Graduates' gratitude: The generic structure of dissertation acknowledgements

Abstract

The neglect of acknowledgements in the EAP literature is perhaps surprising given their importance in the scholarly communication process. While unrelated to the important academic goals of establishing claims and reputations, the significance of this optional genre is confirmed by its widespread use and the role it plays in the academic practice of reciprocal gift giving. Acknowledgements are almost universal in dissertation writing where they provide writers with a unique rhetorical opportunity not only to convey their genuine gratitude for the intellectual and personal assistance they have received in completing their research, but also to promote a competent scholarly identity by displaying their immersion in scholarly networks, their active disciplinary membership, and their observance of the valued academic ideals of modesty, gratitude and appropriate self-effacement. This paper discusses the importance of this genre and examines the generic structure of the acknowledgements accompanying 240 PhD and MA dissertations written by non-native speakers of English in a variety of disciplines at five Hong Kong universities. © 2003 The American University. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.