چکیده (انگلیسی):

Recent research studies have revealed that academicwritings are no longer impersonal. They not only convey
the disciplinary content, but also carry a representation of the writer which is called writer identity. One
aspect of writer identity is authorial identity themost visible manifestation of which is the use of first person
pronouns. L2 writers often fail to use these forms appropriately to express an effective authorial presence in
their writings because of the cultural differences between their L1 and L2. Therefore, this study aimed to
compare and contrast the use and functions of first person pronouns in L1 and L2 research articles of
Applied Linguistics (AL), Mechanical Engineering (ME), and Medicine (MED) in order to highlight both
interdisciplinary and intercultural differences. To this end, 90 research articles, 45 L1 and 45 L2, were
analyzed. The results of interdisciplinary comparison through Chi-square revealed remarkably higher use of
first person pronouns in AL articles. However, functional analysis showed relatively more authorial use of
them in MED articles. Moreover, Chi-square analysisof L1 and L2 articles indicated L2 writers’ significant
underuse of first person pronouns in AL, while in ME and MED the difference was not found to be
significant. Also, according to the results of functional analysis, in AL and MED, L2 writers projected higher
level of authorial identity than L1 writers, while in ME it was vice versa. It is hoped that the findings of this
study would help both EAP learners and teachers increase their awareness about how to use first person
pronouns. This awareness would help teachers to address the use of these pronouns in more systematic and
organized ways in writing courses, and learners to write more effectively in the target language.