LANGUAGE OF ENGLISH DISCOURSE LESSON 1 _____ PRE- ASSESSMENT

Activity 1

Direction: Read the sentences below carefully. Expain

the following process.

How do you analyze a newspaper report please consider the following

points:

1. The five w's": who, what, where, when, why

2. How are facts and figures presented, which figures have been chosen (to which effect?)
3. What has been left out?
4. Structure of the article ("the inverted pyramid structure" : all answers to the five w's are in the first
paragraph, each paragraph that follows deals with one aspect
5. Choice of words, register
6. Syntax, complete sentences, incomplete sentences, simple or complex structure, questions
7. Pronouns ("you", "we" –– function?)
8. Quotations (who is quoted?)
9. Stylistic devices such as rhetorical questions or repetitions

LESSON 1: INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH

DISCOURSE

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What Is English Discourse

In linguistics, discourse refers to a unit of language longer than a single sentence. The word discourse is derived
from the latin prefix dis- meaning "away" and the root word currere meaning "to run". Discourse, therefore,
translates to "run away" and refers to the way that conversations flow. To study discourse is to analyze the use
of spoken or written language in a social context.
 Discourse studies look at the form and function of language in conversation beyond its small
grammatical pieces such as phonemes and morphemes. This field of study, which Dutch linguist Teun van Dijk
is largely responsible for developing, is interested in how larger units of language—including lexemes, syntax,
and context—contribute meaning to conversations.
Definitions and Examples of Discourse
"Discourse in context may consist of only one or two words as in stop or no smoking. Alternatively, a
piece of discourse can be hundreds of thousands of words in length, as some novels are. A typical piece of
discourse is somewhere between these two extremes," (Hinkel and Fotos 2001).

"Discourse is the way in which language is used socially to convey broad historical meanings. It is
language identified by the social conditions of its use, by who is using it and under what conditions. Language
can never be 'neutral' because it bridges our personal and social worlds," (Henry and Tator 2002).

Contexts and Topics of Discourse

The study of discourse is entirely context-dependent because conversation involves situational

knowledge beyond just the words spoken. Often times, meaning cannot be extrapolated from an exchange
merely from its verbal utterances because there are many semantic factors involved in authentic
communication.

"The study of discourse...can involve matters like context, background information or knowledge shared
between a speaker and hearer," (Bloor and Bloor 2013).

Subcategories of Discourse
"Discourse can...be used to refer to particular contexts of language use, and in this sense, it becomes
similar to concepts like genre or text type. For example, we can conceptualize political discourse (the sort of
language used in political contexts) or media discourse (language used in the media).

In addition, some writers have conceived of discourse as related to particular topics, such as an
environmental discourse or colonial discourse...Such labels sometimes suggest a particular attitude towards a
topic (e.g. people engaging in environmental discourse would generally be expected to be concerned with
protecting the environment rather than wasting resources). Related to this, Foucault...defines discourse more
ideologically as 'practices which systematically form the objects of which they speak'," (Baker and Ellece
2013).
Discourse in Social Sciences
"Within social science...discourse is mainly used to describe verbal reports of individuals. In
particular, discourse is analyzed by those who are interested in language and talk and what people are
doing with their speech. This approach [studies] the language used to describe aspects of the world and
has tended to be taken by those using a sociological perspective," (Ogden 2002).
Common Ground
Discourse is a joint activity requiring active participation from two or more people, and as such is dependent on
the lives and knowledge of two or more people as well as the situation of the communication itself. Herbert
Clark applied the concept of common ground to his discourse studies as a way of accounting for the various
agreements that take place in successful communication.
"Discourse is more than a message between sender and receiver. In fact, sender and receiver are
metaphors that obfuscate what is really going on in communication. Specific illocutions have to be linked to the
message depending on the situation in which discourse takes place...Clark compares language in use with a
business transaction, paddling together in a canoe, playing cards or performing music in an orchestra.

A central notion in Clark's study is common ground. The joint activity is undertaken to accumulate the
common ground of the participants. With common ground is meant the sum of the joint and mutual knowledge,
beliefs and suppositions of the participants," (Renkema 2004).

Getting the Message Across

Tom is a history teacher with a message to give his students. There is a test coming up, and Tom wants to be
sure that his students have all of the information they need to be successful. Tom must decide what the best
method of delivery for this information is. Should he orally review the material for the test, or should he give
students the information in writing? Tom must decide between using oral discourse or written discourse in
preparing his students for the test.

Definitions

To understand fully the meanings, characteristics of, and differences between oral discourse and written
discourse, we must first look at some specific definitions. Discourse is a term used to explain the transfer of
information from one person to another. It implies the use of words and sentences in context for the purpose of
conveying meaning. Discourse can happen either orally—through spoken language—or in written format.

Oral Discourse
Oral discourse is just as it sounds. It is communication or transfer of information using words that are spoken.
For oral discourse to happen, someone must be speaking either in conversation or through oral delivery of
information, such as in a lecture or presentation. Oral discourse lends itself to the use of speech acts, which are
functions of communication that might include congratulating, ordering, demanding, promising, hinting,
warning, or greeting. Oral discourse often also contains discourse markers, such as words that create pause or
separation of ideas (such as ''well,'' ''so,'' ''anyway,'' or ''you know'').

Written Discourse

Written discourse is also the transfer of information, but, as its name suggests, it involves the written word. To
be successful, the writer and the receiver must have the necessary skills for delivery of information; the writer
must be able to write, and the reader must be able to read. Written discourse is often tied with genre, or the type
and/or structure of language used to imply purpose and context within a specific subject matter, especially when
looking at literature.

Characteristics

There are several characteristics that are unique to each type of discourse and several reasons why a person
might favor one form of delivery over the other.

With that in mind, here are some positive characteristics of oral discourse:

 Meaning is supported by nonverbal communication and other factors such as tone and intonation
 It can be done spur of the moment
 The audience is known to the one delivering the message
 The pace of communication is generally determined by the speaker
 More personable and involves a shared situation between speaker and listener

Now, here are some negative characteristics of oral discourse:

 Words are often not given as much consideration before they are spoken
 It is often less planned and contains less structure
 There is a tendency to use words with fewer syllables and less complex sentences
 Once delivered, it cannot be changed or taken back
 The receiver of information must listen to the whole speech or presentation at once in order to get full
meaning
 Oral information is only permanent if it is continuously passed from one person to the next
Let's now take about the characteristics of written discourse in the same way, starting with some  positive
characteristics of written discourse:

 More precise as words can be thought through and carefully chosen

 Once written, words can still be changed or rearranged in order to make communication more precise
 There is a tendency to use larger words and more complex sentences to make the message more
interesting
 Writing can happen over a period of time with much consideration given to the message and its delivery
 The receiver can spread reading out over a period of time so as to give full attention to meaning
 Writing is a permanent record of information

On the other hand, here are some negative characteristics of written discourse:

 The pace of communication is determined by the reader or receiver of information

 The audience for written discourse is not always known
 The meaning might be supported by visual graphics, but there are no nonverbal communication cues to
read
 It is less personable and can be very one-sided

Register and Style

Academic writing has a level of formality, and it is sometimes difficult for the non-native speaker of
English to recognise the differences in register and style of the language. The section covers some of the
differences in style and register.

