Formulaic language in high-stake research writing: Investigating the semantic implications of collocations and fixed expressions in postgraduate dissertation
Main Article Content
Abstract
The use of formulaic sequences and consistent combinations of words proves valuable in enhancing the sophistication, organisation, and connection to a specific field of academic writing. The goal of this study was to look into the semantic value, distribution, and ways of understanding formulaic sequences in postgraduate dissertations in Linguistics and Education by blending document analysis with the results of a questionnaire survey. Our approach included studying 113 postgraduate dissertations to find, classify, and examine formulaic patterns in different dissertation sections, as well as surveying 113 post graduate (PD) students to know their level of awareness, frequency, perceived challenges, and interpretations, which were then analysed using varying statistical and testing approaches. There were many instances of formulaic sequences found in the literature review (30.5%) and discussion (19.3%) sections, as well as a lot of vague and improper use of these formulaic structures, mostly in parts of the text that are meant to be argumentative or evaluative. This result was supported in the survey, where participants reported having a moderate understanding (M = 3.08) and facing difficulties when choosing the right order of actions (71.7%) and making precise language choices (68.1%) in the use of formulaic sequence. Additional analysis showed that students in Master’s programmes were more aware than those in Doctoral programmes, while there were also major variations in how the fixed expressions were used, depending on the discipline (p < 0.05). By examining these data sets together, it was clear that researchers’ awareness of pragmatic uses of language lagged behind their actual practises, requiring attention in language classes to specific formulaic language uses. The study concluded by suggesting that targeted phraseological practise, scaffolded guidance, and genre-targeted academic writing support should be part of postgraduate education. Furthermore, the paper recommended more in-depth research to learn more about the processes involved in using formulaic language in academic writing.
Downloads
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
References
Ab Manan, N. A. (2016). Formula instruction in English language writing: Learnability, teachability and learner variables. International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature, 5(3), 1–9.
Aghbar, A. A. (1990). Fixed expressions in written texts: Implications for assessing writing sophistication. ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED321486.
Ahn, H. (2012). Teaching formulaic sequences in the EFL classroom: Focusing on collocations. English Teaching, 67(1), 47–73.
Al-Awawdeh, N., Al-shaboul, I. A., & Saleem Khasawneh, M. A. (2023). ADVANCING FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING WITH AI-ASSISTED MODELS; INSIGHTS FROM LECTURERS AND UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATORS. Journal of Namibian Studies, 34.
Altenberg, B., & Granger, S. (2001). The grammatical and lexical patterning of MAKE in native and non-native student writing. Applied Linguistics, 22(2), 173–195.
Arifin, R. S. F., Supriyadi, A. A., Harmaen, D., & Muslim, A. (2025). How lecturers in foreign languages can utilize the innovativeness of AI models to improve students’ performance through personalized assessment and customized learning systems. Research Journal in Translation, Literature, Linguistics, and Education (RJTLLE), 1(1), 11-23.
Biber, D., Conrad, S., & Cortes, V. (2004). If you look at…: Lexical bundles in university teaching and textbooks. Applied Linguistics, 25(3), 371–405.
Chen, Y. H., & Baker, P. (2010). Lexical bundles in L1 and L2 academic writing. Language Learning & Technology, 14(2), 30–49.
Cortes, V. (2004). Lexical bundles in published and student disciplinary writing: Examples from history and biology. English for Specific Purposes, 23(4), 397–423.
Durrant, P. (2009). Investigating the viability of a collocation list for students of English for academic purposes. English for Specific Purposes, 28(3), 157–169.
Durrant, P., & Schmitt, N. (2009). To what extent do native and non-native writers make use of collocations? International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 47(2), 157–177.
Hyland, K. (2008). Academic clusters: Text patterning in published and postgraduate writing. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 18(1), 41–62.
Hyland, K., & Tse, P. (2007). Is there an "academic vocabulary"? TESOL Quarterly, 41(2), 235–253.
Jiang, N., & Nekrasova, T. M. (2007). The processing of formulaic sequences by second language speakers. The Modern Language Journal, 91(3), 433–445.
Kalsoom, T., Mujahid, A. H., & Khanam, A. (2025). The correlation between foreign language undergraduates’ usage of social media short videos as digital assistant tutors and increase in their reading and writing proficiency. Research Journal in Translation, Literature, Linguistics, and Education (RJTLLE), 1(1), 1-10.
Kang, J. Y. (2013). The use of formulaic sequences in academic writing: A case study of Korean EFL learners. English Teaching, 68(4), 3–23.
Laufer, B., & Waldman, T. (2011). Verb–noun collocations in second language writing: A corpus analysis of learners’ English. Language Learning, 61(2), 647–672.
Li, J., & Schmitt, N. (2009). The acquisition of lexical phrases in academic writing: A longitudinal case study. Journal of Second Language Writing, 18(2), 85–102.
Martinez, R. (2013). A framework for the inclusion of multi-word expressions in ELT. ELT Journal, 67(2), 184–198.
Nesselhauf, N. (2005). Collocations in a learner corpus. John Benjamins Publishing.
Paquot, M. (2010). Academic vocabulary in learner writing: From extraction to analysis. Continuum.
Pérez-Llantada, C. (2014). Formulaic language in L1 and L2 expert academic writing: Convergent and divergent usage. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 14, 84–94.
Revier, R. L. (2014). Testing knowledge of whole English collocations available for use in written production. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Aarhus University.
Schmitt, N., & Carter, R. (2004). Formulaic sequences in action: An introduction. The European Journal of English Studies, 8(2), 135–144.
Shin, Y. K., & Nation, I. S. P. (2008). Beyond single words: The most frequent collocations in spoken English. ELT Journal, 62(4), 339–348.
Simpson-Vlach, R., & Ellis, N. C. (2010). An academic formulaic sequences list: New methods in phraseology research. Applied Linguistics, 31(4), 487–512.
Wray, A. (2002). Formulaic language and the lexicon. Cambridge University Press.
Wray, A. (2008). Formulaic language: Pushing the boundaries. Oxford University Press.