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Using interactional metadiscourse for rapport management

A study of Chinese university enrolment posts on WeChat

 | Hangzhou Normal University
ORCiD logo with link | Hangzhou Normal University
Published online: 24 April 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/prag.24039.wan
Abstract
Facing the increasing enrolment pressure, most Chinese universities launch enrolment posts on WeChat. Yet the way posts are written is under-researched. This study analyses metadiscourse resources in thirty Chinese university enrolment posts with the purpose of examining how Chinese universities promote themselves. The findings suggest that Chinese universities attempt to construct positive rapport with prospective students by means of metadiscourse resources. The posts extol universities with attitude markers, hedges and boosters, create intimacy with prospective students with self-mentions and reader-pronouns, and invite readers with reader pronouns, directives and attitude markers. The study suggests that Chinese universities present a paradoxical image, being approachable and superior to readers. The discourse affordance of WeChat, promotional culture in higher education, the traditional identity of the university and its affiliation to the government work together to contribute to the discourse strategies used in the enrolment posts.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Social media marketing and China’s higher education
    • 2.1University marketing via social media
    • 2.2Development of China’s higher education
    • 2.3Genre of enrolment posts on WeChat
  • 3.Analytical frameworks
    • 3.1Interactional metadiscourse model
    • 3.2Rapport management model
    • 3.2Data and methods
      • 3.2.1Research questions
      • 3.2.2Data corpus
      • 3.2.3Data annotation and analysis
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Extolling universities with attitude markers, hedges and boosters
    • 4.2Creating intimacy with prospective students with self-mentions and reader-pronouns
    • 4.3Inviting readers with reader pronouns, directives and attitude markers
  • 5.Discussion and conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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