Analyzing Metadiscourse in Kurdish University Students’ EFL Writing
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32410/huj-10511Keywords:
Metadiscourse features, Textual Markers, Interpersonal Markers, Argumentative Essays, EFL StudentsAbstract
Metadiscourse markers are essential features of academic writing used to achieve certain discoursal purposes, such as holding the text together, marking the writer’s stances, and interacting with the audience. Different types of metadiscourse are employed to perform various functions in a given text, but they are mainly divided into two major categories of ‘textual’ and ‘interpersonal’ based on their main uses. With reference to the significance of this textual feature, the present study was conducted to investigate metadiscourse markers found in argumentative essays written by Kurdish university EFL students. The study was restricted to 30 advanced senior students of the English Department at the University of Basic Education, Salahaddin University-Erbil. After assigning the writing task to the students, the essays were collected and analyzed according to the corpus linguistics methodology. That is, quantitative analyses and correlational statistics were performed on the linguistic data. The study discovered that Kurdish EFL students are exceptionally good at using metadiscourse in terms of quantity and quality. Nevertheless, the students showed poor competency with regard to overusing metadiscourse markers.
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