Discourse acts, local grammars, and constructions in academic writing: The case of ‘exemplifying’ construction network

This study proposes an approach that combines local grammar and construction grammar to accounting for the linguistic realisations of discourse acts, i.e., communicative or rhetorical functions, in academic contexts. It argues that local grammar patterns of discourse acts, representing form-meaning pairings, can be interpreted as constructions, which is illustrated through a case study of exemplification. Using a corpus of linguistics research articles, the study identifies five ‘exemplifying’ constructions via local grammar analyses, demonstrating that recurrent form-meaning pairings serve as foundational schematic patterns in academic discourse. Along with offering theoretical insights for research on English for academic writing, our findings highlight the need to move beyond discrete lexis and grammar toward a holistic, function-oriented perspective in EAP writing pedagogy. The proposed approach can also be productively extended to other discourse acts beyond exemplification, with potential to enhance both the descriptive adequacy of academic language and the pedagogical effectiveness of EAP writing instruction.