Abstract: This article presents the author's methodology for analyzing directive speech acts in English and Arabic academic discourse, developed during the writing of the author's dissertation research. The purpose of the article is to describe and confirm the effectiveness of the methodology for analyzing directive speech acts within the framework of two academic discourses. In addition to substantiating the choice of research methods and respondent groups, the article presents a written discursive test with situational examples developed on the basis of the classification of directive speech acts by J. Serle (1979). We propose the study of directive speech acts from the point of view of grammatical, cultural, social and lexical aspects. The purpose of this article is an attempt to propose the author's methodology for analyzing directive speech acts in a comparative aspect within the framework of academic discourse functioning in English and Arabic. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that earlier in Russian and foreign linguistics, no attempts were made to develop a methodology for analyzing directive speech acts in a comparative perspective of English and Arabic. In conclusion, the author makes a conclusion about the effectiveness of the proposed method of analysis, and also notes the prospects for further research on the proposed topic. The results of the article can be used in the compilation of methodological complexes for teaching comparative linguistics, as well as courses on discourse analysis in higher educational institutions.