Introduction

When discussing the register of a word, we refer to the use of language for a particular purpose or in a
particular social setting, that is, its level of formality. The English language is no exception when it comes to
language variation and style and it is important to recognise the differences and just as important to know the
differences.

Consider the table below and the grade differences ranging from very formal to casual in salutations and
closures in both spoken and written discourse.

Very formal Formal Neutral Informal Very informal, casual

How do you do Hello Hello Hi What's up! / Hey!

An important feature of writing at university is its style and register. The choice of register for a
particular text or part of text will vary depending on the genre and who will be reading the text. Therefore,
knowing the targeted audience before starting the writing process, will have an impact on the stylistic choices.

When referring to register in writing, the choices are usually 'familiar', 'informal', 'formal' and 'ceremonial'.
However, the two registers that are commonly crossed in academic writing are generally between formal and
informal; therefore, a standard guideline of the stylistic differences between the two have been provided, plus a
simple guide of cross registering examples.

 Register Types

 Formal vs Informal

 Cross Registering and Style

Style in writing generally refers to the choices in vocabulary and the accuracy of their use in the written text.

Spoken vs. Written Discourse Distinction between Written and Spoken Discourse
  The distinction between speech and writing is often referred to as channel (D. Hymes) or medium as
speaking and writing involve different psychological processes.

 Spoken and written discourse differ for many reasons. Spoken discourse has to be understood immediately;
written discourse can be referred to many times

General Differences between Spoken and Written Discourse

 1. Grammatical complexity

 2. Lexical density

 3. Nominalization

 4. Explicitness

 5. Contextualization

 6. Spontaneity

 7. Repetition, hesitations, and redundancy General Differences between Spoken and Written Discourse

 1. Grammatical complexity

 2. Lexical density

 3. Nominalization

 4. Explicitness

 5. Contextualization

 6. Spontaneity

 7. Repetition, hesitations, and redundancy 1

1.Grammatical Complexity Written discourse is more structurally complex and more elaborate than spoken
discourse . In other words, sentences in spoken discourse are short and simple, whereas they are longer and
more complex in written discourse. Structurally?  Spoken discourse is more fragmented. It contains more
simple sentences and coordination words (and, but, so, because, etc.)
  Written texts exhibit a bewildering variety and richness of different structural forms. 1. Grammatical
Complexity

 In written discourse we often use passive when we don’t want to specify the agent. In spoken discourse we
would use a subject like “people”, “somebody”, “they”, “you”. 1. Grammatical Complexity

2. Lexical Density It refers to the ratio of content words (i.e. nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs) to
grammatical or function words (e.g. pronouns, prepositions, articles) within a clause. Spoken discourse is less
lexically dense than written discourse. Content words tend to be spread out over a number of clauses, whereas
they seem to be tightly packed into individual clauses. Lexical characteristics? Spoken discourse has:

 More pronouns (it, they, you , we).

 More lexical repetitions.

 More first person references.

 More active verbs.

3. Nominalization It refers to presenting actions and events as nouns rather than as verbs. a. Written discourse
has a high level of nominalization: i.e. more nouns than verbs. b. Written discourse tends to have longer noun
groups than spoken discourse. Lexical characteristics? Spoken discourse has:

 More verb-based phrases: having treatment – being treated hospital care – go to the hospital  More
predicative adjectives: statistics are misleading – misleading statistics news is frightening – frightening news

Nominalization Study the next written text. Can you identify any ways in which its linguistic features are
determined by the context and purpose for which it was produced?
Activity 1

Direction: a popular musical group (or any other event with which students can connect), prepare four index
cards with one of the following:

1. You just heard that your favorite band is playing at the college center on Friday. Unfortunately, you
are scheduled to work at your part-time job. In a letter to your boss, explain why you need time off on
Friday.
2. Your friend plans to meet you at the college cafeteria before seeing the concert. However, this friend
needs directions since he is does not know the campus. In a note to your friend, explain how to walk or
drive to the school and where to meet.
 3. You have just seen a fantastic concert at the college center. You want to capture the experience in
your diary. In a journal entry for yourself, describe the show and your feelings.
4. You saw the concert on Friday. Your English teacher wants you to write a creative story about the
experience. It could take the form of a brief story, dialogue, or poem. In a short paper for your class,
write your creative response to the experience.

Each group of 3 students receives one card and must work collaboratively
to respond to the assignment. After students have completed the task, ask
groups to share what they have written with the entire class. While
listening, record pertinent words and ideas that the group has employed to
adapt its language to the task and the audience. Discuss the strategies used
by the writers and illustrate how the groups' written work varies. This open
discussion of student-generated writing makes a perfect springboard to
launch a more formal exchange about discourse, tone and style. Students
can also evaluate others' effectiveness by analyzing the clarity and conviction of the written work.

LESSON 2-6: PRIMARY TYPES OF DISCOURSE

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Primary Types of English Discourse

Modes of Discourse

The four traditional modes of discourse are narration, description, exposition, and argument.

Narration is story telling. It involves relating a series of events, usually in a chronological order. Thus,
a simple narrative may begin with "Once upon a time . . . " and end with "And they lived happily ever after."
The events narrated may be fictional (a made up story) or nonfictional ( the events really occurred). However,
we usually reserve the title "story" for fiction. If the events actually happened, we give the writing another name
such as biography, autobiography, history, after action report, or newspaper report.

As with any dichotomy, there are some cases that fall in between. For example, there is a genre called
"historical fiction" that may more or less accurately portray an historical event while making up a story about
real or fictional characters involved in that event. One well known example is "Gone With the Wind," the story
of Scarlet O'Hara and Rhett Butler during the American Civil War.

At its simplest, description tells what things are like according to the five senses. A descriptive essay, or
a descriptive passage in a story, tells how things look, sound, feel, taste, and smell. Nouns and adjectives can
show what a person, place, or thing are like in their material aspects. But description often tries to do more than
to enable readers to visualize characters, settings, and actions. It may also try to evoke a mood or atmosphere,
and this is aided by the use of simile and metaphor.

