Blurb:

In this study the major focus is on the use of impersonal patterns. It is argued that although non-native speakers may indeed construct less powerful and overt identities, this does not necessarily imply that the use of impersonal forms obscures a writer’s identity completely or leads to a text that is lacking in authority. Indeed it would suggest that all academic writers, whether student or professional, need sometimes to obscure and sometimes to reveal their identity within their texts.