Yuanyuan An , Mingyue Yu , Xiuying Jin

Faculty of Linguistic and Cultural Studies, Changchun Sci-Tech University, Changchun, 130600, China
Author    Correspondence author
Medicinal Plant Research, 2025, Vol. 15, No. 6   doi: 10.5376/mpr.2025.15.0026
Received: 05 Sep., 2025    Accepted: 10 Oct., 2025    Published: 18 Nov., 2025

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

An Y.Y., Yu M.Y., and Jin X.Y., 2025, Lexical and rhetorical patterns of scientific discourse in ginseng studies, Medicinal Plant Research, 15(6): 244-253 (doi: 10.5376/mpr.2025.15.0026)

This study takes English-language scientific literature in the field of ginseng research as its corpus to explore the lexical features and rhetorical structures of scientific discourse. By integrating Systemic Functional Linguistics and Swales’ genre analysis theory, and employing corpus-based methods, the research identifies high-frequency terminology, semantic collocations, and rhetorical strategies—such as the extensive use of ginsenoside-related terms, evaluative vocabulary, and frequent hedging expressions. The findings reveal that ginseng research articles commonly follow the IMRaD structure, with rigorous argumentation and clearly defined rhetorical moves. Moreover, strategies such as self-mention and citation are widely used in constructing academic identity. Cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural linguistic variations are also evident, particularly in non-native English writing, where stylistic transfer and register adjustment frequently occur. This study aims to fill the gap in discourse analysis within ginseng research, eThis study takes English-language scientific literature in the field of ginseng research as its corpus to explore the lexical features and rhetorical structures of scientific discourse. By integrating Systemic Functional Linguistics and Swales’ genre analysis theory, and employing corpus-based methods, the research identifies high-frequency terminology, semantic collocations, and rhetorical strategies—such as the extensive use of ginsenoside-related terms, evaluative vocabulary, and frequent hedging expressions. The findings reveal that ginseng research articles commonly follow the IMRaD structure, with rigorous argumentation and clearly defined rhetorical moves. Moreover, strategies such as self-mention and citation are widely used in constructing academic identity. Cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural linguistic variations are also evident, particularly in non-native English writing, where stylistic transfer and register adjustment frequently occur. This study aims to fill the gap in discourse analysis within ginseng research, enrich the theoretical and practical dimensions of academic linguistics, and provide empirical references for non-native English writers composing international scientific articles, thereby promoting the global dissemination and academic exchange of traditional Chinese medicine.nrich the theoretical and practical dimensions of academic linguistics, and provide empirical references for non-native English writers composing international scientific articles, thereby promoting the global dissemination and academic exchange of traditional Chinese medicine.

Ginseng research; Scientific discourse; Rhetorical structure; Corpus linguistics; Cross-cultural communication