Part One：Overview 2
Chapter 1 Introduction：the Problem Preliminaries 2
1.1 Origins and Objectives of the Present Study 2
1.2 Resources,Data Rationale and Terminology in the Present Study 4
1.2.1 Persuasion in the Sense of Rhetoric,Genre and Linguistics 4
1.2.2 A Genre-based View of Discourse Analysis and the Promotional Genre Colony 9
1.2.3 Rhetorical Persuasion as a Socio-semiotic Discourse Act 14
1.2.4 Evaluation as a Functional Language Phenomenon 16
1.2.5 A Local Grammar 21
1.3 Methodology：A Discourse Analytic Approach Combined with Corpus-based Studies of the Functioning of Language 23
1.4 The Organization of this Dissertation 26
Chapter 2 Literature Review：Positioning the Study in an Interdisciplinary Landscape 30
2.1 Burkology：Unending Conversation and Application 30
2.2 Persuasion as Genre 34
2.3 Persuasion as Evaluation 39
Part Two：Theoretical Rationale Construction 54
Chapter 3 Beyond Deconstruction：Analyzing Socio-semiotic Motives of Persuasion as Discourse Act 54
3.1 Introduction 54
3.2 Deconstructing the Dynamics of Motives in Persuasion as Discourse Act 56
3.2.1 A Burkean Perspective：Human's Dual Relation to Symbolic Action and Symbolic System 56
3.2.2 The Dynamics of Pentad and Ratios in Persuasion 57
3.2.3 The Determination of Terministic Screens on Motives Appeal 63
3.3 Reconstructing the Socio-semiotic Motives in Persuasion as Identification 66
3.3.1 Socio-semiotic Motives in Persuasion as Identification 67
3.3.2 Identification：Beyond Traditional Persuasion 72
3.4 Conclusion 74
Chapter 4 Persuasive Interdiscursivity in the Promotional Genre Colony 76
4.1 Theoretical Foundations Scaffolding the Dynamics in Generic Operation 76
4.1.1 Four Perspectives on Language that Provide Orientation for Genre Studies 76
4.1.2 Genre—Sites of the Centrifugal and Centripetal Forces at Work in Rhetorical Community 80
4.2 The Promotional Genre Colony：A Paradigm of Integration 83
4.2.1 Dynamics in Real World Discourse Challenging Stability in Genre Analysis 83
4.2.2 The Promotional Genre Colony：Assimilation and Colonization 85
4.3 Topology：An Interdiscursive Rationale Along Parameters 91
4.3.1 Topology：A Borrowed Methodology in Contrast to Typology 91
4.3.2 Interdiscursive Parameters Defining the Topology of the Promotional Genre Colony 94
Chapter 5 Appraisal：Intersubjective Evaluation in Action 102
5.1 Key Tenets in SFL Theory Underpinning Appraisal Theory 103
5.1.1 Language as Socio-semiotic and Semantic Diversification 103
5.1.2 Modeling Language in Context 103
5.1.3 Stratification in Language and Context 104
5.1.4 Modeling Tenor and the Interpersonal 107
5.2 The Diachronic Evolution of Appraisal Theory 110
5.3 Key Aspects of Appraisal Theory 111
5.3.1 Attitude：Intersubjective Affectual Evaluation 112
5.3.2 Engagement：Evaluation as Heteroglossic Interaction 118
5.3.3 Graduation：Evaluation as Scaling 123
Chapter 6 Persuasion：A Three-dimensional Discourse Semantic Construction 127
6.1 Defining Persuasion as a Three-dimensional Discourse Semantic Construction 127
6.1.1 Persuasion as a Grammar of Motives 128
6.1.2 Persuasion as a Generic Action 131
6.1.3 Persuasion as Evaluative Instantiation 133
6.2 Systemic,Functional and Socio-cognitive Characteristics of Three-dimensional Model of Persuasion 135
Part Three：Grammar in Action 140
Chapter 7 A Persuasive Paradigm in Fundraising Letters as Macro-proposals 140
7.1 Introduction 140
7.2 The Persuasive Rationale of Fundraising Letters on Generic Discourse Semantic Level 141
7.2.1 Genre Status of Fundraising Letters 141
