In:Dialogicity in Written Specialised Genres
Edited by Luz Gil-Salom and Carmen Soler-Monreal
[Dialogue Studies 23] 2014
► pp. 1–20
Introductory chapter
Dialogue, community and persuasion in research writing
Published online: 10 July 2014
https://doi.org/10.1075/ds.23.02hyl
https://doi.org/10.1075/ds.23.02hyl
The expression of personal opinions and assessments is a ubiquitous feature of
human interaction and, despite its apparently impersonal facade, also central
to academic writing. In scholarly genres argument involves presenting a position
on things that matter to a discipline in ways that disciplinary members are
likely to find familiar and persuasive. Beneath its frozen surface, an academic
text is seeking to build an appropriate relationship between the writer and the
reader by anticipating the audience’s likely interests, knowledge, reactions and
processing needs. We can, then, see academic writing as essentially dialogic as
writers seek to engage and persuade their readers. In this introductory chapter
I explore some of the ways that this is achieved. Based on an analysis of 240
published research papers I show how features of stance and engagement, such
as hedges, self-mention, directives and reader pronouns, are not simply dry
textualisations but elements of persuasive craftsmanship which help construct
a disciplinary view of the world while simultaneously negotiating a credible
persona for writers.
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This list is based on CrossRef data as of 8 december 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.
