Rhetoric Review Jul 2012

“That's Beyond the Scope of This Paper”: Analyzing the Functions of a Familiar Phrase in Academic Writing

Teresa Thonney Columbia Basin College

Abstract

A single phrase––“beyond the scope of this paper”––is used by academic writers to accomplish various communicative moves in research articles. Writers use the phrase (1) to establish a territory and occupy a niche; (2) to introduce previous research into the conversation; (3) to recommend further research; and (4) to acknowledge limitations. An examination of its uses in scholarly articles from five disciplines suggests that “beyond the scope of this paper” is a useful phrase to introduce to students still learning how to claim the value and establish the focus of their academic writing.

Journal
Rhetoric Review
Published
2012-07-01
DOI
10.1080/07350198.2012.684002
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