Swales, John M.

Abstract This entry discusses the contributions of John M. Swales to applied linguistics in the areas of English for Specific Purposes and genre analysis. Swales's early work on the organization of research article's introductions in terms of rhetorical moves and later descriptions of a variety of academic genres in different languages and disciplines is also discussed. Swales's advancement of the concepts of genre, communicative purpose, rhetorical move, and discourse community within studies of academic writing are also considered. This entry also provides an overview of the analytical methods used by Swales in his descriptions of academic discourses, ranging from textography to qualitatively enhanced corpus analysis. An overview of Swales' extensive contributions to EAP education in terms of materials development, ESP course development, and discussions of important aspects of the ELT field is also provided in this entry.