Research has increasingly focused on the effectiveness of formulaic sequences, defined as prefabricated chunks that are
stored in and retrieved from the memory as wholes (Ding, 2007; Wood, 2006; Wray, 2002), in augmenting L2 learners'
academic writing skills. These formulaic sequences, which may constitute as much as 52.3% of written discourse (Erman &
Warren, 2000), play a vital role in improving L2 learners' writing proficiency and enhancing their performance in academic
contexts (Jones & Haywood, 2004; Lewis, 1997). However, the growing interest in such a role has not been empirically
investigated to any great extent yet in research into learner academic writing, specifically, paragraph and/or essay writing. In
an effort to address this, the present study aims to explore how the mastery of different types of formulaic sequences can help
L2 learners manipulate academic discourse in academic reports. The study was conducted over a ten-week period with
twelve participants from four different first language (L1) backgrounds and different proficiency levels. It involved the participants
in focused instruction on formulaic sequences for 90 min a week for ten weeks, a total of 900 min. Three timed
written paragraphs were elicited from each participant at three different points in time. The elicited texts were evaluated
blindly by three judges, and the textual data were quantified and analyzed statistically.