EPISTEMIC MODALITY VALUES IN APPLIED LINGUISTICS DISSERTATIONS WRITTEN BY INDONESIAN STUDENTS IN ENGLISH-NATIVE COUNTRIES
Epistemic modality is an essential linguistic feature in academic writing. However, it is complex for language learners, especially EFL learners, to use it appropriately. This study investigates the use of epistemic modality in applied linguistics dissertations written by Indonesian doctoral students in English-native universities. The study focuses on the distribution of the value of epistemic modality in the findings and discussion part of the dissertations. The results show that Indonesian doctoral students frequently employ low and median values of epistemic modality. From the findings, it can be inferred that Indonesian doctoral students prefer to propose their arguments tentatively to avoid absolutizing. Hopefully, this study's findings will help EFL learners produce more rhetorically acceptable writing.
Epistemic Modality, Applied Linguistics, Dissertation, Indonesian Students