ABSTRACT
The present study attempts to search the function of modality in the Iraqi learners’ essays at the college level from the perspective of discourse analysis. It aims to identify the ability of Iraqi learners to use the types of modality in their writings for the end of achieving a high level of persuasion and, hence, characterizing Iraqi learners’ peculiar communicative style. To achieve this objective, the study adopts Halliday’s (1985/1994) modal of SFG (Systemic Functional Grammar) to render a statistic of modality types, whereby thirty essays are chosen randomly as data of this study, Writing Essay Material, Third Year Class, English Department, College of Education for Humanities, University of Anbar, 2018-2019. The finding of the study reveals that since the subject under analysis is argumentative, students are free to use the types of modality and, hence, the types of modality are vital to help students express their opinions in persuasive way. This refers to the vital communicative value of modality types.
KEYWORDS
modality, Halliday’s 1985 SFG, writing essays