INTERACTIONAL METADISCOURSE MARKERS IN HIGH AND LOW IMPACT POLITICAL SCIENCE ARTICLES

• Main Authors: Noor Afifah, Nawawi, Ting, Su Hie
• Format: Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: P Philology. Linguistics
• Online Access: http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/36785/1/tING.pdf; http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/36785/

Interactional metadiscourse markers allow writers to cultivate readers’ involvement in their text. This study analysed interactional metadiscourse markers in 20 high and 20 low impact Political Science journal articles to: (1) ascertain the most frequently used category of markers; (2) compare the distribution of interactional markers between high and low impact journal articles; and (3) compare the distribution of markers between the abstract, introduction, method and post-method sections of the articles. Using an adapted framework from Hyland’s (2005) interpersonal metadiscourse model, markers such as hedges, boosters, attitude markers, engagement markers and self-mentions were coded. There were 10,903 interactional markers identified within the articles. The two journal categories showed similarities in their distribution with boosters as the most frequently used marker and engagement markers as the least frequently used marker. After boosters, hedges had a significant amount in both categories of articles as well. While the distribution of attitude markers and self-mentions varied, the two markers were featured more frequently than engagement markers. Boosters dominated most section of the articles with hedges at a close second; suggesting the writers’ shared familiarity in controlling the strength of their proposition throughout their text.