A Comparative Study of Headings in Theses and Research Articles in Applied Linguistics

This comparative study examined the internal headings of theses and research articles in applied linguistics. Two sets of data, comprising headings collected from 110 theses and headings selected from 500 research articles, underwent quantitative and qualitative analyses. In this multi-faceted enterprise, headings were assigned to two functional or conventional styles. The goal was to arrive at general trends and investigate the significance of possible differences between the heading writing styles adopted by the writers of each genre in focus. Analyses revealed the higher incidence of functional headings in both genres, particularly in research articles, while virtually all functional and conventional syntactic options used in headings testified to be significantly different. Moreover, deployment of functional headings evidenced to act as a gatekeeper alternative that might have enhanced the publication chance of research articles in prestigious ISI-indexed journals. The study provides assistance for the writers of style guide manuals and syllabus designers in paving the way for novice writers to gain recognition in academia as professionals.