Persuasion through Metadiscourse: Examining the Textual Metadiscourse Used in the Malaysian Universities' Digital Promotional Materials.

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Title:	Persuasion through Metadiscourse: Examining the Textual Metadiscourse Used in the Malaysian Universities' Digital Promotional Materials.
Authors:	MOHAMAD, NOR ATIFAH¹ atifah740@uitm.edu.my, AB AZIZ, AMEIRUEL AZWAN¹, MOHD ADNAN, AIRIL HAIMI², RAZALI, NAZARUL AZALI¹
Source:	3L: Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies. Dec2025, Vol. 31 Issue 4, p330-344. 15p.
Subject Terms:	Universities & colleges, Content analysis, Persuasion (Psychology), Promotional literature, Persuasive technology, Discourse markers
Abstract:	Promotional booklets are central to how universities persuade prospective students. This study examines how textual metadiscourse realises persuasion in Malaysian universities' digital promotional materials. We compiled two subcorpora from official university websites: 10 booklets from Malaysian public universities and eight from Malaysian private universities. Textual content bearing persuasive intent (e.g., welcomes, institutional overview, "why choose us," facilities, testimonials) was extracted and analysed in AntConc software. A functional, manual coding determined whether candidate items performed metadiscoursal work, and categories followed Hyland's (2005) interpersonal model (interactive vs. interactional). Frequencies were normalised per 1,000 words. Across the combined corpus, interactive resources slightly outnumbered interactional resources. For the interactive resources, transitions were the most frequent interactive device, followed by code glosses and frame markers, reflecting the need to connect dense promotional information coherently. Within interactional resources, attitude markers and self-mentions were most common, signalling institutional stance and persona, with engagement markers also prominent. Private-university materials displayed a higher overall density of metadiscourse and a smaller gap between interactive and interactional resources than public-university materials, suggesting a more balanced "guide + engage" approach. These patterns indicate a persuasive blend of logos (via text-organising resources) with pathos/ethos (via stance and reader alignment). The study contributes corpus-assisted evidence on promotional discourse and offers practical implications for crafting persuasive, reader-friendly university marketing texts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
	Copyright of 3L: Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies is the property of 3L: Language, Linguistics, Literature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database:	Education Research Complete

Description
Abstract:	Promotional booklets are central to how universities persuade prospective students. This study examines how textual metadiscourse realises persuasion in Malaysian universities' digital promotional materials. We compiled two subcorpora from official university websites: 10 booklets from Malaysian public universities and eight from Malaysian private universities. Textual content bearing persuasive intent (e.g., welcomes, institutional overview, "why choose us," facilities, testimonials) was extracted and analysed in AntConc software. A functional, manual coding determined whether candidate items performed metadiscoursal work, and categories followed Hyland's (2005) interpersonal model (interactive vs. interactional). Frequencies were normalised per 1,000 words. Across the combined corpus, interactive resources slightly outnumbered interactional resources. For the interactive resources, transitions were the most frequent interactive device, followed by code glosses and frame markers, reflecting the need to connect dense promotional information coherently. Within interactional resources, attitude markers and self-mentions were most common, signalling institutional stance and persona, with engagement markers also prominent. Private-university materials displayed a higher overall density of metadiscourse and a smaller gap between interactive and interactional resources than public-university materials, suggesting a more balanced "guide + engage" approach. These patterns indicate a persuasive blend of logos (via text-organising resources) with pathos/ethos (via stance and reader alignment). The study contributes corpus-assisted evidence on promotional discourse and offers practical implications for crafting persuasive, reader-friendly university marketing texts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:	01285157
DOI:	10.17576/3L-2025-3104-21