Sue Wharton

Sue Wharton is an Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Linguistics at the University of Warwick, where she has been since 2004. She previously worked at Aston University and held roles in language teaching, teacher training, and examination administration. As convenor of the Professional and Academic Discourse research group, her work centers on written discourse analysis, particularly in educational and professional contexts. She employs corpus linguistic methods (e.g., SketchEngine, Wordsmith) to explore identity construction, evaluative language, and disciplinary writing practices.

Her research spans topics such as reflective writing in higher education, cross-cultural academic writing differences, and corporate identity construction. Notable projects include studies on L1 Chinese and English doctoral thesis evaluation, EAP feedback models, and social work writing in Botswana. She actively supervises students in language analysis projects.

Wharton’s publications frequently address academic discourse across disciplines, emphasizing methodological innovation and practical pedagogical applications. Her work bridges corpus linguistics with critical discourse analysis, often highlighting intersections between language, power, and professional identity.