Exposition is the kind of writing that is used to inform. The prefix "Ex-" comes from Greek through
Latin and means "out, or away from." The root of the word comes from the Latin verb ponere which means "to
place." So translated literally, exposition means "to place out," and, of course, the thing that is placed out for us
to see and understand is information.

This mode of writing has several subtypes, the most common being process analysis, definition, classification
and division, comparison and contrast, cause and effect, and problem and solution. These are distinguished by
purpose, as the names indicate, but also by structure or organization. For example, an experienced writer
understands that an essay that compares and contrasts, or that describes a problem and presents a solution, each
has its own conventional pattern of organization and that once readers recognize the intended mode, they also
expect the writer to follow the organizational conventions associated with it.

The final mode of discourse is argument. The purpose of argument is to convince through logic. An
argument is based on a belief or opinion that the writer holds as true. The statement of this opinion is called a
"thesis." It is usually presented explicitly near the beginning of the argument. To convince readers that his
opinion is true, the writer must build a case to support the thesis. Building a case requires presenting reasons for
accepting the thesis, and then presenting evidence to support the reasons. If the reader accepts the reasons and
the evidence, then he should agree with the thesis.

The argumentative mode of discourse has a variation known as "persuasion." Argument and persuasion
differ in two primary ways. The first is the intent. While the intent of argument is to present reasons and
evidence to elicit logical agreement, the purpose of persuasion goes beyond this to get the reader to act on his
belief. A successful argument may convince someone that candidate "X" is the best choice, but successful
persuasion will make that person vote for candidate "X."

The second way the two differ is in the methods that a writer uses to win the assent of his readers. The
Greek philosopher Aristotle suggested in his Rhetoric that there are three kinds of proofs that speakers or
writers may use to win over an audience. He called the first logos and it employs evidence and reasoning. In
other words, the writer must give facts and figures, expert testimony, illustrative examples, or other kinds of
evidence, and then demonstrate how these support his thesis. Both argument and persuasion make use of logos.

But persuasion also employs pathos which is "proof based on motives and emotions" (Osborn and
Osborn 379). Appeals to emotions are made primarily through narratives. For example, the story of how a
young girl was raped and murdered by a registered sex offender in Florida might be used to persuade lawmakers
to pass laws requiring closer monitoring of sex offenders.

Next is ethos which "assumes that people can be persuaded by the personal influence of the source of a
message" (382). In a speech, the speaker must project an impression that he is honest, sincere, and trustworthy.
He must establish credibility and be likable. If he is successful, the audience will be more inclined to accept and
to act on his message. In written appeals, ethos is also important.

One way for a writer to establish credibility is to be well informed about the topic and to know both
sides of the issue that she is arguing. If a reader senses that the writer does not know what she is talking about,
then she has lost credibility and will not be able to convince or persuade. Citing authorities and including a
works cited page are evidence that the writer has done her homework and that what she says is based on valid
and reliable information.

An author must also show that he is fairly representing his position and that of the opposing parties and
is not resorting to the deceptions of the propagandist such as stacking the deck by presenting only one side of an
issue or by attempting to discredit the opposition by setting up straw men to attack.

Osborn and Osborn describe a fourth kind of proof that can be used in persuasion. They call
it mythos. Proof by mythos assumes that people value their membership in a society and share in its cultural
heritage. Mythos is the sum total of stories, values, faith, feelings, and roles that make up the social character of
a people. Proof by mythos often calls upon patriotism, cultural pride, and the heroes or enemies as evidence
(383).

Identifying the modes of discourse is a convenient way to talk about writing, and a specific essay or
longer works may be labeled narration, description, exposition, or argument. However, the various modes are
almost never found in a pure form but are embedded one within another and work in concert to help the writer
achieve his purpose.

What do greeting cards, personal letters from friends, restaurant menus, product manuals, and recipes all have in
common? These are examples of non-literary texts that are used in everyday activities. Non-literary texts'
primary purpose is to provide its audience with information. When you go to the mailbox, you might find an
informational flyer about a local business inviting you to a kick-off celebration. You might decide to go because
you like the professional look of the flyer and are interested to learn more about the new business. When you
are deciding between the appetizer special or fish catch of the day, the catchy phrases and images in the menu
help you decide which sounds more appealing and lead you to pick one or the other. When you are trying to
assemble a bookcase, using an instruction manual which gives precise step by step instructions with images
lessens the stress of putting such an item together. 

Literary texts are texts that are narrative, or tell a story, and contain elements of fiction. Some good
examples of literary texts include novels, short stories, and poetry. However, non-literary texts are texts whose
primary purpose is to convey information and do not have the same narrative and fictional elements as literary
texts. Examples of non-literary texts include textbooks, legal documents, articles in academic journals, recipes,
how-to books, and instruction manuals.

But once you know what a non-literary text is, the question becomes: How do you read a non-literary
text? Reading a literary text includes searching for motifs, metaphors, and symbolism, but reading and
analyzing a non-literary text is quite different. Analyzing a non-literary text requires confirming the facts,
gaining knowledge, developing skills, and performing tasks.
LESSON 7: FEATURES OF SPOKEN DISCOURSE

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Features of academic spoken English

Spoken language is different from written language for many reasons. One important reason is that it usually
has to be understood immediately whereas written language can be read many times. For that reason, spoken
language has many different features.
Spoken language has the following characteristics (Halliday, 1989, p. 31):

 Variation in speed - but it is generally faster than writing

 Loudness or quietness
 Gestures - body language
 Intonation
 Stress
 Rhythm
 Pitch range
 Pausing and phrasing

As well as this, there are differences in the actual language used (Biber, 1988; Biber, Johansson, Leech, Conrad
& Finegan, 1999; Chafe, 1982; Cook, 1997; Halliday,1989).

Less Complex

Spoken language is less complex than written language.

Spoken language is grammatically less complex than written language. It has fewer subordinate clauses, fewer
"that/to" complement clauses, fewer sequences of prepositional phrases, fewer attributive adjectives and more
active verbs than written language.

Spoken texts are longer. This means that there is more repetition. According to Ure (1971), the percentage of
different words in a text is generally below 40% for spoken texts and above 40% for written texts.

Spoken texts also have shorter, less complex words and phrases. They have fewer nominalisations, more verb
based phrases, and a more limited vocabulary. Spoken texts are lexically less dense than written language - they
have proportionately more grammatical words than lexical words.

Spoken language has more words that refer to the speaker, more quantifiers and hedges, and less abstractness.

