Persuasive strategies in grant recommendation letters written by senior faculty in a Ghanaian university
The genre system of grant application has gained attention from researchers in Applied Linguistics, Discourse Studies, and Higher Education. However, the grant recommendation letter (GRL), also known as the “letter of support”, has been understudied in this system. To address this gap, this study ex...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Sciendo
2023-12-01
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| Series: | ExELL (Explorations in English Language and Linguistics) |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.2478/exell-2023-0009 |
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| author | Afful Joseph Benjamin Archibald Hesse Eugene Kwesi Agbaglo Ebenezer Bonsu Emmanuel Mensah |
| author_facet | Afful Joseph Benjamin Archibald Hesse Eugene Kwesi Agbaglo Ebenezer Bonsu Emmanuel Mensah |
| author_sort | Afful Joseph Benjamin Archibald |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The genre system of grant application has gained attention from researchers in Applied Linguistics, Discourse Studies, and Higher Education. However, the grant recommendation letter (GRL), also known as the “letter of support”, has been understudied in this system. To address this gap, this study examined the persuasive strategies used in GRLs. Using Aristotle’s Theory of Persuasion and a qualitative inductive discourse analysis, we analysed 90 GRLS. The findings revealed that GRLs employ different frequencies of ethos, logos, and pathos to influence the grant committee. The writers primarily emphasised rational justifications for the applicant’s qualifications, while also demonstrating ethos through appropriate personal traits. Personal pronouns were used to perform discursive functions as well. Based on the findings, we offer implications for pedagogy and further research on GRLs. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ec80a357d5b34e4ab6d8a4003c0c2383 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2303-4858 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Sciendo |
| record_format | Article |
| series | ExELL (Explorations in English Language and Linguistics) |
| spelling | doaj-art-ec80a357d5b34e4ab6d8a4003c0c23832025-01-31T08:34:31ZengSciendoExELL (Explorations in English Language and Linguistics)2303-48582023-12-0111213315610.2478/exell-2023-0009Persuasive strategies in grant recommendation letters written by senior faculty in a Ghanaian universityAfful Joseph Benjamin Archibald0Hesse Eugene Kwesi1Agbaglo Ebenezer2Bonsu Emmanuel Mensah31University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana1University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana2The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong1University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, GhanaThe genre system of grant application has gained attention from researchers in Applied Linguistics, Discourse Studies, and Higher Education. However, the grant recommendation letter (GRL), also known as the “letter of support”, has been understudied in this system. To address this gap, this study examined the persuasive strategies used in GRLs. Using Aristotle’s Theory of Persuasion and a qualitative inductive discourse analysis, we analysed 90 GRLS. The findings revealed that GRLs employ different frequencies of ethos, logos, and pathos to influence the grant committee. The writers primarily emphasised rational justifications for the applicant’s qualifications, while also demonstrating ethos through appropriate personal traits. Personal pronouns were used to perform discursive functions as well. Based on the findings, we offer implications for pedagogy and further research on GRLs.https://doi.org/10.2478/exell-2023-0009application for grantsgraduate educationlogospersuasionpersonal pronouns |
| spellingShingle | Afful Joseph Benjamin Archibald Hesse Eugene Kwesi Agbaglo Ebenezer Bonsu Emmanuel Mensah Persuasive strategies in grant recommendation letters written by senior faculty in a Ghanaian university ExELL (Explorations in English Language and Linguistics) application for grants graduate education logos persuasion personal pronouns |
| title | Persuasive strategies in grant recommendation letters written by senior faculty in a Ghanaian university |
| title_full | Persuasive strategies in grant recommendation letters written by senior faculty in a Ghanaian university |
| title_fullStr | Persuasive strategies in grant recommendation letters written by senior faculty in a Ghanaian university |
| title_full_unstemmed | Persuasive strategies in grant recommendation letters written by senior faculty in a Ghanaian university |
| title_short | Persuasive strategies in grant recommendation letters written by senior faculty in a Ghanaian university |
| title_sort | persuasive strategies in grant recommendation letters written by senior faculty in a ghanaian university |
| topic | application for grants graduate education logos persuasion personal pronouns |
| url | https://doi.org/10.2478/exell-2023-0009 |
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