Integrated instruction of Appraisal Theory and rhetorical moves in literature reviews: an exploratory study

Abstract An effective literature review (LR) should evaluate relevant sources to justify the author argument; this important sub-genre has challenged many graduate students. Appraisal Theory has been applied to examine evaluations in academic writing, but seldom have studies probed into its pedagogical benefits. To improve graduate students’ competence of source evaluation in LRs, we integrated Attitude, an essential component of Appraisal Theory, with instruction of rhetorical moves in LRs. We offered asynchronous workshops on how Attitude is realized across various LR rhetorical moves and provided high frequency evaluative lexis and sentences to scaffold students’ learning. Analyses of the participants’ reflection posts and their original and revised LR papers revealed multiple benefits and some challenges and suggestions regarding this novel instructional approach. This SFL-informed, genre-based pedagogical exploration showcases the value of integrating Appraisal Theory-Attitude and rhetorical moves in LR instruction to help novice academic writers compose stronger LRs with meaningful source evaluation.