for how the paper is written.
The Thesis-Driven article starts off with an abstract. The abstract serves as an introduction and summarizes what the reader should expect to read about in the article. In this case on Trump’s “rhetoric of resentment”. The following paragraphs work to further this idea using credible sources. This contracts to the IMRD approach which also starts off with an abstract. However, this abstract is more specific because it encapsulates the whole research paper. The following paragraphs are structured following IMRD with the method, research, and discussion sections. These both differ from the last paper because the last approach (Problem-Solution) is essentially divided into two sections. Each section focusing on a different aspect of the same topic: the problem and the solution.