Navigating Stylistic Hybridity

This study investigates the stylistic characteristics of scientific Indonesian in university students’ academic writing, identifying a pervasive phenomenon of stylistic hybridity. A qualitative descriptive design was employed, involving textual analysis of ten undergraduate research articles from various disciplines. The analysis was guided by an integrated framework drawing on Halliday and Hasan’s cohesion theory and metadiscourse analysis. The findings reveal persistent challenges across multiple linguistic levels, including emotive and imprecise diction, syntactically complex yet functionally ineffective paratactic structures, mechanical use of cohesive devices, a strong preference for active voice, and fluctuating formal–informal tone. Quantitative indicators further show relatively low lexical density (45–55%) compared to professional academic writing. These patterns suggest that students are situated in a transitional phase, negotiating between colloquial expressiveness and scientific rigor. The study underscores the need for integrated stylistic training in academic writing curricula to enhance linguistic competence and strengthen the credibility of Indonesian as a language of global scholarship

Academic writing · Credibility · Emotive · Genre analysis · Indonesian · Interrogative · Metadiscourse · Phenomenon · Discourse Analysis in Language Studies · Second Language Acquisition and Learning · Writing and Handwriting Education