Versatility in corporate writing Brochures from oil and gas companies

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a linguistic perspective for corporate brochures. Corporate brochures are published to introduce an organization and to provide information about it but the brochures have been claimed to include promotional elements. By conducting a genre analysis the paper aims to confirm that genre-based writing is not formulaic but instead demonstrates versatility and creativity.

Design/methodology/approach

Corporate brochures from a specific industry, oil and gas were sourced from the websites and a total of 16 were available. The method of analysis was genre analysis to establish the generic structure of the brochures by examining the rhetorical moves and strategies, and to identify the textual features of the texts to explain why they are written the way they are.

Findings

The oil and gas brochures display a five-move generic structure with a number of strategies. The moves show high occurrence proving the industry as a specialized one. Although the moves are the same, the contents are varied. Versatility is also seen in the presentation style in terms of form, content and language.

Practical implications

Findings on generic structure and textual features of brochures can be used as a guide for corporate writers, as well as trainees and students of corporate communication.

Originality/value

The data for this research represent one industry which has not been explored before thus contributing to the body of knowledge in the field of genre analysis. Although generic in form, genre-based writing has proven to be versatile. The textual features show how companies project their corporate image via brochures.

Citation

Osman, H. (2019), "Versatility in corporate writing Brochures from oil and gas companies", Corporate Communications: An International Journal, Vol. 24 No. 3, pp. 394-409. https://doi.org/10.1108/CCIJ-03-2018-0033