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The Genre of Reviewers’ Reports

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The Discourse of Peer Review

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Abstract

This chapter examines the reviewers’ reports as instances of the genre. It discusses the reports in relation to other texts and, in particular, the genre chain of which reviewers’ reports are part. It then considers the context of reviewers’ reports, the discourse structures of the reports, and the content of the reports. Finally, the chapter considers the reports from the point of view of performance, which entails sharing and understanding the norms, values, and expectations of particular disciplinary communities. It also considers the reports as acts of identity (Le Page & Tabouret-Keller, Acts of identity: Creole-based approaches to language and identity. Cambridge University Press, 1985) as reviewers engage with authors as they ‘behave in certain ways and make particular discourse choices’ (Hyland, Disciplinary identities: Individuality and community in academic discourse. Cambridge University Press, 2012a, p. 20) in their reports.

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  1. Sydney School of Education & Social Work, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Brian Paltridge

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Paltridge, B. (2017). The Genre of Reviewers’ Reports. In: The Discourse of Peer Review. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-48736-0_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-48736-0_2

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