Writer/Reader Visibility in EFL Writing : A Corpus-based Analysis of Young Swedish Students' Writing Development

Sammanfattning: This corpus-based study explores writer-reader visibility (WRV) features in the writing by young Swedish learners of English. Specifically, using Petch-Tyson’s (1998) framework, this study examines the use of WRV features in essays written by young Swedish learners in lower and upper secondary school, and compares their use to that of Swedish university-level learners. The findings align with Hasund and Hasselgård’s (2022) observation based on young learners that “the tendency to be visible writers starts early” (p. 19). Yet, as the writing proficiency or experience of this learner population increases, their visibility decreases by relying less on WRV devices. This study contributes to the understanding of how young learners’ use of WRV features in their writing develops and provides insights into writing instructions for young learners of English.