Spoken language has:

 more verb based phrases

(e.g. having treatment (W), being treated (S), hospital care (W), go to hospital (S))
  more predicative adjectives
(misleading statistics (W), statistics are misleading (S))
 more pronouns (it, they, you, we)
 more lexical repetition
 more first person reference (I)
 more active verbs than written language
 fewer complex words and phrases

Spoken texts are:

 more fragmented - more simple sentences and more use of coordination and, but, so, because rather than
subordination (embedding)
 lexically less dense
 longer

Halliday (1989, p.79) compares a sentence from a written text:

The use of this method of control unquestionably leads to safer and faster train running in the most adverse
weather conditions.

with a typical spoken variant:

If this method of control is used trains will unquestionably (be able to) run more safely and faster (even) when
the weather conditions are most adverse

and a more natural spoken version:

You can control the trains this way and if you do that you can be quite sure that they'll be able to run more
safely and more quickly than they would otherwise, no matter how bad the weather gets.

The main difference is the grammar, not the vocabulary.

Another example from (Halliday, 1996, p. 347).

The written text:

Obviously the government is frightened of union reaction to its move to impose proper behaviour on
unions.
is more lexically dense than the spoken version:

Obviously the government is frightened how the unions will react if it tries to make them behave
properly.

Other equivalents are given below (1989, p.81):

Written Spoken
Every previous visit had left me with a sense of Whenever I'd visited there before, I'd ended up feeling that it
the futility of further action on my part. would be futile if I tried to do anything more.
Violence changed the face of once peaceful The cities in Switzerland had once been peaceful, but they
Swiss cities. changed when people became violent.
Improvements in technology have reduced the Because the technology has improved its less risky than it
risks and high costs associated with simultaneous used to be when you install them at the same time, and it
installation. doesn't cost so much either.
Opinion in the colony greeted the promised The people in the colony rejoiced when it was promised that
change with enthusiasm. things would change in this way.
Active verbs

In formal written English, we often use a passive when we do not want to specify who the agent is. In spoken
English we can use a subject such as "people", "somebody", "they", "we", or "you".

Compare:

They're installing the new computer system next month.

The new computer system is being installed next month. (more formal)]
LESSON 8: TYPES OF DISCOURSE
_________________________________________________________________

The Rhetorical Patterns - Organizing Essays for Different Rhetorical Situations

The following pages will provide you with several effective ways of organizing information in your essays.
Oftentimes, when you know who your audience is and what your purpose is for writing (which is called your
rhetorical situation), you can begin to consider the organization of what is going to be in your paper, how you
will introduce your paper, and what to write for your conclusion. The following rhetorical patterns will help you
answer these questions.  

|Comparison and Contrast

Cause and Effect  

 Persuasion and Argument

1. CLASSIFICATION/DIVISION

Definition:  Classification/Division, essentially, is a system of exclusive organization using categorized

examples.

Description: When you consider which examples to use in a classification/division essay, you should begin
both grouping (or classifying) your examples together according to their similarities and excluding (or dividing)
them apart based on their differences.  

Classification helps your readers completely understand the subject of your paper because you have organized
the things you are considering according to a logical method. 

Through classification and division, readers can understand what might appear to them to be unassociated ideas
because your logical method has identified relationships between them all. In many rhetorical situations,
classification/division brings a sense of order to what your readers might have perceived as a chaotic scenario.
Although, both classification and division are two separate steps, they must occur together in the same paper. 

Conventions:  Most readers of classification essays will want a detailed understanding about your principle of
classification, which you will recall is how you divided and organized your paper’s things or examples. Readers
may want you to announce in the first person that you are creating a class (i.e., “These things can be divided
into four categories, of which I will exclude the first three. These categories are…”). On the other hand, your
readers will probably become distracted if larger, first person elements of narration intrude and interrupt your
discussion of your classification principle. Most classification/division essays are written in the present tense,
unless, that is, the principle of classification deals with historical analysis. Finally, the internal logic most
readers expect from a classification/division essay results from adherence to three ideas: The principle of
classification will produce all the classes and categories; all of the sub-categories and sub-classes are equal in
value; and, that you will consider all objects and examples within the category or class that you analyze. 

Strategies:  When you begin to classify, consider your individual things or examples and sort and parse them
into classes or categories. Many of these things will have several different elements and characteristics, so
realize that they can be classified in many different ways. Then divide these groups further, so that you can
isolate a certain class. While you are performing these operations, you should consider what particular principle
helped you to assign specific things to one category or to another. Then analyze, and perhaps use as the basis of
an argument, the examples or things in the class you have developed. 

Organization:  The principle of classification you choose would depend on how you wished to approach the
members of this large and diverse group. This principle should be specifically articulated in detail in your
introduction. Once a class has been identified and assigned, and its principle is known to your readers, they will
generally prefer to have a body paragraph devoted to each of the objects in the class or to each of the attributes
of the one exemplary object in the class. Since classification/division lends itself so well to social science
papers, most readers will want to know any implications or ramifications of your analysis in the conclusion.

What is division?

Division is the separation of the things into groups and classes. Normally, readers expect that you will divide
things into large groups, and then smaller and smaller groups, based on the similarities of the things in each
class. Consistent or mutually-exclusive categories are what you are aiming for. You want each of your classes
or categories to have things in it that would not belong to other classes or categories. 

What is classification?

Classification is the system that you use to get from all the things to a certain number of categories of things.
Complete or exhaustive classes are what you are aiming for. You want all of your items or things to fit into one
of your classes.  Each classification system can differ depending on what you are classifying; there are certain
classification words that are conventional. Some of these are:

 Type 

 Kind 

 Sort
  Category  

 Group

Develop your classification system logically and according to your purposes.

How do I draft my introduction?

Your readers will almost certainly look for a description of the entire population you will divide and classify
and your principle of division and classification in your introduction. 

How do I focus my main point or thesis?

Some readers and writers prefer the multipart thesis, which provides the categories in their order and use the
categories as cue words for the body paragraph topic sentences.

Students who succeed at college normally fall into the categories of academics, athletes, and socializers. 

How do I draft my body paragraphs and focus on my principle of classification?

Your body paragraphs should deal with each category, probably in the same order that you developed them as
you presented your principle of classification, methodically and comprehensively. The aim of the body
paragraphs is two-fold: develop your analysis and reinforce your principle of classification. 

How can I draft my conclusion?

There are other techniques for wrapping up your paper. You might return to the technique that you used to open
your introduction and further develop it. Or you might do one of the following:

 Give your interpretation of what has happened.

 Make a prediction about the future.

 Provide a solution to a problem raised in your paper. 

 Offer a suggestion or advice to people dealing with problems raised in your paper.

