Systemic Functional Grammar 2019

Facultad de Filosofía y Letras

Departamento de Inglés

HIGHER LEVEL THEMES AND NEW

SECTIONS

Based on Shoshana Dreyfus, et al. (2016) “Genre Pedagogy in

Higher Education. The Slate project” and Martin and Rose
“Working with discourse”
(See syllabus for references)
 What we have seen so far

So far we have studied Theme and Rheme in clauses and we

have seen how the Theme is the point of departure of the clause
which

 tells us what the clause is about

 relates the clause to previous and successive clauses and thus lends
unity to text
 and, if special in some way (marked or Special thematic structures),
contributes to achieving certain purposes in text (presenting,
recapitulating, shifting the focus of attention in conclusions or
giving emphasis for contrast, etc.)
 Let’s explore this in a text

Who is the world’s happiest person?

National Geographic – November 2017
It may be Alejandro Zúñiga, a healthy, middle-aged father who
socializes at least six hours a day and has a few good friends he can count
on. He sleeps at least seven hours most nights, walks to work, and eats six
servings of fruits and vegetables most days. In short, what makes for
happiness in his case are simple daily choices, made easier because he
lives among like-minded people in the temperate Central Valley of Costa
Rica. Sidse Clemmensen is another possible candidate. She and her family
bicycle to work, the store, and the children’s school, which helps them keep
fit. She pays high taxes on her modest salary, but gets health care and
education for her family, as well as guaranteed retirement income. In
Aalborg, Denmark, where she lives, people feel confident the government
will make sure that nothing too bad happens to them. And then there is
 Let’s explore this in a text

Who is the world’s happiest person?

National Geographic – November 2017
It may be Alejandro Zúñiga, a healthy, middle-aged father [[who socializes at
least six hours a day and has a few good friends he can count on]]. /// He sleeps at
least seven hours most nights, // (he) walks to work, // and (he) eats six servings
of fruits and vegetables most days. /// In short, what makes for happiness in
his case are simple daily choices, // (which are) made easier // because he lives
among like-minded people in the temperate Central Valley of Costa Rica. /// Sidse
Clemmensen is another possible candidate. /// She and her family bicycle to
work, the store, and the children’s school, // which helps them keep fit. /// She
pays high taxes on her modest salary, // but (she) gets health care and education
for her family, as well as guaranteed retirement income. /// In Aalborg, Denmark,
<<where she lives>>, people feel confident [[the government will make sure
that nothing too bad happens to them]]. /// And then there is …. (see screen 6)
 Let’s explore this in a text

And then there is Douglas Foo, a successful entrepreneur, who drives a

$750,000 BMW and lives in a $10 million house. He’s married, with four
well-behaved children. He’s worked hard to achieve his success, but as Foo
readily admits, it is perhaps only in Singapore that such success can be
attained from hard work. Zúñiga, Clemmensen, and Foo illustrate three
different strands of joy, which I call pleasure, purpose, and pride.
Zúñiga, like many Costa Ricans, enjoys the pleasure of living daily life
to the fullest in a place that mitigates stress and maximizes joy. Scientists
call his type of happiness ‘experienced happiness’ or ‘positive affect’. It is
measured by asking people how often they smiled, laughed, or felt joy
during the past 24 hours. Zuñiga’s country is not only Latin America’s
happiest; it’s also where people report feeling more day-to-day positive
emotions than just about any other place in the world.
 Let’s explore this in a text

And then there is Douglas Foo, a successful entrepreneur, // who drives

a $750,000 BMW // and (who) lives in a $10 million house. /// He’s
married, with four well-behaved children. /// He’s worked hard to achieve
his success, but <<as Foo readily admits>>, it is perhaps only in
Singapore that such success can be attained from hard work. /// Zúñiga,
Clemmensen, and Foo illustrate three different strands of joy, // which I
call pleasure, purpose, and pride. ///
Zúñiga, like many Costa Ricans, enjoys the pleasure of living daily life
to the fullest in a place that mitigates stress and maximizes joy. Scientists
call his type of happiness ‘experienced happiness’ or ‘positive affect’. It is
measured by asking people how often they smiled, laughed, or felt joy
during the past 24 hours. Zuñiga’s country is not only Latin America’s
happiest; it’s also where people report feeling more day-to-day positive
emotions than just about any other place in the world.
 Let’s explore this in a text
Comments on first paragraph

