Sentence-Initial This and These in Academic Prose.

This corpus-based exploratory study investigates the use of sentence-initial (SI) this and these as pronouns and determiners in a corpus of research articles (RAs) by American writers and MA theses by novice Turkish academic writers in the field of Applied Linguistics. The study reveals that authors use sentence-initial this and these both as pronouns (unattended) and determiners (attended). Contrary to expectations, prescriptions of style manuals and guide-books, overall both groups used sentence-initial this and these as pronouns and determiners, yet with lower ratios than previous studies. The findings indicate a close relationship between the writers' educational background, their field of study, and their employment of SI this and these as pronouns. The findings are discussed with reference to the relevant literature. The knowledge gained from this study can contribute to our understanding of the uses and purposes of these structures in academic prose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]