 Formulate new questions that might be asked given your analysis of the situation. Where can further
research go?

Peer-Review Worksheet for Classification:

What is the total population of the things that you can divide and classify?

(Have these things already been divided and classified in a way that you can use, modify, or suggest an
alternative to?)

What is your purpose for dividing and classifying?

Who is your primary audience? Does your audience already know something about your paper’s subject? If so,
what kinds of things does your audience know?

How will you divide your total population? Into what groups and classes?

1.  
2.  
3.  

Are there any “problems” for your principle of classification? Would some readers think that certain groups
might contain elements from other groups? Explain how you will deal with this problem.

What is the thesis statement?

What are your topic sentences?

1.  
2.  
3.  
4.  
5.  

What will you do in your conclusion?

COMAPRISON AND CONTRAST

Definition:  Comparison/contrast normally analyzes two or more things, using an established logical system. 

Description: Comparing things is examining them for their similarities; whereas contrasting them is looking for
their differences. When you want to persuade your readers that a difference exists between what they believe
and what you want them to believe, a comparison/contrast is an effective system of organization for illustrating
those differences. 

Conventions:  When a writing prompt includes the word “compare,” then you should consider showing both the
differences and similarities, as the term “compare” often connotes both functions. Readers normally expect that
the criteria for selecting the two things you are comparing will be fair and valid for the comparison. It would
strike most readers as inappropriate to compare President Bush with Mickey Mouse; whereas, a comparison
between Bush and Clinton would be fair and valid. Because you want your reader to follow your comparison,
you might want to minimize or avoid using the first person, so that the two things and the comparison take
center stage throughout your paper. 

Strategies:  First, consider what your audience already knows about the things that you plan to
compare/contrast. If, for instance, they are knowledgeable about the things you are comparing, then you can
explore the reasons behind your comparison. If your readers are familiar with one or two of the several things
you plan to compare, then consider beginning your comparison with the known entities and moving into the
unknown ones. Use balance between the two elements. Just because an ostrich and a hummingbird have wings
does not mean that balance exists between the two different wings; such a comparison would be lopsided and
ineffective. 

Organization:  After introducing and explaining the reasons for the comparison of the two things, most readers
will expect a thesis statement that sums up the motivations behind the comparison. If you are comparing two
baseball teams, The Yankees and the Red Sox, explain your preference for one in your thesis statement. Your
body paragraphs will carry most of the weight for the structure of this kind of system of organization. Decide
whether you are going to use a subject-by-subject or a point-by-point system for the body paragraphs. 

A subject-by-subject organization devotes one full body paragraph to examining each of the major things being
compared. Use the same order as you write your body paragraphs. For instance, in a subject-by-subject
comparison of the two baseball teams, one body paragraph might examine how Roger Clemens played when he
was with the Red Sox and then in the following paragraph how he played when he was with the Yankees. Use
this system when you have much to say about each of the things you are comparing. 

If Clemens was only a small part of your comparison, and you had several other small elements (like uniforms,
other players, fans, and so on), then you could use a point-by-point system of organizing your body paragraphs.
For this, you would talk about how Clemens played for both teams in the same body paragraph, and then move
into another element to be compared in the next paragraph. Find some kind of priority/order for examining the
things (in a subject-by-subject) or the elements of the two things (in a point-by-point), so that you don’t jump
from one insignificant comparison to a major comparison to a smaller element. 

If you must use both systems in a paper, use the subject-by-subject system first. Explain exactly what will be
compared in your topic sentences, and your transitions are equally important because they alert your readers to
the fact that you are finished comparing one thing or element and are moving on. Because the topic sentences
are so vitally important to this kind of paper, your thesis might simply mention the two things being compared
and pronounce a judgment; a thesis statement that mentioned all of the things/elements being compared could
be lengthy and confusing to your readers. Conclusions are an excellent place for restating your judgment and
summarizing the comparisons that led you to that judgment. You might also use the conclusion to discuss
ramifications of your comparison. Most readers will become confused if you continue to compare new
things/elements in the conclusion.

How do I decide between using a subject-by-subject or point-by-point organization?

After you have decided how you will approach your comparison, consider the two organizational structures for
the comparison paper:

 The first way is the subject-by-subject comparison, which uses a full body paragraph for each separate
comparison: Ford Taurus in one paragraph and the Honda Accord in the next paragraph.

 The other way is the point-by-point comparison, which does the comparison of both subjects in each
body paragraph: Gas mileage for the Ford Taurus and then for the Honda Accord in the same paragraph.

 For instance, if you are comparing the Honda Accord and the Ford Taurus, the two autos would be your two
subjects. You need to decide if you want to spend an entire paragraph for each subject while discussing your
points, which would be the things you use to compare and contrast. 

For points, you could use, gas mileage, reliability, sticker price, customer satisfaction, and resale value.

How do I combine points into one paragraph?

Another method would be to see which of the points could be combined with another point (or maybe even
combine three points) so that you could maintain a subject-by-subject structure. To do this, you might say that
sticker price, gas mileage, and resale value are all brief amounts of number-based information that could be
combined together. You would be combining these three points (sticker price, gas mileage, and resale value) for
each subject (the Honda and the Ford), and you would write all three points in a separate body paragraph. So, to
do this, you would have: 

 A body paragraph discuss the Honda’s sticker price, gas mileage, and resale value, and

 The next body paragraph discuss the Ford’s sticker price, gas mileage, and resale value

What about the order of the subjects?

If you compare the ford and Honda, stick with that order: you always maintain the same order. This means
analyzing one thing and then the other and holding to that pattern. For instance, if you noticed, in the Honda
versus Ford comparison, the comparison always began with the Accord and ended with the Taurus. 

How do I write a thesis statement for all the information I am going to compare?

Many comparison papers end up dealing with too many points for all of them to go into the thesis statement.
For instance, in the Accord/Taurus comparison, you dealt with several points to show how both cars were
similar and yet different. If you were to write all of those points into the thesis statement, the sentence might run
two or three lines long, making it a confusing sentence. Remember that a thesis statement should be clear more
than anything else. If you are comparing two things and you think that one is superior, then two elements are
crucial and should be in the thesis statement:

1. The two things being compared 

2. The judgment you will arrive at after comparing them.

For instance, a thesis statement for our car comparison paper might look like this: 

A comparison of the similarities and differences between the Honda Accord and the Ford Taurus shows that the
Accord is a superior car. 

Many instructors like to see the thesis statement de-emphasized as a place for listing all of the things that will
happen in the body paragraphs. 