If we pay attention to the Themes in the first paragraph we note that the
paragraph can be broken up into three phases, one where the Themes
revolve mostly around Zuñiga (It, he, he, he), the latter in elliptical clauses
where the “he” can be restored, a second phase in which they revolve
around Clemmensen (she and her family, she, she), some of these also in
elliptical clauses, and a third phase where the Themes revolve around Foo
(who, who, he, he, Foo). These these strands of Themes are brought
together in the last sentence in the paragraph, where the Theme is
Zuñiga, Clemmesen and Foo, which serves to recapitulate and bring
together everything that has been said as a move to round off the first
paragraph and anticipate what’s to come in the text. (See Higher level
Themes later in the PPP)
 Let’s explore this in a text
Comments on first paragraph

It’s interesting to note that each of the phases closes with a Theme that is
special in some way, either because it’s a Special Thematic Structure or
because it’s Marked.

The first phase closes with a Thematic equative (In short, what makes
for happiness in his case are simple daily choices, // (which are) made
easier // because he lives among like-minded people in the temperate
Central Valley of Costa Rica.), which, as we saw in class, usually reorients
the text to a new focus of attention (the conclusion to this phase indicating
what makes for a happy life in Zuñiga’s case and the reasons why he can
pursue this type of happiness).

The second phase closes with a Circumstance of spatial location as

Marked Theme (In Aalborg, Denmark), which contextualizes what has been
 Let’s explore this in a text
Comments on first paragraph

said in Denmark and makes it more general than just Clemmensen’s case,
and then moves on to people, which shows this is a generalization about
people in Denmark, derived from the particular case of Clemmensen.

The third phase closes with a Predicated Theme (… it is perhaps only in

Singapore that such success can be attained from hard work). This
Predicated Theme gives emphatic Thematic status to a constituent of the
clause to (Circumstance of spatial location) for contrasting Singapore to
other places, like Guatemala and Denmark or any other place in the world.

So Themes help relate clauses to previous clauses in a phase of text or,

when special, they help round off and move on to a different phase of text.
 Let’s explore the rest of the text

Clemmensen represents a brand of happiness typified in the purpose-

driven life of Danes. It assumes basic needs are covered so that people can
pursue their passions at work and leisure. Academics refer to this as
‘eudaimonic happiness’, a term that comes from the ancient Greek word for
“happy.” This kind of happiness is measured by asking respondents
whether they “learned or did something interesting yesterday.” In
Denmark, a society has evolved to make it easy to live an interesting life.
And true to Singapore’s reputation for having a semi-fanatical drive
for success, Foo—with all his ambition and accomplishments—represents
the ‘life satisfaction’ strand of happiness. This type of happiness is often
measured by asking people to rate their lives on a scale of zero to 10. It is
also called ‘evaluative happiness’. Internationally it’s considered the gold
standard metric of well-being. Singapore has most dependably ranked
number one in Asia for life satisfaction.
Let’s explore this in a text and keep in
mind

It’s not by chance that the factors that make for these different types
of happiness are intimately related to a country’s government and its
cultural values. Zúñiga, Clemmensen, and Foo pursue their goals intensely,
and they are able to do this, in many cases, because the places where they
live give them an invisible lift, constantly nudging them into behaviors that
favor long-term well-being.
Pushing up the notion of Theme and Rheme
to the level of paragraphs and the text

