Boosters as Metadiscourse in Pakistani English Newspaper Editorials: A Corpus Based Study

 

When we read newspaper editorials, certain words and phrases make arguments sound more convincing—like clearly, undoubtedly, must, or according to experts. These are called boosters, linguistic tools that emphasize certainty and strengthen persuasion.

A recent study by Siddique, Mahmood, Qasim, and Azher (2018) explored how Pakistani English newspaper editorials (PENE) use boosters as part of metadiscourse, the language writers use to interact with readers. The researchers built a corpus of 1,000 editorials from four leading newspapers—Dawn, The Frontier, The Express Tribune, and The News—to track how often and in what ways boosters appeared.

To analyze this, they proposed a new model of boosters, categorizing them into:

• Expressions of certainty (e.g., clearly, must, undoubtedly)

• Repetition (using synonyms to stress a point, like strong and well-positioned)

• Attribution (boosting credibility by citing sources, e.g., According to US officials)

The findings were fascinating: The Frontier used the highest number of boosters, making its editorials more persuasive and assertive compared to the others. Dawn followed, while The Express Tribune and The News showed fewer instances.

Why does this matter? Boosters reveal how newspapers shape public opinion, not just by presenting facts but by framing them with certainty and authority. For Pakistani readers, this shows how editorial language works subtly to influence perspectives on politics, society, and global issues.

The study concludes that a greater use of boosters strengthens the persuasive power of writing. It also provides a foundation for future researchers to look deeper into how language constructs influence, especially in media and academic discourse.

Keywords: Boosters in Pakistani editorials, Metadiscourse in newspapers, Persuasive language in media, Pakistani English newspapers, Certainty markers in writing

You can read the full article here: https://doi.org/10.26655/MJLTM.2018.3.1

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Posted by 

Dr. Ali Raza Siddique

PhD Applied Linguistics
Department of Applied Linguistics
Government College University Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan.