A corpus-driven study of gratitude in English acknowledgements by Arabic-speaking MA students: constructing L2 academic writer identity

Figures & data

Table 1. Hyland’s Hyland (2004, p. 308) Move Structure of Dissertation Acknowledgements.

1. Reflecting move	Introspective comment on the writer’s research experience
2. Thanking move	Mapping credit to individuals and institutions
a. Presenting participants	Introducing those to be thanked
b. Thanking for academic assistance	Thanks for intellectual support, ideas, analyses, feedback, etc.
c. Thanking for resources	Thanks for data access and clerical, technical or financial support
d. Thanking for moral support	Thanks for encouragement, friendship, sympathy, patience, etc.
3. Announcing move	Statements delineating responsibility and inspiration
a. Accepting responsibility	An assertion of authorial responsibility for flaws or errors
b. Dedicating the thesis	A formal dedication of the thesis to an individual(s)

Table 2. Frequency and percentage distribution of moves in English acknowledgments written by Arabic-speaking MA students.

Move	Estimated frequency	Estimated percentage
Reflecting move	0 acknowledgments	0%
Thanking move (presenting participants)	8 acknowledgments	16%
Thanking move (academic assistance)	33 acknowledgments	66%
Thanking move (resources)	17 acknowledgments	34%
Thanking move (moral support)	25 acknowledgments	50%
Announcing move (accepting responsibility)	0 acknowledgments	0%
Announcing move (dedicating the thesis)	1 acknowledgment	2%

Table 3. Samples from the Arabic-speaking MA students’ acknowledgments.

Move	Sample 1	Sample 2
Reflecting move	–	–
Thanking move (presenting participants)	"I would also love to thank my beloved father and mother for believing in me, backing, and supporting me all the time." (acknowledgment 5)	"Thanks are also due to the participants in the study: tutors, student teachers, co-operating teachers, supervisors, school principals, and classroom students." (acknowledgment 20)
Thanking move (academic assistance)	"My sincere thanks also go to [names of the professors] for offering me notable suggestions related to my work during my attendance of the interesting courses I had taken under their friendly supervision." (acknowledgment 41)	"A special thank you goes to my advisor [name of the professor], who recommended me to the join this program and chaired my research committee." (acknowledgment 12)
Thanking move (resources)	"I am deeply grateful to the [Center] for granting access to their equipment, and technical support" (acknowledgment 35)	"Special thanks are due to the [Institution] for awarding me the [Scholarship/Grant]." (acknowledgment 40)
Thanking move (moral support)	"Special gratitude is owed to my academic mentor, [Name], whose mentorship, guidance, and belief in my potential”. (acknowledgment 43)	"I am deeply grateful to my spouse, [Name], for their unwavering encouragement, understanding, and patience during the challenging phases of this research journey". (acknowledgment 9)
Announcing move (accepting responsibility)	–	–
Announcing move (dedicating the thesis)	“I’ll be dedicating this work to the martyrs of discrimination.” (acknowledgment 2)	–

Hyland, K. (2004). Graduates’ gratitude: The generic structure of dissertation acknowledgements. English for Specific Purposes, 23(3), 303–324. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0889-4906(03)00051-6

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