The Use of Metadiscourse in Introductory Sections of a New Genre

This article examines the use of metadiscourse in introductory sections of the new (emerging) genre of environmental reports. This is contrasted with the chairman's statement in the established genre of corporate annual reports. The texts in both corpora were issued by British companies. Four categories of metadiscourse are analysed, using terminology from Mauranen (1993). The study indicates that metadiscourse may play a significant role in new genres. The study concludes that writers of the emerging genre of corporate environmental reports use metadiscourse to guide the readers. It also shows that the use of metadiscourse may have distinctly different functions in emerging genres compared to established ones. The categories action markers and previews (local and global) are particularly useful in the comparison of the textual practices of established and emerging genres. Whereas the use of previews in the new genre informs and directs the readers as to the aims and global functions of the documents, in established genres this category may mark a deviation from what the writer sees as the conventional rhetorical (Move–Step) pattern.