Theme choice in EAP and media language

If assignments are to present clear arguments that a reader may follow without confusion or rereading, learners need to master a range of thematic options and employ them in proportions appropriate to the target genre. This paper builds upon recent theoretical work on a) genre differences in terms of thematisation between two British newspapers, and b) the role of non-participant Themes in newspaper text, suggesting how that theory may be incorporated into a workable tool for EAP writing. We examine essays by pre-MA students of journalism, predominantly from East Asia, and compare their use of thematisation with that of the professional journalists. We discuss students' problems with Theme choice and propose a focus on non-participant Themes, discourse participants, and also what we refer to as ‘disguised discourse participants’. Most of all, we recommend analysing at least the rudiments of thematisation with students and presenting them with a Theme–Rheme ‘model’ from their chosen genre – specifically a cline, based on quantitative thematisation data, stretching from a tabloid newspaper to a broadsheet, as a yardstick against which the appropriateness of student thematisation may be measured.

► EAP students need to master a range of Theme options for academic writing.
► We compare thematisation in pre-MA students' writing with that in two British newspapers.
► We especially focus on non-participant Themes and discourse participant Themes.
► We recommend teaching the rudiments of thematisation.
► A genre-specific Theme–Rheme ‘model’ may be created through quantitative analysis of the features in question.