A Study Of The Use Of Interactional Metadiscourse In Identety Construction In English Academic Journal Articles

Academic discourse is traditionally viewed as informative and objective,but it is increasingly showed that writers also judge,evaluate,persuade and thereby construct identity in academic discourse.As one sub-type of metadiscourse,interactional metadiscourse serves as an essential linguistic resource for academic writers to express attitudes,show judgements,and communicate with readers,and plays a role in their identity construction.Based on Hyland's framework of interactional metadiscourse,this study selects 20 mixed-method RAs,20 quantitative RAs,and 20 qualitative RAs from authoritative English academic journals in the field of applied linguistics,trying to figure out the frequency and distribution of interactional metadiscourse devices,and further analyze how interactional metadiscourse devices are used to construct writers'identity in quantitative,qualitative and mix-method academic RAs.It has been demonstrated that although there are similarities in the use and distribution of interactional metadiscourse in quantitative,qualitative and mixed-method RAs,some distinct features are found in each type.Quantitative RA writers tend to emphasize cautiousness and tentativeness by using hedges in Results&Discussion,but display more certainty in Abstract by using boosters to gain readers'trust.Qualitative RA writers demonstrate a relatively high willingness to explicitly show their existence as well as emotive feelings by using self-mention and emotive attitude markers,and a stronger awareness of engaging readers by using engagement elements in discourse.In terms of how interaction metadiscourse is used in identity construction,it has been found that,in quantitative RAs,writers tend to construct their identity as cautious originator in Results&Discussion and identity as careful advisor in Conclusion by using hedges,and stress their role as confident researcher in Abstract by using boosters.In qualitative RAs,writers on the one hand are more willing to use self-mention to build up their identity as rational researchers in their justification of research design in Introduction,and one the other hand highlight their image as considerate guide in Results&Discussion by using structural personal asides.Different from the above mentioned two types of RAs,the mixed-method RAs demonstrate miscellaneous patterns in interactional metadiscourse use and identity construction.This research has both theoretical and pedagogical significance.Theoretically,this research enriches the knowledge of academic writing by demonstrating the paradigmatic influence on identity construction through interactional metadiscourse in RAs.Pedagogically,this research provides implications for English academic writing and instruction on English academic writing by revealing the preferred pattern of identity construction through interactional metadiscourse in quantitative,qualitative and mixed-method RAs.