SUBJECTS OF COMPARISON: Honda Accord Versus Ford Taurus

POINTS TO USE FOR THE COMPARISON:

  Gas Mileage

 Reliability

 Sticker Price

 Customer Satisfaction

 Resale Value

What should I put into a comparison introduction?

Consider your audience while drafting your introduction. Since you will cover much ground, so to speak, while
comparing two things, your readers will likely not want to read an introduction that summarizes each of the
points that you will compare. This kind of “previewing” can quickly bore your readers. Rather, for your
introduction, you might want to explain why each of the things you are comparing are important to you.
Similarly, you might want to provide enough of a description or give enough background on each thing so that
when you begin comparing them, you do not need to lose your focus and explain some detail that should have
been provided earlier. 

How do I draft my comparison paper’s conclusion?

When you arrive at your conclusion, you may well want to return to your thesis statement in the sense that you
want to overtly and obviously give your judgment, which was the reason for your comparison in the first place.
For instance, you may think that Nas is a flash in the pan, so to speak, and his career, while exciting now, will
be nonexistent in a few years, whereas Jay-Z, on the other hand, has remarkable talent and will be famous and
critically important for years to come. For the sake of your readers, it may very well be necessary to return to
your thesis statement and restate it, and then provide a quick overview of the reasons (from your body
paragraphs) why you think one thing might be superior to another thing.  

6. CAUSE AND EFFECT

Definition:  Cause and effect is a logical system that organizes evidence to show how something happened. 
Description: A cause and effect paper answers the question, “How did this happen?” Effective cause and effect
analyses can be written on personal topics, perhaps by asking yourself why you happened to do something.
Although many undergraduate cause and effect papers may examine larger topics and subjects, be cautious
about addressing causes and effects that are global and historical; rather, work toward a logical and coherent
analysis of a more manageable subject. To discover all of the causes and all of the effects forma large topic
might require much more time than a single semester and much more room than five or six paragraphs. 

Conventions:  Although your writing might stem from a hunch about what caused something to happen,
definitely avoid presenting your analysis as a hunch. Your readers will probably look for certain problems of
logic in your writing. These problems are called logical fallacies, and most academic readers are well aware of
them, and might primarily be looking for them. 

Your readers will also wonder about whether you have explained your causes sufficiently and whether you
included all of the important causes. Remember that some causes are things out in the future, promises that
someone will do something for now. For example, the primary cause for robbing a bank, said famed bank
robber Willie Sutton, was because that was where the money was. Make sure that you present a lucid and
cogent pattern of evidence to support your causal chain. For the benefit of your readers, make sure that you
provide a clear thesis in the introduction and make certain that your paper works to support the thesis.

Strategies:  Your first thought should be whether your ideas about cause and effect are compatible with your
assignment. Have you selected a manageable subject? Be wary of complex problems because it is often very
difficult to find their causes. Many things happen for more than one reason. However, when you have selected
your subject, thin first about the chronology: what happened before the effect that might have caused it? If you
can think of more than one cause, then write them down and assign them values: which one was more of a cause
than the other? Noted philosopher Kenneth Burke provides us with a system of five questions that help us
determine the causality of events and things. You might begin the process of finding causes by posing certain
questions: 

1. What kind of thing am I trying to explain here?

2. What type of person would do such a thing? Would a rational or an irrational person do it? 
3. Where and when did this thing take place, and did the location and time have anything to do with the
thing happening? 
4. Was anything needed in order to accomplish the thing?
5. What would be someone’s motivations to do this thing? 
Use these heuristics in order to help you find causes as you initially consider your subject. Finally, if you can
find an answer to each of the five questions, then you probably will be able to find a logical explanation that
helps you to avoid logical fallacies. 

Organization:  In your introduction, provide the assertion (the statement that your paper will prove). For
instance, “My hometown wasted its tax money when it built that exercise trail two years ago.” Then, in the
subsequent body paragraphs, provide topic sentences that summarize the logical step that each paragraph will
make. “There was a gym that nobody used already.” Then, after each topic sentence, fill the paragraph with
detailed, specific, and relevant facts that prove each paragraph’s claim. Give the reasoning in each of the
paragraphs, and if you can think of any reasons why your readers would think otherwise, deal with those
reasons by refuting them or making clear the logical superiority of your reasoning. Use signal words or
transitions to connect sentences in the body paragraphs and to connect together the paragraphs. Finally, when
you have reached the conclusion and you have proved your thesis, summarize the major points that support your
assertion. 

What are logical fallacies? Fallacies are problems within logic. For instance, if you thought that driving a car
would always be difficult because the first time you drove a car it was extremely difficult, you would have
made a logical fallacy, that of considering that all future events would be similar to one primary event. The
following are several of the major categories of fallacies:

