Rhetorical Transfer in Postgraduate Academic Argumentation: A Contrastive Rhetoric Study of Urdu and English Theses in Pakistani Social Sciences

Abstract

This contrastive rhetoric study examines rhetorical transfer patterns in postgraduate theses produced in social sciences departments across fifteen Pakistani universities. Analysing one hundred theses (fifty Urdu-medium and fifty English-medium) submitted between 2018 and 2023, the research investigates how first-language rhetorical conventions influence academic argumentation in second-language writing. Through a mixed-methods design incorporating both textual analysis and semi-structured interviews with thirty thesis supervisors, the study identifies significant transfer effects in organisational patterns, hedging strategies and metadiscoursal features. The findings reveal that Urdu-medium theses demonstrate higher frequencies of indirect argumentation, reader-responsible prose and collective voice constructions, whilst English-medium theses exhibit greater adherence to linear deductive patterns consistent with Anglo-American academic conventions. The study contributes to pedagogical innovation by proposing a Culturally Responsive Academic Writing Framework tailored for Pakistani postgraduate contexts. Implications extend to HEC policy formulation and graduate writing programme development

Keywords

Rhetorical transfer, contrastive rhetoric, academic argumentation, Pakistani social sciences, postgraduate theses, Urdu-English bilingualism, HEC standards