Rhetorical Moves, Intensification, and Mitigation in Motivation Letters for Acceptance into Graduate Schools in México

Bibliographic Data

ID11154284
AuthorsCarolina Urizar Ocampo (0000-0002-9702-4775, Autonomous University of Queretaro, corresponding author), Eva Patricia Velásquez Upegui (0000-0001-6779-7331, Autonomous University of Queretaro)
Year2023
Volume28
Issue3
Pages1-20
Publication date2023-09-13
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueÍkala Revista de Lenguaje y Cultura (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0123-3432 • E-ISSN: 2145-566X
PublisherUniversidad de Antioquia (PUBLISHER • CO)
DOI10.17533/udea.ikala.351206
OpenAlexW4388109599
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited8

The motivation letter is a promotional genre often requested for acceptance into post-graduate programs in Mexico. Even though universities and research centers provide some guidelines for its preparation, there is not a clear description of this genre's textual structure or of its pragmatic features. Given this situation, we developed a qualitative research study which aimed to describe the rhetorical movements and the use of intensification and attenuation mechanisms deployed by applicants to two post-graduate programs of two universities in Mexico in 30 motivation letters written in Spanish language. For the analysis, we used the ATLAS.ti 9 software. Findings show that four rhetorical movements characterize this genre, namely, (a) to explicitly state the reasons for applying, (b) to present the applicant's objectives, (c) to persuade the reader, and (d), to express future expectations. Meanwhile, intensification appears to be more common than attenuation, suggesting that the applicants strive to build a valuable self-image for the selection committee while keeping some degree of modesty, given the asymmetry in the reviewer-applicant relationship. This study highlights the importance of integrating this genre and its discursive features in the teaching of academic writing at universities, acknowledging the discursive characteristics of each disciplinary community

Discipline · Genre analysis · Graduate students · Linguistics · Pedagogy · Political science · Public relations · Rhetorical question · Social science · Sociology · Educational Outcomes and Influences · Educational Research and Science Teaching · Psychology · Psychology Research and Bibliometrics

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