Now we are going to explore how texts

and sections of texts also have Themes,
higher level Themes (Macrotheme and
Hypertheme) and New sections or
Rhemes, higher level sections of New
information (= Macronew and Hypernew)
Defining Macrotheme and Hypertheme
Macrotheme:
A Theme higher in level than the
Hypertheme (see next column)
that …
predicts/anticipates
experiential (and interpersonal)
content of the whole text
anticipates method of
development of the whole text
Hypertheme:
A higher level Theme that …
predicts/anticipates
experiential (and interpersonal)
content of section of text (usu.
paragraph)
links section/paragraph to
Macrotheme and to previous
sections/paragraphs
contributes to signalling
method of development of text
 Defining Macronew and Hypernew
Macronew:
A New that is higher in level
than a Hypernew (see next
column) that …
distils and consolidates the
experiential and interpersonal
content of the whole text, or,
in other words, condenses
all the New information
that has been accumulating
through the text
Hypernew:
A higher level New that …
distils and consolidates the
experiential and interpersonal
content of a section of the
text, usu. a paragraph, or, in
other words, that condenses
all the New information
that has been accumulating
through the section or
paragraph
IDENTIFICATION OF MACROTHEME (MT),
HYPERTHEME (HT),
MACRONEW (MN)
AND HYPERNEW (HN) IN THE TEXT
Identify the MT, HTs, the MN and HNs
(if any) in the text)
Who is the world’s happiest person?
National Geographic – November 2017
It may be Alejandro Zúñiga, a healthy, middle-aged father who
socializes at least six hours a day and has a few good friends he can count
on. He sleeps at least seven hours most nights, walks to work, and eats six
servings of fruits and vegetables most days. In short, what makes for
happiness in his case are simple daily choices, made easier because he
lives among like-minded people in the temperate Central Valley of Costa
Rica. Sidse Clemmensen is another possible candidate. She and her family
bicycle to work, the store, and the children’s school, which helps them keep
fit. She pays high taxes on her modest salary, but gets health care and
education for her family, as well as guaranteed retirement income. In
Aalborg, Denmark, where she lives, people feel confident the government
will make sure that nothing too bad happens to them. And then there is
Identify the MT, HTs, the MN and HNs
(if any) in the NG text)
And then there is Douglas Foo, a successful entrepreneur, who drives a
$750,000 BMW and lives in a $10 million house. He’s married, with four
well-behaved children. He’s worked hard to achieve his success, but as Foo
readily admits, it is perhaps only in Singapore that such success can be
attained from hard work. Zúñiga, Clemmensen, and Foo illustrate three
different strands of joy, which I call pleasure, purpose, and pride.

Zúñiga, like many Costa Ricans, enjoys the pleasure of living daily life
to the fullest in a place that mitigates stress and maximizes joy. Scientists
call his type of happiness ‘experienced happiness’ or ‘positive affect’. It is
measured by asking people how often they smiled, laughed, or felt joy
during the past 24 hours. Zuñiga’s country is not only Latin America’s
happiest; it’s also where people report feeling more day-to-day positive
emotions than just about any other place in the world.
Identify the MT, HTs, the MN and HNs
(if any) in the NG text)
And then there is Douglas Foo, a successful entrepreneur, who drives a
$750,000 BMW and lives in a $10 million house. He’s married, with four
well-behaved children. He’s worked hard to achieve his success, but as Foo
readily admits, it is perhaps only in Singapore that such success can be
attained from hard work. Zúñiga, Clemmensen, and Foo illustrate
three different strands of joy, which I call pleasure, purpose, and
pride. (MT)
Zúñiga, like many Costa Ricans, enjoys the pleasure of living
daily life to the fullest in a place that mitigates stress and
maximizes joy. (HT 1) Scientists call his type of happiness ‘experienced
happiness’ or ‘positive affect’. It is measured by asking people how often
they smiled, laughed, or felt joy during the past 24 hours. Zuñiga’s country
is not only Latin America’s happiest; it’s also where people report feeling
more day-to-day positive emotions than just about any other place in the
world. (Apparently no Hypertheme. What do you think?)
Identify the MT, HTs, the MN and HNs
(if any) in the following text) 2

