---
_id: '61164'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: <jats:p>Building on and methodologically extending conceptual metaphor theory,
    the article examines how personal agency as a discursively produced sociopsychological
    phenomenon can be studied in elicited metaphors through a discourse-analytical
    approach. More concretely, the study illustrates how early-career researchers
    experience and express their agency in research writing through personal metaphors
    of academic writing such as riding a roller coaster or baking a wedding cake.
    A two-step discursive analysis adapts Hopper and Thompson's multidimensional approach
    to linguistic transitivity to study agency in language. The analytical approach
    involves both an in-depth parametrized analysis of all metaphors in the sample
    and a qualitative cross-analysis of the data. The results show that the participants'
    metaphors reflect both nuanced personal experiences and cultural expectations
    of academic writing, the writer, and the text. This emphasizes that research writing
    is not only a highly subjective practice but also one that is socially and culturally
    influenced. The article argues that research on agency thus needs elaborate methodological
    tools to trace discursive and sociopsychological trajectories of complex socio-cognitive
    practices like academic writing. This has implications not only for the nexus
    of research writing, identity, and academic enculturation but also for other fields
    focusing on agency in language.</jats:p>
article_number: '1567498'
author:
- first_name: Andrea
  full_name: Karsten, Andrea
  last_name: Karsten
citation:
  ama: Karsten A. Understanding personal agency through metaphor, or Why academic
    writing is (not) like a roller-coaster ride. <i>Frontiers in Language Sciences</i>.
    2025;4. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/flang.2025.1567498">10.3389/flang.2025.1567498</a>
  apa: Karsten, A. (2025). Understanding personal agency through metaphor, or Why
    academic writing is (not) like a roller-coaster ride. <i>Frontiers in Language
    Sciences</i>, <i>4</i>, Article 1567498. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/flang.2025.1567498">https://doi.org/10.3389/flang.2025.1567498</a>
  bibtex: '@article{Karsten_2025, title={Understanding personal agency through metaphor,
    or Why academic writing is (not) like a roller-coaster ride}, volume={4}, DOI={<a
    href="https://doi.org/10.3389/flang.2025.1567498">10.3389/flang.2025.1567498</a>},
    number={1567498}, journal={Frontiers in Language Sciences}, publisher={Frontiers
    Media SA}, author={Karsten, Andrea}, year={2025} }'
  chicago: Karsten, Andrea. “Understanding Personal Agency through Metaphor, or Why
    Academic Writing Is (Not) like a Roller-Coaster Ride.” <i>Frontiers in Language
    Sciences</i> 4 (2025). <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/flang.2025.1567498">https://doi.org/10.3389/flang.2025.1567498</a>.
  ieee: 'A. Karsten, “Understanding personal agency through metaphor, or Why academic
    writing is (not) like a roller-coaster ride,” <i>Frontiers in Language Sciences</i>,
    vol. 4, Art. no. 1567498, 2025, doi: <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/flang.2025.1567498">10.3389/flang.2025.1567498</a>.'
  mla: Karsten, Andrea. “Understanding Personal Agency through Metaphor, or Why Academic
    Writing Is (Not) like a Roller-Coaster Ride.” <i>Frontiers in Language Sciences</i>,
    vol. 4, 1567498, Frontiers Media SA, 2025, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/flang.2025.1567498">10.3389/flang.2025.1567498</a>.
  short: A. Karsten, Frontiers in Language Sciences 4 (2025).
date_created: 2025-09-10T10:50:30Z
date_updated: 2026-05-06T08:37:28Z
doi: 10.3389/flang.2025.1567498
intvolume: '         4'
publication: Frontiers in Language Sciences
publication_identifier:
  issn:
  - 2813-4605
publication_status: published
publisher: Frontiers Media SA
status: public
title: Understanding personal agency through metaphor, or Why academic writing is
  (not) like a roller-coaster ride
type: journal_article
user_id: '53917'
volume: 4
year: '2025'
...