The volume explores the dialogue with Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) from the viewpoint of systemic functional linguistics (SFL) and constitutes an up-to-date addition to the literature on the nature of academic discourse from a trans-disciplinary perspective. The book is organized into four main themes, mapping out key ideas from LCT, new conceptual developments of SFL in response to LCT, empirical studies to explore knowers and values from SFL and LCT lens, and guidelines for building disciplinary knowledge and a pedagogic metalanguage to facilitate access to academic discourse in the classroom. The book makes valuable theoretical and methodological contributions to the study of academic discourse by integrating SFL into an accessible and feasible model for studying academic discourse. It offers systematic guidelines to access academic discourse both theoretically and methodologically and provides valuable reference material for those interested in discourse studies. However, some of the empirical studies may be difficult to understand for readers who have limited knowledge about SFL and LCT, and the volume only focuses on exploring two dimensions of LCT, leaving room for future studies to examine other dimensions and enhance the understanding of disciplinary knowledge.