AUTHORIAL PRESENCE IN ENGLISH THESIS WRITING: VIETNAMESE WRITERS’ VIEWS ON SELF-REFERENCE

Abstract

Writer identity or authorial presence has drawn tremendous attention in the past decades; however, previous studies tend to focus on corpus analyses of self-reference use in research articles written by established researchers. It is important to understand not only how self-reference devices are used, but also why they are used by novice writers such as students, especially those who use English as a foreign language. Research in this area, however, is still limited. To address this research gap, the present study examines Vietnamese students’ perceptions of self-reference in English research writing. Data were collected from 141 Master’s students at different thesis writing stages: Pre-writing, Writing, and Completed, through questionnaires and interviews. Results of Chi-square tests show no significant differences across the groups in their perceptions of self-reference and rhetorical functions. While students widely accept indirect self-reference, uncertainty remains regarding first-person pronouns. Many students avoid “I” due to concerns about objectivity, shaped by academic norms, institutional expectations, and prior exposure to research. The study highlights the need for targeted writing instruction that considers disciplinary and cultural influences.