Research Article

Move Analysis of letters of Recommendation Written by Lecturers in a Ghanaian University

Authors

  • Joseph Benjamin Archibald Afful PhD, Department of English, Faculty of Arts, University of Cape Coast, Ghana
  • Emmanuel Kyei Tutor, Department of Languages, S. D. A. College of Education, Agona-Ashanti

Abstract

The scholarship on the rhetoric of letters of recommendation (LRs) has tended to cover those from the Anglo-American and European context. The present study aimed to investigate the structural organization of the LRs through an examination of the moves. The data consisted of purposively sampled 24 LRs written for candidates seeking admission into postgraduate programmes. The quality content analysis of the data complemented by some descriptive statistics showed that the LRs were characterized by a five-move structure: purpose of writing (move 1), context of knowing the candidate (Move 2), candidate’s credentials (Move 3), candidate’s personal values (Move 4), and closure (Move 5). In addition, with regard to the sequence of moves, the study found: (1) that the 5-move sequence was the most frequently used; (2) that the LRs mostly began with Move 1; (3) that the 1-›3-›3 sequence occurred most frequently; and (4) that Move 5 always occurred at the end of the UEW LRs.  As regards the textual space of moves, it was found that Move 3, Candidate’s credentials, occupied the greatest space (i.e. 53.01%) in the LRs. Finally, the study implies that, while critical individual preferences exist in style, conventions of writing LRs are typically embedded in epistemological structures that are unique to the discipline. The present study has implications for the existing scholarship on LRs, EAP pedagogy and further research.

Article information

Journal

Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics

Volume (Issue)

2 (5)

Pages

01-11

Published

2020-12-30

How to Cite

Afful, J. B. A. ., & Kyei, E. . (2020). Move Analysis of letters of Recommendation Written by Lecturers in a Ghanaian University. Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, 2(5), 01–11. https://doi.org/10.32996/jeltal.2020.2.5.1

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Keywords:

Genre, letters of recommendation, move structure, communication purpose(s), occluded