Thematic variation in English and Spanish newspaper genres 275
anticipate the evaluative movement. The expository movement following this is
also introduced by an interpersonal Theme (‘indeed’) in clause (7), which seems
to indicate that the facts that follow support the evaluation just made. Clause (9)
in turn orients the reader towards the recommendations to come by the use of the
modal ‘should’. Finally, the long clause complex in (11), at the end of this excerpt,
although labelled ‘Move 2b Evaluation’, could alternatively be included within the
preceding move 3a as a final evaluative closure of argumentation, therefore also
depending on hyper-Theme (9).
The sample in Table 2 has allowed us to see the rather complex generic struc-
ture of commentaries, very much in the line of Ansary and Babaii’s findings for
newspaper editorials. In contrast, Spanish commentaries, as mentioned above, are
less prone to the back-and-forth movement from move to move, which results in
a simpler, more stable generic structure, as illustrated in Table 3, where we can see
a smoother flow from move 1 to move 3. The fewer instances with less continuous
flow typically involve the inclusion of evaluative elements, such as clauses (8) and
(9), breaking the flow of move 2a.
As regards hyper-Themes, the same can be said as in the case of English com-
mentaries, as it is precisely the identification of a hyper-Theme that allows tracing
the onsets of the different moves and sub-moves. Thus, clause (1) introduces the
topic of La falsa identificación de 30 de los 62 militares españoles muertos en el acci-
dente del avión Yak-42..., further expounded in clauses (2) through (6). Likewise,
clause (7) presents the tribunal’s decisions, which are then picked up in clauses (10)
and (11), after the evaluative digression introduced by (8) and expanded in (9).
The effects of such digression are actually interesting to observe in terms of hyper-
Theme organization, as both clauses (10) and (11) depend on the hyper-thematic
clause (7), but the distance created by the inclusion of the evaluation forces the
writer to remind the reader of what that hyper-Theme was, with the result that (7)
and (10) have not only the same Theme – el tribunal – but also a similar beginning:
El tribunal argumenta... (‘the tribunal argues...’) and El tribunal describe... (‘the
tribunal describes’...). Finally, clause (12) goes back to the negligence about which
the author articulates his/her position in the final four clauses.
News reports, on the other hand, show a simpler generic structure than that of
commentaries, as they often consist of just facts, occasionally peppered with a hint
of evaluation. This is more visible in the English than in the Spanish sample, where
the evaluative component is often more prominent than in English, as illustrated
by Examples (33) and (34). The Spanish report includes remarks like Un “serio
error de juicio”, algo “lamentable”, pero sin sombra de acoso, favoritismo o abuso de
autoridad (in bold): ‘A serious error of judgment, something ‘regrettable’, but with
no trace of harassment, favoritism or abuse of authority’), which arguably reflect
the writer’s disappointment at the verdict.