10.1177/0021943605279244 ARTICLEJOURNAL OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONRutherford / CORPORATE ANNUAL REPORT NARRATIVES GENRE ANALYSIS OF CORPORATE ANNUAL REPORT NARRATIVES A Corpus Linguistics–Based Approach

The study reported on in this article analyzes the U.K. Operating and Financial Review (OFR) as a genre of accounting narrative, employing word frequencies to identify genre rules. Evidence is found of rhetor-ical ploys within the genre and of differences in word frequencies, suggesting the existence of subgenres, related to the exigencies of the rhetorical situation. The genre employs language biased toward the posi-tive (the “Pollyanna effect”), despite authoritative guidance that the OFR should be expressed in neutral terms. Evidence of subgenres includes differential propensity to employ positive language and differ-ences in the rhetorical ploys adopted in connection with marketing strategy, corporate recovery, self-reference, comparative analysis, and gearing (leverage). The study also demonstrates the value of a cor-pus linguistics approach in analyzing accounting narratives