The rhetorical legacy of John Swales: Metadiscourse, style, and the construction of an EAP community

This paper explores the enduring influence of John Swales on applied linguistics, focusing on how his distinctive authorial style, particularly his use of metadiscourse, contributed to the persuasive power of his scholarship. While Swales is widely celebrated for his theoretical innovations in genre analysis, discourse community, and English for Academic Purposes, we argue that his rhetorical style was of major importance in promoting his ideas and gaining acceptance for his work. Through a diachronic examination of his single-authored journal articles, we trace the evolution of Swales's writing from the 1980s to the 2020s, identifying a growing reflexivity and engagement with readers. His increasing use of metadiscourse not only clarifies complex ideas but also constructs an interactive and collegial authorial persona—one that invites readers into a shared exploration of academic discourse. This stylistic evolution reflects both Swales's professional maturation and helped to model effective scholarly communication. By combining analytical precision with humility and accessibility, Swales demonstrated that influential academic writing is not only a vehicle for ideas but also a form of dialogue that inspires curiosity and participation. His legacy thus lies almost as much in how he wrote as in what he wrote, exemplifying the rhetorical foundations of an evolving EAP discourse community. • We analyse Swales's writing to determine the evolving changes in his style. • We select 10 single-authored articles from each of 3 periods from the 1980s–2020s. • We focus on metadiscourse and find a growing reflexivity and reader engagement. • This clarifies complex ideas and creates a collegial persona. • His legacy includes the rhetorical foundations of an evolving EAP discourse community.