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Article published In: Pragmatics and Society
Vol. 12:3 (2021) ► pp.461–487

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Taking an authorial stance in English and Arabic research article discussions

 | Shaqra University
Published online: 5 July 2021
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/ps.18044.alo
Abstract
Taking an authorial stance is essential in academic writing but remains a challenge for novice researchers, especially EFL/ESL writers. This study explores how authors of English and Arabic research article discussions employ evaluative language resources while commenting on their results. To this end, the study investigated the employment of Engagement resources within Appraisal Theory (Martin, James R. and Peter White. 2005. The language of evaluation: Appraisal in English. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). The findings exhibited a great divergence between the two language groups as Arabic discussions relied more on Contracting strategies, which indicate the tendency to close down the space for dialogic alternatives, while their English counterparts preferred Expanding resources, which open up the dialogic space for alternative voices. The study, therefore, bears some pedagogical implications for L2 learners.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The theoretical framework
    • 2.1The CARS model
    • 2.2Appraisal theory
  • 3.Methodology
    • 3.1Data collection
    • 3.2Analytical framework
    • 3.3Procedure of data coding and analysis
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Step 1: Interpreting results
    • 4.2Step 2: Comparing results with literature
    • 4.3Step 3: Accounting for results
    • 4.4Step 4: Evaluating results
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • References
References (19)
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Chen, Ming & Hui Zhou
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