Abstract：This paper sets out to offer a systematic review of major corpus linguistic approaches to discourse studies, including the corpus-based discourse studies (CBDS), corpus-assisted discourse studies (CADS) and corpus-informed discourse studies (CIDS). We start with identifying distinctive methodological features, common analytical instruments and their alignment with concepts of classical Critical Discourse Analysis, before examining the similarities and differences in ideas and methods of the three different approaches. The article also addresses the challenges discourse studies are now encountering amid current new waves of information technologies and discusses possible prospects for development.
Key words: corpus-based studies; analytical instruments; total accountability; contrastive analysis