Clemmensen represents a brand of happiness typified in the purpose-

driven life of Danes. It assumes basic needs are covered so that people can
pursue their passions at work and leisure. Academics refer to this as
‘eudaimonic happiness’, a term that comes from the ancient Greek word for
“happy.” This kind of happiness is measured by asking respondents
whether they “learned or did something interesting yesterday.” In
Denmark, a society has evolved to make it easy to live an interesting life.
And true to Singapore’s reputation for having a semi-fanatical drive
for success, Foo—with all his ambition and accomplishments—represents
the ‘life satisfaction’ strand of happiness. This type of happiness is often
measured by asking people to rate their lives on a scale of zero to 10. It is
also called ‘evaluative happiness’. Internationally it’s considered the gold
standard metric of well-being. Singapore has most dependably ranked
number one in Asia for life satisfaction.
Identify the MT, HTs, the MN and HNs
(if any) in the following text) 2

Clemmensen represents a brand of happiness typified in the

purpose-driven life of Danes. (HT 2) It assumes basic needs are covered so that
people can pursue their passions at work and leisure. Academics refer to this as
‘eudaimonic happiness’, a term that comes from the ancient Greek word for “happy.”
This kind of happiness is measured by asking respondents whether they “learned or
did something interesting yesterday.” In Denmark, a society has evolved to
make it easy to live an interesting life. (HN P2)

And true to Singapore’s reputation for having a semi-fanatical drive

for success, Foo—with all his ambition and accomplishments—represents
the ‘life satisfaction’ strand of happiness. This type of happiness is often
measured by asking people to rate their lives on a scale of zero to 10. It is also
called ‘evaluative happiness’. Internationally it’s considered the gold standard metric
of well-being. Singapore has most dependably ranked number one in Asia
for life satisfaction. (HN P3)
Identify the MT, HTs, the MN and HNs
(if any) in the NG text)

It’s not by chance that the factors that make for these
different types of happiness are intimately related to a country’s
government and its cultural values. Zúñiga, Clemmensen, and Foo
pursue their goals intensely, and they are able to do this, in many
cases, because the places where they live give them an invisible lift,
constantly nudging them into behaviors that favor long-term well-
being.
Identify the MT, HTs, the MN and HNs
(if any) in the NG text)

It’s not by chance that the factors that make for these
different types of happiness are intimately related to a country’s
government and its cultural values. Zúñiga, Clemmensen, and Foo
pursue their goals intensely, and they are able to do this, in many
cases, because the places where they live give them an invisible lift,
constantly nudging them into behaviors that favor long-term well-
being. (MN) Does everything constitute Macronew or just a
part of the paragraph?
ILLUSTRATING AND COMMENTING ON
THE FUNCTION OF THE HIGHER
LEVEL-THEMES AND THE HIGHER-
LEVEL NEWS
Illustrating and commenting on the
function of the Macrotheme

MT in Introduction: Zúñiga, Clemmensen, and Foo illustrate three

different strands of joy, which I call pleasure, purpose, and pride.
(MT)(go back to screen 13, where Macrotheme is defined):

- It anticipates that the content of the text will be “different strands of joy”;

- It anticipates the order in which the different strands will be addressed by

the sequence in which they are presented.

-Interpersonally it suggests a certain impersonality and objectivity, though

the terms used are like commonsensical (expert-non expert relation), with
some closeness given reference to particular people, which gives the whole
exposition a certain intimacy, closeness, immediacy.
Illustrating and commenting on the function of the
Hyperthemes (see next slide)

HT Paragraph 1: Zúñiga, like many Costa Ricans, enjoys the pleasure of

living daily life to the fullest in a place that mitigates stress and maximizes
joy.

HT Paragraph 2: Clemmensen represents a brand of happiness typified in

the purpose-driven life of Danes.

HT Paragraph 3: And true to Singapore’s reputation for having a semi-

fanatical drive for success, Foo—with all his ambition and
accomplishments—represents the ‘life satisfaction’ strand of happiness.
 Commenting on HT 1

HT 1: Zúñiga, like many Costa Ricans, enjoys the pleasure of living daily
life to the fullest in a place that mitigates stress and maximizes joy.

