Marina Bondi is Professor of English Language at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy, where she is currently Coordinator of the PhD programme in Humanities. She works on various aspects of discourse analysis and EAP, with particular reference to the argumentative features of academic discourse and to the role of metadiscourse and evaluative language. Silvia Cacchiani holds a PhD in English Language and Linguistics from the University of Pisa, Italy. Since January 2005, she has been a Research Fellow in English Language and Translation at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy. Silvia Cavalieri holds a PhD in Comparative Languages and Cultures from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy. She is currently a Research Fellow in English Language and Translation at La Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.