This study investigated the employment of expressions of evaluative language in 169 discussion sections of Applied Linguistics English articles published in ISI and non-ISI journals. The texts were analyzed for the types of evaluative expressions by adopting the model of Appraisal suggested by Martin and Rose (2003). Results recorded significant differences between the groups regarding the expression of Attitude. Pronounced differences were mainly in the higher use of Affect and Judgment resources in ISI journals and the higher use of Appreciation in non-ISI journals. Results support the view that the universal bias towards journals listed in the ISI web of knowledge is probably fair (at least in Applied Linguistics), though more similar studies are needed to substantiate the results of the current study.