Frame Markers — Interactive Module
Diagnose · Coach · Practice · Apply. Frame markers tell readers where they are in your argument — sequence, stage, goal, and topic shift.
Four key functions of frame markers in academic writing
Hyland's frame markers organise discourse acts and text stages. They are the signposts that let a reader follow a long argument without getting lost. Each function is colour-coded and tiered by academic value — start with the highlighted markers before reaching for the rest.
Sequencing
Order steps, arguments, or findings.
Standard opener of an ordered list of arguments.
- InitialFirst, the sample was stratified by discipline and year of study.
Use only if a 'first' has already been established.
- InitialSecond, the instrument was piloted with twelve participants.
Closes an enumerated sequence — not a synonym for 'at last'.
- InitialFinally, the transcripts were coded independently by two raters.
Formal; marks temporal order in methods and procedures.
- InitialSubsequently, the residuals were tested for heteroscedasticity.
- MedialThe samples were washed and subsequently dried at room temperature.
Slightly conversational but acceptable in argumentative prose.
- InitialTo begin with, the two datasets were collected under different protocols.
Signals simultaneity rather than order.
- InitialAt the same time, enrolment in the humanities continued to decline.
- InitialLastly, the limitations of the design are considered.
Common in learner prose; many style guides prefer plain 'first'.
- InitialFirstly, the questionnaire was distributed to all cohorts.
Choose the right marker
- firstsecondfinallyfor a closed, countable series of arguments the reader can track.
- subsequentlyfor chronological steps in a procedure, not for ranked arguments.
- at the same timewhen two things co-occur and neither comes first.
- lastly— often stacked with 'finally' in the same paragraph; choose one closing sequencer.
- firstly— avoid mixing 'firstly … second … third'; keep one series consistent.
Stage labelling
Name the part of the text the reader is in.
Locates the reader inside the current stage of the text.
- InitialIn this section, the theoretical framework is set out in detail.
Reserve for the actual conclusion, not for every paragraph ending.
- InitialIn conclusion, the evidence supports a moderate rather than a strong claim.
Introduces a compressed restatement of preceding material.
- InitialTo summarise, three mechanisms account for most of the variance.
Marks the boundary between what has been covered and what follows.
- InitialSo far, the discussion has focused on written production only.
Signals a summative judgement across the preceding evidence.
- InitialOverall, the intervention produced small but consistent gains.
Formal alternative when 'in conclusion' has already been used.
- InitialBy way of conclusion, three implications for practice are proposed.
Informal — prefer 'overall' or 'taken together' in academic prose.
- InitialAll in all, the two approaches converge on a similar estimate.
Choose the right marker
- in this sectionto orient the reader at the start of a stage.
- so farto close one stage before opening the next.
- in conclusionoverall'in conclusion' ends the text; 'overall' sums up one strand.
- all in all— reads as spoken register in a research article.
Goal announcing
State what the text will do next.
Canonical goal statement in an introduction.
- InitialThe aim of this study is to model how novices select connectors under time pressure.
Announces the thesis explicitly — strong rhetorical positioning.
- InitialThis paper argues that metadiscourse instruction should precede genre analysis.
Forward-announcing goal marker; pairs well with stage labels.
- InitialThe following section examines how the two corpora were aligned.
Acceptable in humanities and in single-author essays.
- InitialI will focus on written argumentation rather than on spoken interaction.
Narrows the scope of a section rather than the whole text.
- InitialMy purpose here is to distinguish frame markers from transitions.
Common in sciences with multi-author voice.
- InitialWe seek to explain, rather than merely describe, the observed variation.
Spoken register and vague verb — replace with a precise goal verb.
- InitialIn this essay I want to talk about the role of feedback.
Choose the right marker
- the aim of this study isfor the whole study's purpose, stated once in the introduction.
- my purpose here isthe following section examinesfor the local purpose of one section.
- this paper argueswhen you want the thesis, not just the topic, on the page.
- in this essay I want to talk about— 'talk about' announces no claim; use 'argue', 'examine', 'model'.
Topic shifting
Move cleanly to a new subject.
Clean, formal topic shift within an argument.
- InitialTurning to the qualitative data, three recurring themes emerge.
Introduces a delimited subtopic.
- InitialWith regard to reliability, inter-rater agreement was acceptable.
Shifts to a contrasted subtopic already mentioned.
- InitialAs for the control group, no comparable change was observed.
Opens a parallel concern without ranking it.
- InitialAnother issue is the uneven distribution of the corpus across genres.
Slightly conversational; frequent in lectures and presentations.
- InitialMoving on to the second research question, the picture is less clear.
Reads as speech when used alone to change subject.
- InitialNow, the second dataset raises a different problem.
Choose the right marker
- turning tomoving on towhen the new topic is genuinely new to the discussion.
- as forwhen the new topic was already flagged and is now contrasted.
- with regard towhen narrowing to one aspect of the topic already under way.
- now— as a bare topic shifter it looks unplanned; use 'turning to'.
Signposting strength & placement
How frame markers shape a reader's mental map of your text.
- Explicit goal statements in the introduction reduce reader effort more than any other frame marker.
- A stage label ('in this section') followed by a goal ('examines…') is the strongest opening pair.
- Closing a stage ('so far') before opening the next prevents the reader from losing the thread.
- Sequencers with no visible end ('first' with no 'second') leave the series unresolved.
- Repeating 'in conclusion' at the end of every paragraph drains it of meaning.
- Bare 'now' or 'all in all' import a spoken register into research prose.
Frame markers are overwhelmingly sentence-initial: they must be visible before the content they frame.
Place stage and topic markers at paragraph openings, not buried mid-paragraph where they cannot guide navigation.