An Analysis of Interactive Metadiscourse Markers in Expository Writing by Malaysian ESL Undergraduates

Studies on metadiscourse have been conducted extensively across different genres, namely, research articles, research theses, and argumentative writing. Due to differences in genres and levels of education (undergraduate/postgraduate), there has been inconsistency in results, although most studies have adopted a common framework, which is the Interpersonal Metadiscourse model. Among these genres, research on using metadiscourse resources in expository writing needs to be further investigated, especially in the Malaysian context. Hence, this study aimed to uncover the interactive metadiscourse features used in expository essays written by English as a Second Language (ESL) students from a public university in Malaysia. The primary objective is to identify the differences in the use of interactive metadiscourse markers concerning clarity and conciseness based on Hyland’s model of metadiscourse. A corpus of 206 expository essays comprising 83,445 words produced by the students was developed and analysed through quantitative and qualitative research. In order to achieve an acceptable degree of reliability, the essays were first analysed electronically using software called Text Inspector. Then, all the metadiscourse markers were examined qualitatively in context to determine their actual functions. Results revealed that the high use of interactive markers corresponds to the nature of expository essays, which is to explain, describe, or inform the reader about a particular topic or subject. The students in this study also understand that expository essays should be written neutrally, focusing on presenting facts, explaining concepts, and clearly understanding the topic. This study concluded that interactive markers are essential for inclusion in expository writing, especially in a language proficiency course, to ensure factual and critical thinking writers can be nurtured. The findings of this study may render some pedagogical implications in the ESL context, especially in writing expository essays among undergraduates.