7.2.2 Interpersonal Stance of Fundraising Letters as Macro-proposal Genre 142
7.2.3 Move Processing in Fundraising Letters 146
7.2.4 A Twofold Interpersonal Stance in Fundraising Letters as Macro-proposals 149
7.3 Analyzing the Local Grammar of Persuasion in Fundraising Letters 150
7.3.1 Appraisal Enabling Intersubjective Identification 150
7.3.2 A Corpus-based Research on Attitude Resources in Fundraising Letters 151
7.3.3 Attitude：Instantiating and Scaffolding Persuasion as Three-dimensional in Fundraising Letters 154
7.4 Conclusion 167
Chapter 8 A Persuasive Paradigm in Macro-propositions Embedded in Macro-proposals 171
8.1 Introduction 171
8.2 Attitude in Macro-proposition：Scaffolding and Instantiating Meta-relations of Identification 172
8.2.1 Macro-proposition：A Symbolic Action in the Construction of Persuasion as Identification 172
8.2.2 Generic Organization of a Macro-proposition as Narrative 174
8.2.3 Attitude：Constructing Meta-relations of Identification in Macro-proposition 175
8.3 Attitude in Macro-proposition：Growth-points of Generic Organizations 189
8.3.1 Preliminaries：Twofold Evaluation in Discourse 190
8.3.2 Problem-solution Pattern：A Generic Pattern of Persuasion Constructed by Attitude 192
8.3.3 A Text Matrix Growing from Attitude in Macro-proposition 195
8.3.4 Problem-solution Pattern in Expansion：Recycling Operation 197
8.4 Conclusion 198
Chapter 9 A Persuasive Paradigm in RA Introductions as Macro-propositions 200
9.1 Introduction 200
9.2 RA Introduction：Site of Disciplinary Persuasion 201
9.2.1 Academic Persuasion in Disciplinary Rhetorical Communities 201
9.2.2 Disciplinary Persuasion in RA Introductions as Macro-propositions 202
9.2.3 Exploring Grammar of Persuasion in RA Introductions 205
9.3 A Corpus-based Research on Attitude and Graduation in RA Introductions 208
9.3.1 Preferences of Inscribed Attitude in RA Introductions 210
9.3.2 Graduation：Aligning Readership through Positioning Academic Actions on Clines 214
9.4 Analyzing Multi-dimensional Persuasion in RA Introductions 225
9.4.1 Scene-act Ratio as Logos Appeal：Appraisals Instantiating Generic Discourse Semantics 225
9.4.2 Pentad Gestalt as Ethos Appeal：Disciplinary Persuasion Realized as Grammar of Motives 236
9.5 Conclusion 238
Chapter 10 A Persuasive Paradigm as Negotiating Identification in Disciplinary Heteroglossia 243
10.1 Introduction 243
10.2 Identification：Engaged in Heteroglossic Discursive Construction of Solidarity 243
10.3 An Engagement Framework in Disciplinary Persuasion 248
10.3.1 Monoglossia 249
10.3.2 Dialogic Expansion Construing Heteroglossia：Entertain 251
10.3.3 Dialogic Expansion Construing Heteroglossia：Attribution 254
10.3.4 Dialogic Contraction Construing Heteroglossia：Disclaim 260
10.3.5 Dialogic Contraction Construing Heteroglossia：Proclaim 265
10.4 A Case Study of Identification as Engagement in Disciplinary Heteroglossia 272
10.5 Conclusion 287
Part Four：Epilogue 292
Chapter 11 Conclusions,Contributions and Directions for Further Research 292
11.1 Introduction 292
11.2 Major Research Findings 293
11.2.1 Persuasion：A Three-dimensional Discourse Semantic Construction 294
11.2.2 Model in Actions 298
11.3 General Contributions of this Study 309
11.3.1 Contributions to Interdisciplinary Theoretical Developments 309
11.3.2 Contributions to Pedagogy in ESP and EAP 316
11.4 Further Directions for Research 318
Appendix Ⅰ FR Data：Analyses of Attitude 321
Appendix Ⅱ RA Introduction Data：Analyses of Graduation and Inscribed Attitude 337
Bibliography 347