The importance of metadiscourse in academic writing

Metadiscourse (or ‘metatext’) is a key feature of academic writing.

Hyland (2019) describes it as the writer’s “interpersonal communication” and it refers to the parts of your text that talk about your argument in order to assist your reader.

You use metadiscourse in two main ways:

(1) Structural cues to explicitly organize your text and help your reader navigate it.

Examples include:

• Words or signal phrases which connect ideas or arguments (‘However’, ‘Also’, ‘To conclude’ etc.)
• A purpose statement and overview in the introduction of a paper or section to inform the reader of what will follow
• A purpose restatement and summary in the conclusion to remind the reader what the text was about

For more information on these cues, read Structured: Cranfield Study Skills Hub.

(2) Stance cues to signal your viewpoint to the reader and help them understand your interpretation of the research you are drawing on.

• Hedging and booster language can indicate confidence in the strength of your feeling about the claims you are making E.g., ‘The research suggests…’ rather than ‘The research…
•  Use of tenses (present/past) can indicate your confidence in whether the claims you are making are currently valid, or were valid in the past E.g., Changing connectivity does not drive seasonal trends v Changing connectivity did not drive seasonal trends.

For more information on hedging and qualifying claims, read Balanced: Cranfield Study Skills Hub.

For more information on use of tenses, you can read The three common tenses used in academic writing and How can I sound professional?.

Other sources of support:

 Metadiscourse: Explorations of Style

Reporting research: Metatext

Developing writing skills for graduate research

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