Hooking the Readers via the Use of Attitudinal Language in Economic Research Article Abstracts

Phuong Thi Pham

Abstract


The purpose of this study is to investigate the strategic use of evaluative language in economic research abstracts with regard to how authors use Attitude expressions in light of Martin and White's (2005) model to engage their readers and draw more attention to their articles. The analysis of 60 abstracts in English, which were retrieved from the Scopus and Web of Science databases, documented much higher frequencies of Appreciation subtypes (the assessment of objects or phenomena) than of Affect (personal feelings) and Judgment (evaluation of people and their behaviours). Appreciation subtypes deserve much more consideration with regard to objectivity and value judgments. Interestingly, the evaluations of Composition, which include the organisation and structure of objects or phenomena, are almost balanced between positive and negative polarity, which might point to nuances in the presentation of the research area and study contributions. In addition, the results show variation in realisations for the attitudinal types using different parts of speech. Interestingly, concerning lexical realisations, the study finds that the term “optimal” is prevalent in the data, which may signal a feature in the specific discipline examined. These findings provide valuable insights into the strategic use of attitudinal language in the economic discourse community and how one could thereby facilitate communicative success in the publication of writing.

 

Keywords: Appraisal framework; attitude; abstract; evaluative; economics


Full Text:

PDF

References


Affandi, A. M., & Maulluddul, H. (2023). Research Article Introductions in Applied Linguistics: A Comparative Study on the Use of Appeals. Journal of Language Education, 9(2 (34)), 12-24.

Alotaibi, H. S. (2019). An Exploration of Authorial Stance in SSCI-ranked Journals versus Non-SSCI-ranked Journals. 3L: Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 25(3), 65-78. https://doi.org/http://doi.org/10.17576/3L-2019-2503-05

Alotaibi, H. S., & Arabi, H. (2020). Taking Authorial Stance in Arabic Research Articles Introductions. International Journal of Arabic-English Studies, 20(2), 41-62. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.33806/ijaes2000.20.2.2

Amornrattanasirichok, S., & Jaroongkhongdach, W. (2017). Engagement in literature reviews of Thai and international research articles in applied linguistics. http://sola.kmutt.ac.th/dral2017/proceedings/5-6Additional/312-

_Engagement%20in%20literature%20reviews_Supattra%20Amornrattanasirichok%20and%20%20Woravut%20Jaroongkhongdach.pdf

Arsyad, S., & Wardhana, D. E. C. (2022). Marketing Journal Articles: How Indonesian Scholars in English Education Use Marketization Strategy in Their Article Introductions. 3rd International Conference on Educational Science and Teacher Profession (ICETeP 2021),

Arunsirot, S. (2012). The use of appraisal theory to analyze Thai newspaper commentaries. MANUSYA: Journal of Humanities, 15(1), 70-89. https://doi.org/10.1163/26659077-01501005

Arvay, A., & Tanko, G. (2004). A contrastive analysis of English and Hungarian theoretical research article introductions. IRAL, 42 (2004), 71–100. https://doi.org/10.1515/iral.2004.003

Biber, D., Johansson, S., Leech, G. N., Conrad, S., & Finegan, E. (1999). Grammar of spoken and written English. John Benjamins.

Brooke, M. (2014). Attribution and Authorial (Dis) Endorsement in High- and Low-rated Undergraduate ESL Students’ English Academic Persuasive Essays. English Linguistics Research, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.5430/elr.v3n1p1

Cavasso, L., & Taboada, M. (2021). A corpus analysis of online news comments using the Appraisal framework. Journal of Corpora and Discourse Studies, 4(0). https://doi.org/10.18573/jcads.61

Chang, P., & Schleppegrell, M. (2011). Taking an effective authorial stance in academic writing: Making the linguistic resources explicit for L2 writers in the social sciences. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 10(3), 140-151. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2011.05.005

Cheng, F. W., & Unsworth, L. (2016). Stance-taking as negotiating academic conflict in applied linguistics research article discussion sections. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 24, 43-57. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2016.09.001

Fryer, D. L. (2013). Exploring the dialogism of academic discourse: Heteroglossic Engagement in medical research articles. In English corpus linguistics: Variation in time, space and genre (pp. 183-207). Brill. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789401209403_011

Geng, Y., & Wharton, S. (2016). Evaluative language in discussion sections of doctoral theses: Similarities and differences between L1 Chinese and L1 English writers. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 22, 80-91. https://doi.org/ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2016.01.001

