OBSERVING METADISCOURSE AROUND THE DISCIPLINES

Discourse about discourse

Metadiscourse refers to the idea of how writers talk about the thing they’re talking about. It helps examine the ways they integrate themselves into their works, which show their stance in the research. Metadiscourse surveys how writers make sense of the discourse that is already out there and one of its purpose is to “engage the audience and signal the writer’s attitude” (Ken Hyland, 1998).

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RESEARCH QUESTION

Metadiscourse functions as a way of conveying writers’ personalities and their understanding of the text they are working with. In the end, it facilitates communication and thus tries to build and maintain a relationship with the audience. “Metadiscourse is not an independent stylistic device which authors can vary at will. It is integral to the contexts in which it occurs and is intimately linked to the norms and expectations of particular cultural and professional communities” (Ken Hyland, 1998). They way authors write is contingent on the discipline they are writing for. Metadiscourse is a rhetorical activity and how it is used between communities vary as some of its meanings are only relevant to specific rhetorical situations (Ken Hyland, 1998).

This research will look heavily at Ken Hyland’s study, which concluded that writers in different disciplines used metadiscourse in different ways. His study stated that STEM fields and their uses of metadiscourse differed from that of humanities, so the research question I will study is: are there any observable differences in metadiscourse use within linguistics and composition since they both fall under English? There is evidence that metadiscourse patterns vary among different disciplines, but is that also true for research articles that come from within the same discipline?

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