LANGUAGE USE IN PEER-REVIEW TEXTS

Applying the functional approach to language developed by Halliday and Hasan, this study delineates the criterial and characteristic feature s of language used in 13 peer review letters from a graduate seminar b y native speakers of English, with an average length of 300-350 words. Examining discourse goals, global text structure, obligatory and opti onal elements, sequence and co-occurrence of discourse elements, verb types, modalized directives, and lexical choice, this article demonstr ates that peer review texts are shaped by the institutional and situat ional contexts within which they are embedded, and at the same time co ntribute to these contexts.