-We see the attempt to anticipate the content of the paragraph (though
not the method of development in this text). Evidence of its anticipating is
the presence of lexical items in the paragraph related in meaning
(repetitions, synonyms, etc.) to those in the HT: happiness, positive
affect, smiled, laughed, felt joy; happiest; positive emotions

Note how the Hypertheme progresses with respect to the Macrotheme,

specifying the idea of “pleasure” (the pleasure of living daily life to the
fullest in a place that mitigates stress and maximizes joy) through the use
of a NGp with a postmodifier/qualifier that specifies “pleasure” and makes
reference to the place where he lives, which seems an important factor in
determining the kind of happiness at stake. And the developmental section
of the paragraph progresses over the Hypertheme by specifying the kind of
happiness further and the way it is rated. (Check on paragraph)
 Commenting on HT 1

Other functions:

-It relates back to Macrotheme (Zúñiga, Clemmensen, and Foo

illustrate three different strands of joy, which I call
pleasure, purpose, and pride) and thus justifies anticipation and
shows text has coherence, cohesion (unity).

-Since this is the first paragraph in the body of the text, we do not
see the function in it of relating the paragraph to other paragraphs,
as we could find in the other two HTs.
 Commenting on HT2

HT2: Clemmensen represents a brand of happiness

typified in the purpose-driven life of Danes.

Again, we see the attempt to anticipate the content of the

paragraph (though not the method of development in this text).
Evidence of this predicting/anticipating function can be seen again
in how some lexical items in the HT relate in meaning to lexical
items in the paragraph. Look again at the paragraph for examples
below: ‘eudaimonic happiness’, “happy.”, this kind of happiness,
interesting.

Other functions:
-It relates back to Macrotheme (represents a brand of happiness
typified in the purpose-driven life …) and thus serves to justify
anticipation and shows the text has coherence, cohesion (unity).
 Commenting on HT 2

-It does not relate explicitly to the previous paragraph

except through the expression “a brand of happiness”
and through comparison contrast (as if it would do if it
said sth like “Another type/A second type of happiness”)
 Commenting on HT 3

Paragraph 3: And true to Singapore’s reputation for having a semi-

fanatical drive for success, Foo—with all his ambition and
accomplishments—represents the ‘life satisfaction’ strand of happiness.

Again, we see the attempt to anticipate the content of the paragraph (though not
the method of development in this text). Evidence of this predicting/anticipating
function can be seen again in how some lexical items or expressions in the HT,
mainly “drive for success”, “ambition” and “accomplishments”, and “life satisfaction”
predict and are then picked up by: this type of happiness, ‘evaluative happiness’,
well-being, life satisfaction.

Other functions:

-It relates back to Macrotheme (strand of hapiness; “life satisfaction” resonates with
“pride”) and thus serves to justify anticipation and shows the text has coherence,
cohesion (unity)
Commenting on how all HTs signal
method of development of the text

The three HTs signal or flag the method of development of the text
anticipated in the Macrotheme. Indeed, if you look at the HTs again below,
you will see that, in their prominent place at the beginning of the
paragraph, they signal or FLAG a method of development that goes from
one subtype of happiness to the next :

HT Paragraph 1: Zúñiga, like many Costa Ricans, enjoys the pleasure of living daily
life to the fullest in a place that mitigates stress and maximizes joy.

HT Paragraph 2: Clemmensen represents a brand of happiness typified in the

purpose-driven life of Danes.

HT Paragraph 3: And true to Singapore’s reputation for having a semi-fanatical

drive for success, Foo—with all his ambition and accomplishments—represents the
‘life satisfaction’ strand of happiness.
THE LEXICO-GRAMMATICAL FEATURES
OF MACRO-THEMES AND HYPER-
THEMES
 Lexico-gramatical features of
Macrotheme & Hypertheme

 Presence of nominalizations as opposed to clauses with

participants, processes and circumstances in the developmental
sections. Check the HT of paragraph 1 with its long nominalization
(“the pleasure of …joy”) against clauses with participants,
processes and circumstances in the developmental section ( … how
often they smiled, laughed or felt joy)

 Presence of relational processes (“be” and other relational

identifying processes, like “suggest”, “indicate”, “point to”,
“represent”). See the use of “represent” here in two of the
Hyperthemes.
 Lexico-gramatical features of
Macrotheme & Hypertheme

 Other features that contribute gaps to be filled or general

information to be specified, or that condense information to be
developed in a less abstract way, like

adjectives

questions

embedded clauses
 Nominalizations as a lexico-
grammatical feature of MT and HT

Before moving on to discussing the second and third type of resource, it

would be interesting to consider the nominalizations used in Macrothemes
and Hyperthemes and try unpacking them (turning them into clauses with
processes or attributes) to gain a sense of how they compact information
for anticipation of topics to be developed later through clauses:

Zúñiga, like many Costa Ricans, enjoys the pleasure of living daily life
to the fullest in a place that mitigates stress and maximizes joy.

