Similar structures in research articles of different disciplines indicate that the research article can be qualified as a genre across disciplinary borders. In spite of these structural similarities, which are constitutive for a genre, there are linguistic varieties that can be found in research articles of several disciplines relevant to be pointed out when teaching academic writing at the university. Little research has been conducted so far on linguistic varieties within subcategories of a

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... scipline, because it is assumed that linguistic varieties within the genre research article are discipline-specific and therefore can only be found across disciplines. The study shows that the macro structure of the research articles' introductions are essentially determined by the research question and the research method, which vary within this discipline. This result is particularly relevant for the teaching of academic writing, because it offers an alternative approach to support the writing process oriented towards the core of every research: which is to formulate a research question and to choose an appropriate method rather than to strictly follow assumed disciplinary writing norms. 1 Einleitung Seit den 70er Jahren des 20. Jahrhunderts beschäftigt sich die anglo-amerikanische linguistische Forschung mit dem wissenschaftlichen Artikel. Dabei können zwei Forschungsbereiche festgemacht werden, die sich zum Teil ergänzen. Einerseits die Textsorten-oder Genreforschung und andererseits die stark anwendungsorientierte Erforschung professioneller und studentischer Textproduktion (vgl.