STRATEGIC MODELS OF CRITICAL REMARKS IN ENGLISH-LANGUAGE RESEARCH ARTICLES IN PSYCHOLOGY

The article presents a comprehensive study of the strategic models of critical remarks in the leading genre of the English-language scientific discourse, that is the article.Critical remarks function as important means of realising the author's communicative goal of engaging in a scientific dialogue by revising, supplementing, or correcting existing knowledge.Critical remarks are viewed as a component of the rhetorical organisation of scientific discourse, that fulfils not only an evaluative, but also a cognitive function, as they contribute to the identification of new areas of research, ensure the quality of scientific argumentation, and serve as a tool for clarifying or rethinking previous findings.The study is based on the analysis of a corpus of authentic English-language research articles in psychology.The main focus is on the analysis of two strategic models of criticism implemented through the corresponding tactics: tactic of scientific enquiry optimisation ("Unperformed action") and tactic of scientific knowledge optimisation ("Action performed poorly").Each of the tactics is realized in the English-language research articles on psychology through specific formal, structural, semantic, and pragmatic techniques.In particular, the article analyses features of critical remarks, such as their degree of extendedness, expansion, compositional structure, typical lexical, lexico-grammatical, implicit means that express negative evaluation or indicate shortcomings or unexplored areas, and pragmatic markers.It was found that the tactic of scientific enquiry optimisation, which typically involves identifying knowledge gaps, is often presented through impersonal, extended or unextended critical remarks located primarily in the introduction or the main body of the research article.Instead, the tactic of scientific knowledge optimisation, which focuses on highlighting specific shortcomings of existing studies, is typically reflected in the critical remarks with various level of detail and argumentative support, often appearing in a dedicated subsection such as Limitations.The study concludes that critical remarks in English-language research articles in psychology is a multifaceted tool that plays a crucial role in the construction of meaning and the advancement of scientific discourse.