Commenting on research results in applied linguistics and education: A comparative genre-based investigation Jason Miin-Hwa Lim * Centre for the Promotion of Knowledge and Language Learning, Malaysian University of Sabah, 88999 Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia Abstract As university students are frequently given the tasks of writing research reports to fulfil their respective programme require- ments, teaching novice writers to present the results of their reports understandably constitutes an essential component of English lessons at tertiary level. While past research has shown that results are consistently commented on in the Discussion section in various disciplines, the degrees to which they are allowed in the Results section may vary across different disciplines and across research reports based on different research methods. Without a detailed investigation into such disciplinary and methodological differences, instructors and supervisors would find it difficult to inform novice writers about the permissibility and necessity to incorporate comments of different categories in the Results section. This mixed-method genre-based study used quantitative and qualitative techniques to (i) identify the extent to which disciplinary and methodological differences have a bearing on the frequencies of comments in the Results sections of research papers in applied linguistics and education, and (ii) investigate the various categories of comments in relation to their prominent linguistic mechanisms. The findings of this study can also help instructors design relevant teaching materials that illustrate how experienced writers link their comments with major categories of research results. Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Genre analysis; English for research purposes; Teaching materials 1. Introduction Notwithstanding the fact that research reports are an important genre for students at institutions of higher learning across the globe, university students often encounter problems comprehending the forms and functions of various sections of the research report (Swales, 2004). Despite the availability of samples of research articles and dissertations that can be examined by them, novice writers may not find these forms and functions of writing obvious and readily comprehensible (Basturkmen, 2009). The Results section, in particular, is difficult to handle even though it is considered a crucial portion that “drives the paper and should therefore be written first” (Cargill & O’Connor, 2006, p. 210). More specifically, commenting on research results is challenging to learners, and supervisors often find it difficult to offer constructive feedback on how research results need to be discussed and commented on (Basturkmen & Bitchener, 2005). * Tel.: þ60 16 8298305. E-mail addresses: miinhwal@umich.edu, drjasonlim@gmail.com. 1475-1585/$ - see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jeap.2010.10.001 Journal of English for Academic Purposes 9 (2010) 280e294 www.elsevier.com/locate/jeap