In Sections I and II of this book, we considered general issues regarding

part of the clause is called the ‘rheme’; it establishes what you are saying 
about your theme and any associated circumstances. As illustration, we take 
the extract in Table 7.1.

---

Academic discourse 97
The theme is often the subject of a clause and is chosen so that it fits 
in with what has gone before, thereby enabling the reader to understand 
how the information in the present clause relates to previous information. 
Thus, maintaining the same theme will ensure that a text keeps its focus 
on the topic discussed; in the example in Table 7.1, it refers back to writ-
ten language, while which refers back to the whole of the previous clause. 
A change in theme (Spoken language) signals a textual boundary and alerts 
the reader to a shift in focus.
In terms of information structure, the English clause tends to begin 
with ‘given information’, i.e. information which is known to both pro-
ducer and receiver, and to end with ‘new information’, which is the point 
of the clause, the reason for writing or speaking. Thus it is the rheme that 
generally carries the new information that the writer wants to convey, 
seen in bold in Table 7.1. Texts often progress by using an element of new 
information from the rheme as the given element in the thematic position 
of the next clause. In the following example, the new information of the 
first sentence is in bold; it becomes the given information of the second 
sentence (underlined). We understand This research as given information 
because it refers to a study, the new information of the previous sentence.
These findings are corroborated by 
a study of textbook use in Saudi 
Arabia. This research confirms the existence of both guidance and con-
straint metaphors.
Information and thematic structure are essential to the development of 
texts, and problems in this area can cause difficulties for readers, who may 
not be able to establish how one statement relates to another or to identify 
the point of the message. An understanding of these elements of discourse 
structure can help students create texts that flow more smoothly and in 
which the new information is readily distinguishable.
Cohesion
In addition to difficulties with theme and information structure, students 
may also struggle to produce texts that are cohesive. Cohesion refers to 
Table 7.1 Theme and rheme
Theme
Rheme
Written language 
is usually permanent and pre-planned
which
enables the production of dense text and the use of elaborated