In recent decades, the topic of "self-regulation processes" has been one of the most researched areas in the field of psychology, seeing substantial growth since the 1990s (Post, Boyer & Brett, 2006).Self-regulation lies at the core of successful and lifelong learning. Self-regulated learners tend to be active, reflective and productive in their own thinking and learning (Zimmerman and Kitsantas, 1996). They think critically, use problem solving strategies and memory techniques when appropriate.From a strictly psychological perspective, self-regulation has been defined as the process by which a person generates thoughts, feelings and actions which are systematically oriented toward achieving one's goals (Bembenutty&Karabenick, 2004; Zimmerman, 2002).

Self-regulation skills may influence students’ abilities to solve problems (Swanson, 1990). Self-regulation is the controlling of a process or activity by the students who are involved in it rather than by an external agency (Johnson et.al, 2009). In Problem based learning, students become responsible for their own learning, which necessitates reflective, critical thinking about what is being learned (Hmelo-Silver, 2004).

The interactive multimedia technology and self-regulation not only enable the students to review their thought processes but also to get them exposed of modern techniques and hence students may be helped regulate their thinking processes and enhance their problem solving in science. Problem solving has been identified as an important aspect of student learning in science and technology and in the development of scientific literacy (National Research Council, 1996).

A genre important for presentation and dissemination of scientific achievements is the research article abstract. After the title, it is the abstract which influences the readers’ decisions about whether the article is worth reading. The abstract also influences the decisions of science conference organizers about whether the paper can be accepted for presentation. In view of the students’ future professional needs, the teachers of English classes at the university level should include in the curriculum of their courses teaching competence which would allow both undergraduate and postgraduate students to write a research article abstract in a convincing and credible way within the standards of academic rhetoric.

The aim of this paper is to present evidence from a classroom-based study of the effectiveness of a genre-based approach to developing academic rhetorical competence in students of English language courses. The study involved the analysis of the corpus, comprising research article abstracts, conducted by students under the teacher’s guidance and assistance. Using concordance software together with awareness-raising tasks shows how rhetorical conventions govern the structure of the research article abstract as well as the choice of grammar, lexis and style.