College of Languages and Translation
This study investigates the frequency and function of four-word lexical bundles (LBs) in academic research papers authored by faculty members of the English Department at King Khalid University. The corpus comprises 171 research papers published between 2016 and 2022. Lexical bundles were identified using three key criteria: frequency, range, and function. WordSmith 4.0 software was employed to extract and analyze the LBs from the corpus.
The results reveal variation in the use of LBs, with referential bundles being the most common, followed by discourse organizers and stance bundles. These findings align with previous research in this area and offer valuable insights for studies on English for Academic Purposes (EAP). The study suggests that understanding the prevalent use of LBs can aid EAP instructors, curriculum developers, and policymakers in designing more effective academic writing programs. By highlighting the functional variations of LBs in academic discourse, the research contributes to a deeper understanding of linguistic patterns in scholarly writing, offering practical applications for improving academic literacy among non-native English speakers.