This study investigated the rhetorical move structure of the education research article genre within the framework of Swales' (1981, 1990, 2004) move analysis. A corpus of 120 systematically sampled empirical education research articles served as data input for the analysis. The results indicate that the education research article methods section is characterized by structural complexity and rich, nuanced description. Education researchers generally employ three rhetorical moves to realize the overall communication purpose of the methods section: 1) "Describing the research design," 2) "Describing data collection procedures," and 3) "Describing data analysis procedures." While the first is optional and has no constituent steps, the second and the third have a series of constituent steps, with the second being obligatory and the third optional. The moves provide very detailed information on different aspects of the methodology. This complexity and richness of information are, to a large extent, related to the qualitative aspect of much of education. Pedagogically, the results can inform ESP [English for Specific Purposes] or EAP [English for Academic Purposes] syllabus design and materials development and hence improve classroom instruction.