4.3.2　Corporate profile

As suggested in the Table 3.4，this stage is an optional one，with only 43%occurrences in the whole collection of data.The topic and rhetorical function of the stage“corporate profile”is to introduce the language school itself to the readers in a positive tone，including topics such as its background，history in the English training profession，past achievements，corporate tenets and ethics and future goals.It usually takes the form of verbal paragraphs;in a few cases pictorial resources like photos are also employed.

4.3.2.1　The verbal text in Corporate Profile

The verbal text is a blending of promotional and expository genres，which is organized around several Topics about the concerning company.As the genre of exposition typically unfolds rhetorically rather than chronologically（Martin and Rose，2008：132），the arguments in Corporate Profile texts are also rhetorically motivated.The initial Topic of the Corporate Profile text is usually a brief introduction of their company background.The following text unfolds with a sequence of related topics such as the history，achievements，mission and goals and future of the English language school/company.Although the actual sequence of these topics may vary from case to case，they follow a general pattern of development，that is，from past experience and achievement to the present project in China，and some also to future goal.The typical pattern of the Topics is generalized below，with some optional topics omitted.

Topic 1^Topic2^Topic 3^Topic 4

Topic 1：Who we are，or the background of the company

Topic 2：Our mission and aim

Topic 3：Our achievements

Topic 4：Our present projects and programs

Topic 5：Our future

The topics identified above are not necessarily present simultaneously in all cases of advertisement;instead，some are optional，for example，the topic on the future.The obligatory Topics are the Topic 1 on“who we are”，Topic 2 on“mission”，and Topic 3 on“achievements”.The tree diagram of the macro-structure of the Corporate Profile is presented in Figure 4.10 below.

Figure 4.10　Tree diagram of the macro-structure of the Corporate Profile

The typical Points for each Topic in this stage are summarized as follows：

Point 1：Professional organization of English teaching

Point 2：For the benefits of the English learners in China

Point 3：Success and wide recognition in English teaching

Point 4：Striving for the good-quality English teaching programs in China

Through arguments on these Topics under the overall topic—Corporate Profile，this stage attempts to present an image of a reliable，successful and dedicated company in English teaching，which is the hyper-Point of this stage.

The following is a typical example of Corporate Profile：

遍布全球的瑞来语言学院

瑞来英语是由国际著名教育机构——万联（WorldLink Education）在中国投资设立的专业语言教育培训机构，是基于万联历经十多年在全球提供高品质语言培训的成功经验而创建。我们的目标是致力于为国内的广大英语学习爱好者提供专业而权威的高效解决方案，为英语教育在中国的普及而不懈努力!

近十年来，万联秉承丰厚的办学经验和成功的教学理念，在英国、澳大利亚、美国、意大利、法国、西班牙、德国和日本等国家相继开设了多种语言类别的语言培训中心，本着“通过语言消除语言和文化壁垒”的原则，已成为这些国家在语言培训上的先行者，并取得了巨大的成功。2005年，万联率几十位拥有国际英语教学经验的优秀外籍教师，带着强烈的教育使命感，大举进入中国英语培训市场。

The topical structure of the translated version of the sample verbal text of Corporate Profile is shown in Table 4.1 below.

Table 4.1　Topical structure analysis of the sample verbal text of Corporate Profile

4.3.2.2　The pictorial text in Corporate Profile

The inclusion of pictorial component in this stage is also optional.In flyers few cases are found to include a visual part in the stage of Corporate Profile，actually，even the stage as a whole is highly optional as shown in Table 3.4.In the leaflets and brochures which do include a pictorial component in the Corporate Profile，the patterns vary to a large extent with the medium that carries them.That is，for leaflets and brochures which have very different capacities of visual space，the patterns of the visual texts vary accordingly.In general，pictures are more often seen in brochures than in leaflets.The frequently encountered visuals in the Corporate Profile in leaflets and company brochures can be grouped into the following two types.The first type，also the most popular type includes photos of the office or classroom of this language school，often shot with a high light key and institutional formality reflected through its design，and the modern and clean atmosphere.The following page（see Figure 4.11）is an example of this type.

Figure 4.11　Picture of office in Corporate Profile

Figure 4.12　Picture of learning scene in Corporate Profile

The second type includes photos of people in classroom among which foreign faces are at the visual focus.They present scenes of either learning or leisure-time activity，both with a happy and attractive attribute.This type is more frequently seen in brochures than in leaflets.The photos are large in size and are made salient in the visual space.The following page（see Figure 4.12）is an example from a company brochure.The topmost is the heading“品牌”（top brand）which shares a similar visual format with other headings in the brochure.Under the heading are two verbal paragraphs presenting a brief profile of the company.At the bottom part of the page is a photo and a verbal phrase beside it.The photo shows a foreign teacher and three Chinese children sitting or kneeling on the floor，with a big book open in front of them.The facial expressions of them are happy and interested.