Abstract
Metadiscourse markers are essential linguistic devices that writers employ to guide readers through a text, enhance coherence, and establish interaction between the writer and the audience. This paper examines the extent to which Nigerian Certificate in Education (NCE) II students utilize metadiscourse markers in their essay writing. Employing a qualitative descriptive research design, the study used an expository essay test to collect data from a purposive sample of 180 NCE II students drawn from a population of 297 across two Colleges of Education in Katsina State, Nigeria. Data were analysed using Hyland’s (2005) taxonomy of interactive and interactional markers as the analytical framework. Findings indicate that while students demonstrated some awareness of basic metadiscoursefeaturesnotably transition markers (14.2%) and engagement markers (11.6%) their overall usage remained largely inconsistent and uneven. Evidential markers (0.1%), endophoric markers (0.3%), and attitude markers (0.5%) were virtually absent, reflecting significant deficiencies in source integration, intra-textual referencing, and stance expression. The study concludes that explicit and systematic instruction in metadiscourse awareness is essential for improving the academic writing competence of pre-service teachers at the NCE level.
Keywords: Metadiscourse markers, academic
writing, textual coherence, reader–writer relationship, expository essay
writing, Hyland’s taxonomy
DOI: 10.36349/sojolics.2026.v02i01.010
author/Umar, S. A. & Kamal, A.
journal/Sokoto JOLICS 2(1) | June 2026 |
