A study of metadiscourse markers in formal writings

Abstract Metadiscourse markers are linguistic tools that help authors or writers, and speakers, to organise their discourse and communicate their ideas to the reader effectively. These are lexical tokens employed by the writers to engage readers in their writings and to convince them of their stance or opinion about the targeted domain. Metadiscourse markers are generally exploited in academic writings, and a multitude of literary articles focus on studying their usage in scientific discourse. In the present research, an endeavour is made to study the usage, application, and impact of metadiscourse markers over fiction, non-fiction, and academic discourses. To thoroughly examine the distribution and role of these linguistic elements, a diverse corpus is assembled, consisting of sixty literary works from fiction, non-fiction, and academic genres. The distributions of various metadiscourse markers are observed, and the concentration of their usage is then analysed and thoroughly discussed. The empirical results reveal that the usage of metadiscourse markers varies across different genres. Academic authors rely more on the interactive features of metadiscourse markers, while writers of fiction and non-fiction literature tend to exercise the interpretative traits of them. Authors or writers aptly plan the usage of metadiscourse markers and corresponding strategies to hit the aimed audience with the desired impact.