Changes to Manuscripts during the Revision Process: Interpersonal Meanings in Focus

Publishing articles in English has brought up great difficulties for scholars whose first language is not English and one of the most challenging is how interpersonal meanings are realized and transformed. This study attempted to investigate manuscripts before and after publication within the framework of the Appraisal Theory, in particular Engagement system (Martin White, 2005) to see what is achieved during the revision that makes the texts publishable. To this end, two versions of 60 research articles namely prior to submission (PS) and after publication (AP) were collected and analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Analysis involved the alternations made in different sections of the manuscripts in terms of monoglossic and heteroglossic features. The results revealed that compared to AP texts, the PS texts had higher frequency of clauses that were stated as bare assertion. Similarly, the frequent lexicogrammatical realization of entertain in the PS texts included the modal finites can and may, while in AP texts this involved the modal finites could, may, can, and would along with conjunctions whether and if. In the same vein, the qualitative analysis, which is in line with previous research (Swales, 1990; Salager-Mayer, 1994), showed that revisions were aimed to achieve a number of functions which mainly included projecting an image of honesty and humility and conveying propositions to make them less challengeable by readers.