My research interests cover academic discourse, persuasion and rhetorical stylistics. My most recent book is Seductive Academic Writing (Cambridge Scholars Publishing), and I maintain a style website on figures of speech.

My other research interests combine the discursive and rhetorical analysis of communication—my PhD developed new semiotics for understanding vernacular argumentation on the internet.

I began teaching English in the UK in 1998 before teaching in Taiwan for several years, where I also worked in EFL publishing. I taught at Southampton University, Chinese University of Hong Kong and City University of Hong Kong before joining HKUST in 2013.