Deixis and Authorial Voice in Academic Writing

Research on academic writing has increasingly emphasized the importance of authorial stance and coherence, yet the role of deixis in constructing such stance remains insufficiently explored, particularly in comparative contexts involving native and non-native English writers. To address this gap, the present study investigates how personal, spatial, and temporal deixis function across key rhetorical sections of academic texts. The study employed a pragma-discourse analysis, integrating quantitative corpus techniques with qualitative interpretation, to examine ten Scopus-indexed journal articles authored by native English writers (n = 5) and non-native Indonesian writers (n = 5). Data were drawn specifically from the introduction, results, and discussion sections to capture the strategic use of deictic forms in framing arguments, presenting findings, and engaging readers. Analysis revealed that personal deixis was the most frequent category (native: 107 in introductions and 312 in results/discussion; non-native: 44 and 181), while spatial and temporal deixis appeared less frequently but carried important discourse functions. Native writers employed a wider range of deictic expressions, particularly first-person pronouns, to project identity, establish interpretive authority, and create textual proximity. In contrast, non-native writers displayed more restrained deictic use, reflecting linguistic conventions and cultural expectations that prioritize impersonality and deference. These findings highlight both the rhetorical versatility and limitations that shape deictic practices, offering insights for academic writing instruction tailored to non-native researchers seeking to enhance their authorial presence and textual clarity.