Abstract

Based on Martin and White’s (2005) heteroglossic engagement system of Appraisal Theory, adopting UAM Corpus Tool and Chi-Square test, this study aims to explore authorial stance and distinctive rhetorical strategies that have been employed to realize interpersonal meaning by the application of engagement resources in American and Chinese CSR reports. It can be concluded that all types of engagement resources are widely employed in both American and Chinese corpus, with contraction resources significantly different in two corpora. It also finds that American CSR reports employ each type of engagement markers equally, while Chinese CSR reports tend to highly use expansion resources to enhance authorial voice. Besides, American CSR reports employ contraction resources in a more diversified and flexible way than Chinese CSR reports writers do. Lastly, they are also different in acknowledging what kinds of external propositions as expansion resources. This study confirms that engagement system is an important tool to help CSR reports writers to align authorial voices with readers, thereby accomplishing promotional and persuasive purposes. It may give some implications to CSR report addressers, addressees, business English teaching and reading.

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