Abstract
Research article abstracts often convince readers that the article is worth reading. Therefore, they rely not only on the quality of arguments or novelty of findings to persuade readers but also linguistic markers in the form of metadiscourse to assert a position on an issue, increase readability of a text, engage readers, and avoid objection to the writer’s interpretations, thereby enhancing the credibility of the text. Given that research article abstracts are often published online and their newsworthiness would affect whether they would be ultimately read, Altmetric.com, which emerged in 2010, can help quantify the popularity of research article abstracts by counting views on social media and other platforms such as news and policy documents. Yet a study on how metadiscoursal devices are used to persuade readers, and how they are correlated with Altmetric Attention Score (AAS) provided by Altmetric.com, merits attention. In our study, we examined 241 abstracts from 50 top journals in 12 disciplines with the highest AAS from 2014–2018 and performed a quantitative analysis of the interactive and interactional metadiscourse markers exhibited in the abstracts. Overall, we found a positive correlation between the use of metadiscourse and AAS. Furthermore, we noticed that each discipline used distinct metadiscourse markers in abstracts with high AAS, which contributed to its respective discipline-specific conventions. It has been previously shown that the use of an array of interactive and interactional metadiscourse renders the abstract more worthy of attention. Being knowledgeable of rhetorical choices in relation to metadiscoursal devices will enable writers to construct more persuasive abstracts by making informed judgments about the appropriate use of metadiscourse to draw the attention of readers in their respective disciplines.
Highlights
Scientists nowadays tend to promote their work to the audience [1] and persuasive features in academic communication are vital [2, 3]
Concerning RQ1a, we examined if there was a relationship between the use of metadiscoursal devices and Altmetric Attention Score (AAS), so a Pearson product-moment correlation was run to determine the relationship between the use of metadiscourse and AAS
No studies have investigated the relationship between metadiscourse and AAS in Altmetric Top ranking research articles, and our study makes a contribution to the literature
Summary
Scientists nowadays tend to promote their work to the audience [1] and persuasive features in academic communication are vital [2, 3]. Metadiscourse is an essential persuasive aspect of academic discourse and an important means of facilitating communication, increasing readability of a text, building rapport with and engaging readers, and avoiding rejection of the writer’s interpretations[13, 15, 16]. It is a characteristic of a variety of languages and genres[14, 17]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
