Key-feature analysis for dummies: A comprehensive step-by-step guide for novice researchers

Carolina Bohórquez  Grondona; Luciana Aguiar de Oliveira

doi:10.14393/LL63-v42S-2026-12

Authors

Carolina Bohórquez Grondona Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais Author https://orcid.org/0009-0007-7483-2933
Luciana Aguiar de Oliveira Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais Author https://orcid.org/0009-0007-7483-2933

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14393/LL63-v42S-2026-12

Keywords:

Register Analysis, Academic Writing, Key-feature Analysis, Statistics for novice researchers, Academic Writing Introductions

Abstract

Corpus linguistics enriches academic writing instruction by comparing different text registers. This study presents a detailed guide to Key-Feature Analysis (KFA), a powerful methodology designed to identify both lexico-grammatical differences and similarities across texts. Recognizing that many linguistics students are deterred by complex statistics, this paper aims to make KFA more accessible. It provides a comprehensible explanation of the methodology, its calculations, and relevant software. To demonstrate its application, the study uses KFA to compare the introductions of academic articles and dissertations, written in English by academics and Brazilian graduate students, respectively. Key findings reveal that articles feature significantly more split auxiliaries and infinitives, which enables movements of persuasion and emphasis, while dissertations predominantly use demonstrative pronouns, which reveal a necessity of reference connections. Ultimately, this work seeks to empower students to confidently apply KFA in their own research.

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