1. Just because the cause came before the effect does not mean that it caused the effect, otherwise
known as Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc.  This may sound really obvious to you; but there are often
hidden causes, some of them that precede causes, for certain effects. Make sure that you can say that
your cause came before your effect. For example, let’s say that one night there was a tremendous
thunder storm with high winds, and the next morning, you walked over to your neighbor’s house and
saw that her roof had a large hole in it with a tree over the hole. It seems that there is a relationship
between the awful windy thunderstorm and the hole in the roof of your neighbor’s house; however, you
might not be aware that a storm, which happened a week ago, knocked the tree down, which caused the
hole in the roof. There may have also been some construction work and an accident happened during the
construction work; the tree’s falling might just be a fluke accident that happened after the damage had
already been done. Even if the tree fell and caused the hole, the real cause of the fall might have been the
tree’s rotted trunk. Be aware that sometimes what we see as obvious logical cause and effect might have
earlier or other factors that might explain the effect more logically. Post hoc ergo propter hoc is a
difficult fallacy to spot sometimes.
2. Just because there seems to be a logical relationship does not mean that the one thing is the cause of
an effect.  If something happens, and you can find a cause, is the cause related to the effect? In order to
test this condition, interrogate the cause and effect relationship backwards and forwards. Let’s say that
Paula works for a large retail chain, Walmart, and she sleeps in late almost every morning, causing her
to arrive at work late by a few minutes virtually every day. Finally, one day, her supervisor, Jillian, takes
her aside and explains to Paula that because of her lateness, she is being fired. Paula rushes to the store
manager’s office and explains that Jillian is firing her not because Paula came in late but because Jillian
hates her. Paula has failed to achieve precondition #2, the store manager tells her, because Jillian has not
fired several employees that she hates. The manager tells Paula that there must be another cause for her
termination. You see, even though Jillian might hate Paula, Jillian may hate many other employees, and
if she has not fired them also, the logical relationship that Paula is trying to establish is possible but not
credible enough to be logical. 
3. Lack of a plausible explanation or questionable cause.  This fallacy is guided by the idea that just
because you see something and see something else that must be the cause, you may just not be able to
see the true cause of the effect.  There might be events and effects that seem to have a cause; however,
that cause may only be something that is another effect of something causing both things to happen.
Similarly, if you see a dog run out to greet you every morning that it is sunny, you might want to ascribe
the dog’s presence to the weather; however, the sunny weather might actually cause the dog’s owner to
awake earlier than normal, and she might let the dog out earlier than normal. You see, the sun does have
some possible relationship with the dog’s presence, but the actual cause is getting up earlier than normal,
which is the direct cause. 
4. Begging the question. This fallacy revolves around the logical inferences that could be made about the
logical relationship but are not. Begging the question fallacies often involve bringing up information and
not acting on its possible ramifications to the logical relationship. For instance, recently, a political
candidate said that people putting their money into Social Security should be allowed to direct their
money into other investments and earn ten percent returns a year in the stock market. The promise was
that people could earn a much better return in the stock market than they could by having the
government hold their retirement money for them. For some people, it would seem obvious that not
everyone putting money into the stock market will earn profits, especially exceptional return rates of ten
percent a year. This statement “begs the question” of what will happen if the stock market collapses, the
stock market gives less than ten percent, or if people lose all their retirement money. 
5. Ignoring the question. This fallacy is similar to begging the question in the sense that once information
that tends to contradict the logical relationship is brought into the logic, the information is simply
ignored. Normally, ignoring the question fallacies are much easier to detect than begging the questions
fallacies because the contradiction created by some information supporting the logical relationship is
 usually made obvious by the person establishing the logical relationship. We can use the social security
scenario from above for this fallacy. If the candidate had stated that the stock market was always liable
to be a place where investments were lost, and he still advocated putting social security funds into the
stock market, he would have ignored the question of what would be done for retirees when their social
security accounts were diminished or wiped out by stock market losses.
6. Circular logic.  Circular logic involves using the effect’s presence simply to justify the cause’s
existence. If someone says that the reason you should give me money is because you have money and I
need money, you can see that there is no other justification for the cause (my needing your money)
except that the effect is present (i.e., you have money). Circular logic has what can be called perfect
internal logic: everything makes sense because it is involved in the logical relationship. When you look
for reasons to support the logic from outside the logical relationship, the relationship normally
disintegrates and becomes illogical. 

How do I begin drafting my introduction?

When you introduce your cause and effect paper, you will want to fully understand what your primary audience
will need to know about your subject before you begin discussing the causes for your effect. Consider the
following questions when you begin developing the content of your introduction:

 Will your audience need to know the history, background, or context for the effect? 

 Are there people involved with the cause and/or effect that should be discussed? 

 What is your position to discuss this topic?

 What kind of statement can you make, information you can provide, or rhetorical question you can ask
to begin your introduction so that your audience will be both interested and willing to read about your
ideas about the cause or causes for the effect?

Your first sentence is often the most crucial sentence when you are writing for an audience already inclined
toward a belief or opinion about your subject, especially a belief or an opinion that is different from what you
are going to propose. 

What about my thesis statement?

Your thesis statement should end your introduction. You could also, if space permits, indicate and note some of
those causes; however, like the comparison and contrast pattern, cause and effect thesis readers will rely on
topic sentences and transition sentences heavily, and there is where you might consider placing the detail that
you might place in, for example, an exemplification paper’s thesis statement. Knowing what your thesis
statement is (in a simple, short sentence) will greatly assist them as they read. For instance, “The real estate
crisis was mainly caused by Alan Greenspan’s reckless policies” is superior to a lengthy thesis statement that
explained all the minor causes for the real estate crisis.

How do I draft my conclusion?

As you have gauged your audience’s needs, you will probably have a good idea about how to rephrase your
main point and offer a brief overview of your evidence and causal chain. You may also want to consider the
following: 

 Future implications for the cause and effect.

 Analysis of what the effect means to your readers. 

Of course, there are many other ideas that you can develop in your conclusion. 

One convention that almost all readers will look for in your cause and effect paper is that your conclusion is not
the place in your paper to continue bringing up causes for the effect you have analyzed. 

7. PERSUASION AND ARGUEMENT

What is persuasion and argument?Traditionally, people have called argument any attempt that uses logic to
incite a person to take action or to change an opinion or belief. Persuasion is considered to be the same call to
action or to change an opinion or belief; but persuasion is a call to action that is based on appealing to emotion
and feeling. So the difference between argument and persuasion is the difference between using logic and using
emotion. Since most debates involve subjects that are conducive to logic and emotion, most real-life debates
contain elements of both logic and emotion.

How do I consider problems with logic? Some people use faulty logic when they argue. Others will use fairly
effective logic, but will ignore the implications of their logic, or they will exclude from consideration certain
logical conclusions. Other people may create arguments that seem almost perfect. No matter how an argument
is constructed logically or illogically, by understanding the following problems with logic, which are called
fallacies, you often will be able to see how people arrive at their proposition, which is the logical conclusion of
their argument.
Before we consider the terms of a debate, let’s consider the logical problems, or fallacies, that might be
involved in an argument.

Ad hominem: “To the person”: this means that someone ignores the argument itself and verbally attacks the
person personally who is making the argument. For example, if someone disagreed with the president’s decision
to raise tuition because of a state budget cut, and said, “She’s only raising tuition because she is not smart
enough to think of an alternative,” then that person is using an ad hominem attack. Many politicians and
commentators on politics favor this kind of fallacy, because it is easier to attack a persona’s credibility than to
contend with a person’s ideas.

Ad misericordiam: This fallacy means that someone makes an argument that offers two scenarios, and one of
them is inconceivably bad. For example, if someone said that, “Everyone should agree with the idea of war
because otherwise this country will fall apart,” then that person is offering a proposition that seems to have as
its opposite something that almost everyone would want to avoid. But the idea of the country falling apart is
only one alternative to disagreeing with going to war. Weak arguments often use ad misericordiam fallacies
because the arguments are hastily constructed of conceived of with an excess of emotions.

Ad populem: This fallacy assumes that if you like a person you will agree with the person’s logic. For example,
if someone told you that he had always been a good friend and that was why you should lend him your new car
for the weekend, then this person is relying on the relationship, rather than the logic, for you to offer him your
car. If he said that he had always taken good care of your car before and you should lend it to him now, he
would not be making an ad populem fallacy, though. This fallacy is also closely related to the often-heard
parents’ cliché: “Just because everyone jumped off a cliff, you would too, right?”

