Thematic Progression in Selected Economic News Reports of Iraq Negotiations with Gazprom over AL-Nasiriyah Oilfield

Abstract

This paper intends to examine thematic progression in economic news reports. The data is limited to three selected reports on Iraq negotiations with Gazprom to develop Al-Nasiriyah oilfield. The paper aims to investigate thematic progression in the reports selected through identifying the theme and rheme in each clause and their types and how thematic progression and its types are linked with the rheme of the said context. The paper is carried out through the qualitative method approach based on an eclectic model including Halliday (2014) systematic functional grammar and Bloor and Bloor (2004) thematic progression patterns. The results show that economic news reports focus on presenting detailed information and facts of the negotiations between Iraq and Gazprom relying on multiple themes in order to draw the readers’ attention towards the topic and its importance. Moreover, the simple linear and constant themes are used more frequently to create a good sense of comprehension, rhythm and better realization of the details of the topic.