Epistemic stance construction in L1 and L2 undergraduate argumentative writing

Abstract

The current study examined whether and how Korean L2 undergraduate writers epistemic marker use pattern differs from that of English L1 undergraduate writers. The quantitative and qualitative analysis revealed that L2 writers overall relied on a limited range of epistemic markers compared to L1 writers. Specifcially, L2 writings appeared to be characterized by assertive tone and strong writer commitment due to the lack of diverse hedging expressions and over/mis-use of I think construction and the modal verb will. These findings provide some pedagogical implications for EFL writing classes that it would be more effective to teach L2 writers a wide range of epistemic markers and their function variations in diverse usage contexts.