Developing a Conceptual Framework for Rhetorical Structures in Arab Postgraduate Computer Engineering Theses

Abstract

The literature review occupies a strategic rhetorical position in a doctoral thesis. It enables researchers to situate their studies within established scholarship, recognize underexplored areas, and establish the rationale for their contributions. For Arab postgraduate researchers working in technical areas such as Computer Engineering, however, developing literature reviews that progress from summary to sustained critical discussion can be challenging. This paper therefore develops a conceptual framework for examining rhetorical organization in Arab doctoral theses by bringing together genre-based move analysis, research on reporting verbs, disciplinary expectations, and cultural influences. The framework treats structural, lexical, and contextual factors as interconnected dimensions of literature review construction. It indicates that Arab postgraduate writers may be relatively successful in establishing a research territory while experiencing greater difficulty when identifying gaps and claiming a research niche, particularly when their use of evaluative reporting verbs is limited. Framing these issues within academic writing research, the study offers a basis for supervisory practice and for subsequent empirical investigation, while also providing a broader perspective on rhetorical effectiveness in technical doctoral writing.