A corpus-based study on forensic linguistics: personal and impersonal expressions

Abstract

This paper examines the use of passive and personal features in a corpus of forensic linguistics research articles. The findings of this analysis indicate that there is a spectrum of possibilities that range from maximum impersonality to a considerable use of personal expressions. The qualitative study of first person pronouns shows different degrees of authorial presence in singular and plural pronouns, the frequent use of the inclusive we that involves the reader, and the potential multifunctionality and ambiguity of personal constructions. The paper ends with pedagogical recommendations so that advanced students of English for Academic Purposes learn to exploit the rhetorical conventions of this disciplinary field.