Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1 Rationale for the Study

1.2 Aim and Research Questions

1.3 Data Collection and Methodology

1.4 Organization of the Book

Chapter 2 Literature Review

2.1 Aristotle's Ideas about Genre

2.1.1 Literary Genre

2.1.2 Rhetoric and Genre

2.1.3 Assessment

2.2 Bakhtin's Theory of Speech Genres

2.2.1 Utterance as the Real Unit of Speech Communication

2.2.2 Genre as Type of Utterances

2.2.3 The Dialogic Nature of Utterances and Genres

2.2.4 Genre and Style

2.2.5 Genre as Ideological Forms

2.2.6 Assessment

2.3 Genre in New Rhetoric

2.3.1 Genre as Action-Based Discourse Classification

2.3.2 Genre as Response to Recurrent Rhetorical Situations

2.3.3 Meaningfulness of a Genre

2.3.4 Cultural Basis of Genre

2.3.5 Methodology

2.3.6 Assessment

2.4 Genre Studies in ESP

2.4.1 Definition and Characteristics of Genre

2.4.2 Genre in a Discourse Community

2.4.3 Pre-genre and Genre Differences

2.4.4 Schematic Structure

2.4.5 Methodology

2.4.6 Applications to ESP

2.4.7 Assessment

2.5 Genre Theory in SFL:Halliday and Hasan

2.5.1 Halliday's Ideas of Genre

2.5.2 Hasan's Theory of Genre

2.5.3 Assessment

2.6 Genre Theory in SFL:Martin and His Colleagues

2.6.1 Definition of Genre

2.6.2 The General Approach

2.6.3 Theoretical Positioning of Genre

2.6.4 Functional Parameters for Studying Genre

2.6.5 Genre Structure

2.6.6 Macro-Genre

2.6.7 Contextual Metaphor

2.6.8 Genre and Ideology

2.6.9 Assessment

2.7 A Note on the Study of Web Genres

2.7.1 Web Genre Studies in Information Sciences

2.7.2 Web Genre Studies in Social Semiotics

2.8 Summary

Chapter 3 A Teleological Perspective to Genre

3.1 An Integrated Model of Genre Analysis

3.2 The Nature of Genre

3.2.1 The Teleological Nature of Genre

3.2.2 The Social Nature of Human Action

3.2.3 Genre as Typified Telos-oriented Social Action

3.2.4 Teleological Structure of Social Action

3.3 A Telos-Oriented Genre System

3.3.1 Mutual Compatibility Between Smith's and Leontjev's Theories

3.3.2 Structural Units of Genre Analysis

3.3.3 A Teleological Genre System

3.4 Genre Staging:The Derivation of Schematic Structure

3.4.1 Staging as a Result of System Realization

3.4.2 Order vs.Sequence

3.4.3 Text Dynamics

3.5 Inter-Genre Relations

3.5.1 Genre Complexing and Embedding:Macro-Genres

3.5.2 Genre Agnation

3.6 Genre Realization

3.7 Genre/Register Instantiation

3.7.1 Coupling

3.7.2 Commitment

3.7.3 Iconization and Dual Instantiation

3.8 Genre Individuation

3.9 Register Patterning

3.9.1 Mode

3.9.2 Tenor

3.9.3 Field

3.10 Discourse Semantic Systems

3.11 Application of the Model

3.12 Summary

Chapter 4 Corporate Website Genres and Their Realization

4.1 Operating Procedures

4.1.1 Teleological and Generic Structures

4.1.2 Realization at the Genre and Register Strata

4.1.3 Realization at the Discourse Semantic Stratum

4.2 Descriptive Reports

4.2.1 Teleological and Generic Structures

4.2.2 Realization at the Discourse Semantic Strata

4.2.3 Realization at the Register and Genre Strata

4.3 Compositional Reports

4.3.1 Teleological and Generic Structures

4.3.2 Realization at the Genre and Register Strata

4.3.3 Realization at the Discourse Semantic Stratum

4.4 News Stories

4.4.1 Teleological and Generic Structures

4.4.2 Realization at the Genre and Register Strata

4.4.3 Realization at the Discourse Semantic Stratum

4.5 Summary

Chapter 5 Instantiation of Corporate Website Genres

5.1 Instantiation of the Descriptive Report Genre

5.1.1 Instantiation at the Genre Stratum

5.1.2 Instantiation at the Register Stratum

5.1.3 Instantiation at the Discourse Semantic Stratum

5.2 Instantiation of the Corporate Homepage Genre

5.2.1 Corporate Homepage as a Genre

5.2.2 Instantiation at the Genre Stratum

5.2.3 Instantiation at the Register Stratum

5.2.4 Instantiation at the Discourse Semantic Stratum

5.3 Summary

Chapter 6 Individuation and Complexing of Corporate Website Genres

6.1 Individuation of the Descriptive Report Genre

6.1.1 Individuation at the Discourse Semantic Stratum

6.1.2 Individuation at the Register and Genre Strata

6.2 Affiliation-Another Side of Individuation

6.3 A Note on Macro-Genres

6.3.1 Corporate Content-Page Genre

6.3.2 Macro-genres on Corporate Websites

6.4 Summary

Chapter 7 Conclusion

7.1 Summary of the Findings

7.2 Significance of the Research

7.3 Limitations and Suggestions for Future Work

Appendix Data Samples

Bibliography