Utilizing the Genre-Project Based Approach for Enhancing Students’ English Research Article Writing: A Rhetorical Move Analysis

Situated within English for Specific Purposes (ESP) writing, this study addresses the limited evidence on how genre based instruction can be combined with project based learning to develop novice writers’ control of rhetorical moves in research articles. It investigates how a genre project based approach enhances the rhetorical organization of English research article (RA) sections and why particular moves are selected by students. Using a qualitative content analysis design, the study draws on 23 RAs produced in pairs by 46 Indonesian EFL undergraduates over a ten week course, complemented by a focus group interview with 10 volunteers. The pedagogy integrated three genre stages and five project phases, while the students’ texts were analysed using Swales and Feak’s move framework and the interview data were thematically coded and validated through peer debriefing. The findings show that students successfully deploy core moves in the abstract, method, and results sections, yet display fragmented control of move 1 (establishing a territory), move 2 (establishing a niche), the articulation of limitations, and recommendations in the introduction, discussion, and conclusion. At the same time, they develop emerging genre and metacognitive awareness, evident in more principled decisions about section purpose, title construction, and alignment between research design and move choices. Overall, the study demonstrates that a genre project based approach can scaffold ESP RA writing while raising rhetorical consciousness, with implications for the design of academic writing courses in EFL teacher education and for future work that traces students’ move development over time.