The act of exemplification has been recognized as an important rhetorical device for clarity and persuasion in academic writing. The purpose of the present study is to explore the use of exemplification in the introduction sections of research articles (RAs). Using a corpus of 60 RA introductions in the field of Applied Linguistics, this study examined the act of exemplification, with a focus on the lexico-grammatical features of exemplification, rhetorical functions served by exemplification, and semantic resources of exemplification utilized in different move-steps of this part-genre. The results indicate that RA writers used a limited set of exemplification markers and grammatical categories in the exemplified and the exemplifying units that constitute the act of exemplification. Furthermore, the analysis revealed that the roles of exemplification varied across move-steps embedded in the RA introductions, serving different rhetorical purposes with various types of semantic resources such as concept-related, method-related, real-world-related subcategories, relevant studies, and elaborating statements. Based on the findings, the study offers pedagogical implications for English for Academic Purposes (EAP) instruction.