Clemmensen represents a brand of happiness typified in the purpose-

driven life of Danes. (HT 2)

And true to Singapore’s reputation for having a semi-fanatical drive for

success, Foo—with all his ambition and accomplishments—
represents the ‘life satisfaction’ strand of happiness.

Try your own unpacking, note it down and then compare with next screen
Unpacking nominalizations used for condensation in
Macrothemes and Hyperthemes

Before moving on to discussing the second and third type of resource, it

would be interesting to consider the nominalizations used in Macrothemes
and Hyperthemes and try unpacking them (turning them into clauses with
processes or attributes) to gain a sense of how they compact information
for anticipation of topics to be developed later through clauses:

Zúñiga, like many Costa Ricans, is pleased to live every day to the fullest
in a place that makes people less stressed and extremely happy.

Clemmensen represents a way of being happy that typifies living to achieve

things/ to accomplish things as the Danes do.

And given that Singapore is well-known for its people striving to become
successful, Foo—being so ambitious and having accomplished so much—
represents the strand of happiness which consists in being satisfied with
life.
Unpacking nominalizations used for condensation in
Macrothemes and Hyperthemes

The unpacked versions would seem to be inappropriate for a Macrotheme

or Hypertheme and would only be used if it was necessary, for some
reason, to clarify the meaning of the clause to someone who does not fully
understand it because of the condensation in it.
 Other anticipatory lexico-grammatical
resources

Adjectives: Not present in our text, but present in a text on causes for dinosaurs’
extinction we have driven the example from:

“Today, some scientists believe that the cause of the extinction was much more
sudden and catastrophic.” (they anticipate through evaluation possible content
and this evaluation is justified retrospectively by content). In this case, the
paragraph deals with the collision with an asteroid and the consequences of it as a
third cause for dinausors to disappear, but instead of a more explicit anticipation,
they make a vaguer anticipation so as not to give away so much information. The
collision is addressed mre explicitly in the developmental paragraph.

Questions:
Questions suggest a gap of information that must be filled by an answer. This why
they are good resources to anticipate content. An example of a question for
anticipation in a HT can be seen in the following text, drawn from a National
Geographic article on wolves you have seen:
 Other anticipatory lexico-grammatical
resources

If wolves are shy and seldom attack people, how can the fear and hatred of
wolves be explained? Well, there would seem to be several reasons for such fear
and hatred that have to do with cultural myths as these are represented in tales and
fables, the economic interests of ranchers and …

-Embedded clauses (instead of nominalizations):

“[[Being poor]] means being homeless, being jobless and being marginal in many
other different ways.” (MT for an essay on the meaning/effects of poverty). Instead
of “ Poverty means ….” Both are possible as anticipatory resources, but the first one
is more immediate and the second more abstract.

Projected clauses (ideas or locutions):

“In this paper we will explore/ examine / show / describe // how/why dinosaurs
became extinct.”
Let’s look at the Macronews and Hypernews
in the text

In Denmark, a society has evolved to make it easy to live an interesting

life. (HN Paragraph 2)

Singapore has most dependably ranked number one in Asia for life
satisfaction. (HN Paragraph 3)

It’s not by chance that the factors that make for these different types of
happiness are intimately related to a country’s government and its
cultural values. Zúñiga, Clemmensen, and Foo pursue their goals
intensely, and they are able to do this, in many cases, because the places
where they live give them an invisible lift, constantly nudging them into
behaviors that favor long-term well-being. (MacroNew)
Let’s look at the Macronews and Hypernews
in the text (Comment on them)

Note how they distil information and achieve a higher level of abstraction by
referring to the country (in the Hypernews) and to factors (in the Macronews) rather
than to particular people.

