The CATESOL Journal

The purpose of this study is to shed light on the ways in which experts in foreign affairs project their scholarly identities on panel presentations. While previous research has focused on the ways in which researchers in various disciplines assert their scholarly identities in written discourse and in conference presentations, no study has focused on how experts in foreign affairs build credibility when speaking on panel presentations. From a qualitative analysis of 30 panel presentations held at the Brookings Institution, the findings reveal the extensive array of rhetorical strategies panelists in foreign affairs use which appear to build credibility. The study also draws attention to the syntactic, lexical, and register choices the panelists make. Based on these findings, the study offers pedagogical recommendations to help learners make the identity shift from a student to a scholar and become competent members of their discourse communities.