Research on academic writer development has focused exclusively on the writing output and other sources of doctoral student professional development. Nevertheless, variations in understanding ongoing development remain unclear given that academic writers involve first-year doctoral students. Hence, the study investigated the ways of understanding…

With the internationalization of higher education, more Chinese students are pursuing their postgraduate study in English-medium instruction (EMI) institutions abroad. Related studies have mostly investigated EMI policies and implementation and students' attitudes; however, they have not examined how Chinese students cope in…

Academic writing is a key determinant to be successful in higher education institutions, and graduation requirements often involve students producing theses and dissertations using academic writing skills after conducting research. The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected pre-service teachers' learning in higher education institutions, and with…

Interactive and interactional metadiscourse are linguistic features used to maintain the coherence in essays. It involved a one-way interaction between the writer and reader, thus a challenge for Second Language (L2) learners to write effectively and comprehensively. A study is done on how the L2 learners produced the metadiscourse features and…

At postgraduate level, success often depends on the ability to produce quality academic writing. To develop a framework to support postgraduate research writing, we explored the writing experiences of twenty-four postgraduate students from non-native English-speaking backgrounds. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with these participants,…

This paper examines the use of linguistic devices in a Chairman's Statement to foreground a positive self-image and background references to financial shortcomings in times of financial distress. Drawing on impression management theory and critical discourse analysis, we reveal the systematic use of language to portray an organization as a…

This study aimed to explore the experiences of Chinese EFL doctoral students in constructing their academic identities through critical argumentation in their thesis writing in an English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) context. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Narrative analysis was used to examine…

This study investigates the use of DO, HAVE, MAKE, GIVE and TAKE in light verb constructions (LVCs) and their corresponding simplex verb forms in British L1 and Malaysian L2 students' writing. The students' essay sub-corpus of the International Corpus of English (ICE) of Great Britain (ICE-GB) and Malaysia (ICE-Malaysia) formed the data of this…

An increasing body of scholars have investigated noun phrase complexity in L2 English writing from varied perspectives, but few of them focus on the differences of the English writing produced by EFLs and ESLs. Thus, the study explored how three international postgraduates from China and three local Malaysian postgraduates in a top university of…

This study mainly explored the use of Discourse Markers (DMs) in journalistic writings and the factors that prompted the BSED English students of CVSC Maragusan to commit errors. This study employed the qualitative research. Ten (10) informants were part of the writing assessment and phone interview and were chosen through purposive sampling. For…

The Malaysian government has long recognized the significance of mastering the English language among its citizenry. The government has planned, and subsequently, implemented many policies to ensure Malaysians master the English language. Although civil servants have a strong desire to master the English language to perform their duties more…

Academically, citation is pivotal since it presents justifications for the arguments and a demonstration of the writer's position. Despite the increasing number of studies on citations, little knowledge has been reported regarding the citation use and practices of EFL students within the ESL context. Hence, the present study aimed at investigating…

Purpose: The validity of any performance assessment depends substantially on the rating scale used in the assessment procedure. It delineates the theoretical construct being measured and influences how performances are judged and interpreted. This study examined the factorial validity and invariance of the rating scale used for the assessment of…

Purpose: Citation is vital in academic writing but particularly challenging for novice writers who use English as a second or foreign language. While much is known about citations types and functions, scarce knowledge is available about what makes citing a complicated procedure. Hence, this study explores the difficulties in citing and integrating…

The online discussion forum (ODF) is one of the many online interactive tools used for educational purposes. This paper discusses a study in a Malaysian university that examined the ODF interactions of students completing an assignment on paraphrasing. A class of 43 English as a Second Language (ESL) students enrolled in a writing course were…