There are also nominalizations to condense information, but for recapitulation:

an invisible lift (lifts them invisibly )

behaviors that favor long-term well-being. (to behave in ways that favor being well
in the long term)

There are Special Thematic Structures to round off (It’s not by chance that …): a
Predicated Theme here for contrast (It’s not by chance; It’s only natural or to be
expected given the place where they live)
Let’s look at the Macronews and Hypernews
in the text (Comment on them)

Hypernews and Macronews, particularly the latter, tend to have metaphors too. At
this stage the points made are so clear that writers can allow themselves to use
metaphors that serve to condense, but varying upon expression too and offering a
different kind of understanding. Metaphors at the beginning of the text would be ill-
placed since there you need more straightforward information.

… because the places where they live give them an invisible lift, constantly
nudging them into behaviors that favor long-term well-being.

Note how in this final distillation of all the meanings made in the text “the places”
are given animate features (they give sth to people = places are Actors doing things
that affect people positively as Beneficiaries) and they nudge (prod sb. gently with
the elbow) people into doing things, as people would do with other people. The verb
implies places would have elbows, but then the whole expression is metaphoric.
 Some advantages of these notions over
traditional notions (= Thesis and Topic sentence)

-They are descriptive not prescriptive.

-They are characterized functionally in some more detail.

-They are characterized lexico-grammatically in more detail.

-They are integrated into a larger theory of language and thus can
be related to other aspects of the text (theme at clause-level,
genre, field, lexical cohesion).

-They are notions that help look at texts critically (decide if

anticipation and recapitulation are in keeping with development or
the other way around or decide if there is enough development
between anticipation and distilation).
 Looking at texts critically in teaching

How can awareness of the function of Macronew

and Macrotheme help us help students improve
on their texts?
An understanding of the function of Macrotheme and
Macronew could help us explain to students the need for
adjustment of anticipation, recapitulation or for
adjustment of content.

What would be the case with our text? Can we be

critical to it in any way to improve on it? I imagine we
can. Give it a try.
The notion of “periodicity” in connection with
higher level themes and rhemes

The notion of periodicity, that is referred to in the bibliography you were

asked to read on this topic (Martin and Rose, Chapter 6, W w D; Dreyfuss et al.
chapter 3, section on higher level themes and news) is useful to capture the layers
of anticipation and new information/recapitulation of new information in a text.

Periodicity can be defined as the peaks of prominence at regular/periodic

intervals in a text that anticipate (Macrothemes, Hyperthemes, Themes) and
recapitulate (Macronew, Hypernew, New information/Rheme) content and attitude in
a text, and that form the backbone, the method of development of the text. The
Macrotheme anticipates the content of the whole text; the Hypertheme that of a
section or paragraph; the Theme that of the clause. The Macronew distils and
consolidates the content of the whole text at the end, all the new information
accumulated through a text; the Hypernew that new information accumulated
through a paragraph and the Rheme presents the new info in the clause.
The notion of “periodicity” in connection with
higher level themes and rhemes

Martin & Rose compare these peaks of prominence to large waves

(Macrothemes, Macronews), smaller waves (Hyperthemes, Hypernew) and ripples
(Theme and Rhemes).

The prominence is achieved by position (initial position in the clause, in the

paragraph; or final position in the paragraph, text) and through special kinds of
Themes: e.g., summary Themes (Zuñiga, Clemmensen and Foo) in the
Macrotheme in this text, pulling together the three lines revolving around these three
people in the first paragraph; through Marked theme (in Aalborg, in Hth Paragraph
2) recontextualizing the text in place (it could also be in time and it could also be
achieved through a reference to place in Theme though not Marked = Singapore, in
HTh Paragraph 3); and also through Special Thematic Structures, as is the case
with the Predicated Theme in the Macronew (It is not by chance that …), or
through any special kind of use, like metaphors and explicit evaluative language
in the Macronew. They all serve to lend prominence to a stretch of text.