Title: Iraqi university students' use of self-mention in writing
Authors: Ameen Ali Hasan
Volume: 9
Issue: 9
Pages: 1-4
Publication Date: 2025/09/28
Abstract:
This study examines the use of self-mention in essays written by Iraqi EFL learners compared with essays produced by English native speakers. Self-mention, expressed through first-person pronouns and determiners, plays a central role in constructing authorial identity in academic writing. Drawing on Hyland's (2005) stance and engagement model and Tang and John's (1999) typology of authorial roles, two corpora were analyzed. A mixed-method approach combined frequency counts with functional categorization of self-mention into stance, guide, originator, and inclusive roles. The results indicate that both groups produced 31 tokens of self-mention, but Iraqi learners used them at a higher normalized rate (10.77 vs. 6.74 per 1,000 words). Native speakers preferred singular I for stance-taking and occasionally used guide functions to structure texts. Iraqi learners, by contrast, employed more inclusive we forms, aligning arguments with readers or broader communities, while rarely using guide or originator roles.Pedagogical implications include raising awareness of the strategic functions of self-mention and encouraging greater use of guide and originator roles in English academic writing.