Promotion In Seeking Advice: A Critical Discourse Analysis Approach

According to the theory and approach of CDA, this thesis is to do a theoreticalanalysis and empirical research to the seeking advice on graduated pricing of citizens’domestic electric power usage done by the Chinese National Development andReform Commission (CNDRC). With Fairclough’s discursive practice approach asthe analytical framework, employing Foucault’s “order of discourse” and Halliday’ssystemic functional grammar, this thesis analyzes a sequence of discourses related tograduated pricing of citizens’ domestic electric power usage that announced on itsofficial website by the CNDRC, and therefore, to give some insight to seeking advice.Through the structural analysis, it shows inequality between the governmentaldiscourse and the public discourse. On the one hand, this inequality can be reflected inthe order of discourse. The analysis of the order of discourse shows that thegovernmental discourse is obviously in a leading and dominant position, while thepublic discourse in a passive position. On the other hand, this can be reflected in thegenre chain. The analysis of the genre chain reflects that during the period of theseeking advice, the CNDRC has paid more attention to promote its new policy. Theinequality in structure can also be reflected in the ways of expression and practice ofthe discourses. Through the textual analysis of A Feedback Report of InvitingComments on Graduated Pricing of Citizens’ Domestic Electric Power Usageannounced by the CNDRC, it’s found that the CNDRC does not air the information offeedback totally and clearly, which also reflects the government’s control of thepublic willingness. The CNDRC utilizes discourse practice to help this social practiceput forward. Meanwhile, with a series of discourse strategies, the CNDRC hascontrolled and manipulated this seeking advice, in order to reach its aim of promotingits new policy.