Using the Appraisal framework to analyze source use in essays: a case study of engagement and dialogism in two undergraduate students’ writing

International audienceA key element of academic writing involves incorporation of external voices, which is a complex rhetorical and linguistic task. Student writers must face this challenge of using sources to strengthen their own arguments. Appraisal, specifically Engagement, provides a useful framework for analyzing source use in texts, as it considers evaluation and dialogic voicing. This article describes a semi-ethnographic case study that contrasts two undergraduate writers and their writing drafts. Results show similarities and differences based on the linguistic abilities of the students and their experience in writing, but overall improvement in terms of dialogic voicing in the final drafts. Applications to research and instruction for ESL and mainstream writing are discussed

"There and Back Again" in the Writing Classroom: A Graduate Student's Recursive Journey Through Pedagogical Research and Theory Development

International audienceThis article discusses my (recursive) process of theory building and the relationship between research, teaching, and theory development for graduate students. It shows how graduate students can reshape their conceptual frameworks not only through course work, but also through researching classes they teach. Specifically, while analyzing the intersection of modality, evidence, and argument in my students' writing, I began to adopt Bakhtinian (1981) theory of dialogic voicing and appropriation as a framework through which to approach writing development. I examine the influences of curriculum , policy, citation, and plagiarism on student writing and conclude with discussing the changes in my teaching practices