Hashemi, A., & Mahdavirad, F. (2023). A cross-cultural, cross-disciplinary, and cross-gender study on Appraisal resources in PhD dissertation abstracts: Martin & White's (2005) Appraisal Theory in focus. Heliyon, 9(11), 1-13. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22074

Hirvela, A., & Belcher, D. (2001). Coming back to voice: The multiple voices and identities of mature multilingual writers. Journal of Second Language Writing, 10(1-2), 83-106. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/S1060-3743(00)00038-2

Hood, S. (2004). Managing attitude in undergraduate academic writing: A focus on the introductions to research reports. In L. J. R. R. A. Ellis (Ed.), Analysing academic writing: Contextualized frameworks (pp. 24-44).

Hood, S. (2010). Appraising research: Taking a stance in academic writing. University of Technology

Hunston, S., & Thompson, G. (2000). Evaluation in text: Authorial stance and the construction of discourse: Authorial stance and the construction of discourse. Oxford University Press, UK.

Hyland, K. (2016). Stance and engagement: a model of interaction in academic discourse. Discourse Studies, 7(2), 173-192. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445605050365

Hyland, K. (2004a). Disciplinary interactions: metadiscourse in L2 postgraduate writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 13(2), 133-151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2004.02.001

Hyland, K. (2004b). Disciplinary discourses, Michigan classics ed.: Social interactions in academic writing (first edition 2000 ed.). University of Michigan Press.

Hyland, K. (2007). Genre pedagogy: Language, literacy and L2 writing instruction. Journal of Second Language Writing, 16(3), 148-164. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2007.07.005

Hyland, K., & Milton, J. (1997). Qualification and certainty in L1 and L2 students' writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 6(2), 183-205. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/S1060-3743(97)90033-3

Hyland, K., & Tse, P. (2005). Hooking the reader: a corpus study of evaluative that in abstracts. English for Specific Purposes, 24(2), 123-139. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2004.02.002

Hyland, K., & Tse, P. (2004). Metadiscourse in academic writing: A reappraisal. Applied Linguistics, 25(2), 156-177.

Hyland K., & Polly, T. (2004). Metadiscourse in academic writing: A reappraisal. Applied Linguistics, 25(2), 156-177. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/25.2.156

Ivanič, R., & Camps, D. (2001). I am how I sound: Voice as self-representation in L2 writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 10(1-2), 3-33. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/S1060-3743(01)00034-0

Jalilifar, A., & Moradi, Y. (2019). Tourism Discourse Revisited: An Analysis of Evaluative Strategies in Tourist Brochures from a Systemic Functional Linguistics Perspective. Journal of English Studies, 17, 211-232. https://doi.org/10.18172/jes.3595

Jalilifar, A., & Savaedi, Y. (2012). They want to eradicate the nation: A cross-Linguistic study of the attitudinal language of presidential campaign speeches in the USA and Iran. Iranian journal of applied language studies, 4(2), 59-96. https://doi.org/10.22111/IJALS.2012.1517

Jiang, F. K., & Hyland, K. (2022). “The datasets do not agree”: Negation in research abstracts. English for Specific Purposes, 68, 60-72. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2022.06.003

Kanoksilapatham, B. (2005). Rhetorical structure of biochemistry research articles. English for Specific Purposes, 24(3), 269-292. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2004.08.003

Khamkhien, A. (2014). Linguistic features of evaluative stance: Findings from research article discussions. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 4(1), 54-69. https://doi.org/10.17509/ijal.v4i1.600

Križan, A. (2016). The Language of Appraisal in British Advertisements: The Construal of Attitudinal Judgement. ELOPE: English Language Overseas Perspectives and Enquiries, 13(2), 199-220. https://doi.org/10.4312/elope.13.2.199-220

Lancaster, Z. (2011). Interpersonal Stance in L1 and L2 Students' Argumentative Writing in Economics: Implications for Faculty Development in WAC/WID Programs. Across the Disciplines, 8(4), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.37514/atd-j.2011.8.4.22

Liardét, C. L. (2018). ‘As we all know’: Examining Chinese EFL learners' use of interpersonal grammatical metaphor in academic writing. English for Specific Purposes, 50, 64-80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2017.11.005

Loghmani, Z., Ghonsooly, B., & Ghazanfari, M. (2020). Engagement in doctoral dissertation discussion sections written by English native speakers. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 45. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2020.100851

Loi, C.-K., Miin-Hwa, L. J., & Sue, W. (2016). Expressing an evaluative stance in English and Malay research article conclusions: International publications versus local publications. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 21, 1-16. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2015.08.004

Marsakawati, N. P. E. (2022). Esp Students’ Use of Appraisal Language in Tourism Blogs. IJEE (Indonesian Journal of English Education), 9(2), 289-310. https://doi.org/10.15408/ijee.v9i2.24574

Martin, J. R. (2000). Beyond exchange: Appraisal systems in English. Evaluation in text, 142-175.

