The Application of Metafunction in Academic Text Analysis: A Review of Systemic Functional Linguistics Literature

Abstract

This literature review examines the use of metafunctions within the 
Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) framework in academic text 
analysis. Although many studies have addressed metafunctions, their 
findings remain fragmented, with each focusing on different aspects 
without offering an integrated perspective. To address this gap, the 
review synthesizes recent research to provide a clearer understanding 
of how ideational, interpersonal, and textual metafunctions 
collectively shape academic discourse. The ideational metafunction, 
particularly through transitivity analysis, is most frequently applied, 
showing the dominance of material processes and indicating students’ 
tendency to emphasize concrete actions over abstract reasoning. 
Interpersonal analyses reveal limited use of modality and evaluative 
language, resulting in descriptive rather than argumentative writing. 
Textual findings show basic cohesion but simple thematic 
development. Overall, the review confirms the value of SFL 
metafunctions for linking linguistic choices to communicative 
functions and highlights the need for stronger SFL-based pedagogical 
practices in writing instruction and teacher education.