ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the register variation of STEM writing produced by first-year engineering students in a public university in Hong Kong. A multidimensional analysis was conducted based on Biber's five dimensions to explore the linguistic and functional characteristics of higher-rated reports and lower-rated reports. The findings demonstrate that compared to the lower-rated reports, the higher-rated reports include more salient functions of “informational production” (and less “involved production”) and of “Abstract Information” (and less “non-abstract information”). Both functions are carried out through the use of co-occurring linguistic features. Pedagogical implications can be provided to enhance students' language use in this STEM writing task.