Martin, J. R., & Rose, D. (2003). Working with discourse: Meaning beyond the clause. Bloomsbury Publishing. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263105250052

Martin, J. R., & White, P. R. (2005). The Language of Evaluation: Appraisal in English. Palgrave Macmillan,.

Mauranen, A. (1993). Contrastive ESP rhetoric: Metatext in Finnish-English economics texts. English for Specific Purposes, 12(1), 3-22. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/0889-4906(93)90024-I

Mei, W. S. (2006). Creating a contrastive rhetorical stance: Investigating the strategy of problematization in students’ argumentation. RELC journal, 37(3), 329-353.

Nguyen, B. H. (2021). Evaluative Language in Conclusion Sections of Vietnamese Linguistic Research Articles. VNU Journal of Foreign Studies, 37(3). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.25073/2525-2445/vnufs.4643

Nguyen, H. B. (2023). Nghiên cứu đối chiếu ngôn ngữ đánh giá trong tiếng Anh và tiếng Việt trên cứ liệu bài tạp chí chuyên ngành ngôn ngữ học [Doctoral dissertation Graduate Academy of Social Sciences].

Nguyen, H. B., & Pham, H. (2024). A Contrastive Analysis of Rhetorical Structures of English and Vietnamese Linguistic Research Articles. 3L: Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 30(1), 191-207. https://doi.org/http://doi.org/10.17576/3L-2024-3001-14

Nguyen, T. L. H. (2018). Nghiên cứu ngôn ngữ đánh giá trong sách giáo khoa bậc tiểu học (So sánh sách tiếng Anh tiểu học ở Singapore và tiếng Việt tiểu học ở Việt Nam) [Doctoral dissertation Graduate Academy of Social Sciences.

Nguyen, T. T. L. (2018). Rhetorical Structures and Linguistic Features of English Abstracts in Thai Rajabhat University Journals. 3L: Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 24(4), 71-84. https://doi.org/http://doi.org/10.17576/3L-2018-2404-06

Pascual, M. U., L. Revista Signos. (2010). Appraisal in the research genres: An analysis of grant proposals by Argentinean researchers. Revista Signos, 43(73), 261-280. http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=157016717004

Puspita, D., & Pranoto, B. E. (2021). The attitude of Japanese newspapers in narrating disaster events: Appraisal in critical discourse study. Studies in English Language and Education, 8(2), 796-817. https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v8i2.18368

Rungkarn, P., Paweena, C., & Wannaprapha, S. (2021). Investigating EFL Learners’ Engagement in Writing Research Papers. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 11(11), 1396-1404. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1111.06

Sukma, D. W., Yanto, E. S., & Kusrin. (2021). Representation of moral values in one elt textbook for senior high school students: Critical discourse analysis. PROJECT, 4(6), 1037-1049. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.22460/project.v4i6.p1037-1049

Swales, J. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge university press.

Thompson, G., & Alba-Juez, L. (2014). Evaluation in context (Vol. 242). John Benjamins Publishing Company.

Tran, G. H., & Ngo, X. M. (2018). News comments on facebook – a systemic functional linguistic analysis of moves and appraisal language in reader-reader interaction. Journal of World Languages, 5(1), 46-80. https://doi.org/10.1080/21698252.2018.1504856

Wang, G., & Hu, G. (2022). Citations and the nature of cited sources: a cross-disciplinary and cross-linguistic study. Sage Open, 12(2), 21582440221093350. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440221093350

Zhang, W., & Cheung, Y. L. (2018). The construction of authorial voice in writing research articles: A corpus-based study from an APPRAISAL theory perspective. International Journal of English Studies, 18(2), 53-75. https://doi.org/10.6018/ijes/2018/2/320261

Zhang, X. (2015). Comparative Study on the Appraisal Resources of China Daily’s Disaster News. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 5(10). https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0510.20




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/3L-2024-3004-22

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


 

 

 

eISSN : 2550-2247

ISSN : 0128-5157