Evaluative language in peer review referee reports

Abstract

Most international journals and conferences currently use the peer review system to ensure the quality of their contributions. Among the various types of peer review, the "blind" and the "anonymous" review seem to be the most common. Reviewers, or referees, usually write reports anonymously to indicate to authors what they should change in their papers in order to meet the requirements of journals or conferences, and to help editors to decide whether to publish the article or not. Despite their relevance in the review process and their importance for researchers all over the world, as an academic genre referee reports have not received the attention that might be expected, maybe due to their "occluded" genre status. This study presents an analysis of 50 referee reports from the fields of Applied Linguistics and Business Organisation, based on a taxonomy which combines formal and functional features. It provides an overview of some of the most significant evaluative features of this genre, and their pragmatic value as direct or indirect requests. It is hoped that this will facilitate the task of researchers who need to understand and interpret these reports, as well as those who need to write them. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.