Abstract

This study intends to explore the notions of writers' authority and invisibility in research article abstracts from four disciplines namely Economics, Applied Linguistics, Biology, and Mechanical Engineering. Twenty-five research article abstracts from each discipline (total 100) were analyzed for the frequency, realization and roles of the self-mention (writers' authority) and the empty theme (writers' invisibility). The results suggested that there are disciplinary differences in frequency, realizations and roles performed by the use of the self-mention and the empty theme. These results could guide the novice writers of research article abstracts (especially those from the disciplines in focus) to express their authority and invisibility while writing the research article abstracts.