What is Appraisal Theory

This study investigates how academics from different cultural backgrounds and levels of expertise use engagement resources to align themselves and their readers towards text-external voices. Using the appraisal theory engagement model, the introduction sections of three sets of texts from Applied Linguistics were analyzed: (1) research articles published in English, (2) research articles published in Modern Standard Arabic, and (3) Master's theses of Saudi EFL students. Results revealed that English- and Arabic-speaking writers prefer different resources due to the impact of culture. Also, Arabic-based patterns appeared in EFL writing supporting the contrastive rhetoric hypothesis at the interpersonal dimension of discourse. The patterns identified had different effects on the type of authorial voice and the nature of reader power-status. The study makes implications for novice EFL academics and for tertiary academic institutions. Explicit instruction of engagement strategies can enculturate student writers into their discipline-specific rhetorical conventions.