Argument of the beard: This fallacy is used when a division between two conditions can be ignored or a
division between two states is difficult to establish. It’s called the argument of the beard because you could
conceivably pluck one hair after another from a beard and never arrive at a specific, perfect point when the
beard stopped being a beard, by definition. For example, if someone told you that since even one glass of beer
will impair your thinking, you might as well drink a case, then the person would be making an argument of the
beard. Since there is no exact point for every single person being impaired by alcohol, and since we have not
defined impairment, per se, the point of impairment could be one beer or it could be three beers or it could be a
case of beer. The fallacy is here because clearly a case of beer would cause impairment, no matter how it was
defined.

Begging the question: This fallacy occurs when evidence supporting the logic of the argument or the
proposition creates alternatives to the proposition. For example, if someone tells you that she has a great deal
for you, which could make you a two hundred percent return on your investment, and that because the return on
your investment is so high you should not even question making the investment, she would be begging the
question what risks there were to your investment. Just because the deal she is offering sounds so good, this
does not mean that your decision to participate in the deal should be based on the possible two hundred percent
return. What she is asking you to do and why she is saying that you should do it are literally begging the
question of why you should go along with her. The proposition (that you should go along with her) is not
premised on how safe the investment is or how many times she has returned a two hundred percent return to
investors; instead the proposition (that you should invest) is premised on what might happen.

A similar fallacy is called ignoring the question, which is slightly different from begging the question by the
degree of information offered. If a person tells you that you should make an investment that will probably return
two hundred percent profit, then the person is ignoring the question of what other kinds of returns on the
investment (or profits) other investments have made, and the person is ignoring what other kinds of profit or
loss scenarios exist in the deal.

Circular argument: This fallacy happens when the proposition is based on the premise and/or vice versa. For
example, if you are told that the Toyota Corolla is the most popular car in America because so many Americans
drive it, then you are not being given any reason or evidence, aside from the proposition (that the Corolla is
popular because people drive it) that goes along with the proposition. This fallacy is often easy to locate
because everything seems logical enough, but there is no relationship to any external factors.

Generalizations: This fallacy happens often enough because the evidence for an element of the argument is
vague, weak, or superficial. For example, the proposition that “It’s a well known fact that democrats cannot be
trusted,” is not based on any more evidence than “the well known fact.” Similarly, “He won’t eat it because he
hates everything” is a proposition (i.e., he won’t eat it) premised on a vague assertion (i.e., just because he hates
everything), which is as likely to be true as it is likely to be false.

New things are always better: This fallacy happens when someone says that something should be done
differently because a new idea exists. For example, if a person tells you that he has found a new short cut and
you should commute to school by way of his new short cut, then he is making this fallacy. Just because it is a
new short-cut does not mean that it is faster than the old short-cut. There is no logical reason or other evidence
offered that makes the fact that it is new any reason to change what you are already doing. If the person says
that his new short-cut is two miles less than the old short-cut, then he is not making the fallacy. You can spot
these fallacies fairly easily (but not all the time: sometimes the new idea seems seductive) because the evidence
to do something is because the something is new.
Post hoc, ergo propter hoc (After something, because of something): This fallacy confuses the actual cause or
causes for something in favor of a cause or causes that are more readily visible or evident. For example,
suppose you came home one evening to find that your apartment or residence hall room had been vandalized
and you saw your neighbor outside your door holding one of your possessions. Your neighbor may have well
just come along after the vandalism and seen something of yours dropped on the floor outside your doorway
and then walked over and found your apartment or residence hall door broken open. Just because something has
happened does not mean that something that happened before it caused it, or is even related to it.

Reduce to a binary: This fallacy happens when an argument is offered and there are many options and
alternatives available, but the argument is framed as having the proposition and one alternative, generally a
really bad alternative. For example, if you say that marijuana should be legalized and your friend Paula counters
by saying, “If you legalize marijuana, you might as well legalize heroin and crack,” then Paula is framing the
argument as only having two alternatives: leave the law alone or risk chaos by going along with your
alternative. When you can counter the alternative with something, generally more moderate, then you have
spotted this fallacy.

Weak analogy: This fallacy happens when two things are said to be similar enough to merit their comparison;
but the two things are not similar enough for the comparison. For example, if Will tells you that the cafeteria
food is garbage, Will’s analogy, no matter how much you both might want to agree, is faulty: food becomes
garbage when it is discarded. Food cannot be garbage, by definition. Even if Will says that the cafeteria food
smells like garbage, Will is using a weak analogy: anyone who has been close to garbage knows that it smells a
lot worse than virtually any cafeteria food. Saying that the cafeteria food smells like garbage, on the other hand,
is logical, if the food smells like garbage.

What are some language problems when using arguments and persuasion?

The following problems with words language may help you to identify some kinds of language use in
arguments:

 Abstractions are words or terms that have meanings that are created by multiple concepts. For example,
the word “honor” is an abstraction created by other words like respect, loyal, devotion, moral/ethical
and, depending on its use, other words and terms. When an argument is premised on an abstraction, the
argument is built on a term that carries too many possible meanings. Nice, polite, support the troops,
protect the family, cut taxes, appeasers, and so on are all abstractions; they carry multiple meanings.
Unless abstractions are firmly and clearly defined, their use supporting evidence or the logic of an
argument is questionable.
 Biased language consists of words or terms that are used to invalidate another person’s position,
proposition, identity, or argument. For example, if someone tells you that young people who hang
around somewhere in a group belong to a “gang,” then the biased language (i.e., gang) is likely to cause
you to think pejoratively of the young people. Similarly, if someone tells you that students are “kids,”
then the biased language reveals the speaker’s belief that students are not really adults, but are closer to
children, since “kid” is a term used to indicate an age range between infancy and adulthood. Biased
language is often used in conjunction with faulty logic, so as to cover the weaknesses of the logic.
Biased language is also very much like ad hominem, ad misericordiam, and ad populem logical
problems. All four ignore the argument’s proposition or logic and focus on attacking or weakening an
element through dismissal, scorn, or elitism. 

 Terms of art are phrases and words that have been used in so many different contexts that their core
meanings have been shattered and the phrase or word means essentially whatever the speaker or writer
wants it to mean. Listeners and readers, however, may interpret the term of art by the use of the term in
their familiar context. Viable is a word that means many different things in different rhetorical
environments—a fetus can be viable, a candidate can have a viable chance to win, and cable is a viable
option to satellite television. Similarly, terms of art have similar problems as generalizations, except that
terms of art actually have very precise meanings; it’s just that there are too many competing meanings.

 Opinions are fairly easy for most people to define. An opinion is an interpretation that can be rendered
by an individual or a group. The problem for opinions in arguments is that occasionally opinions are
presented as facts. Opinions sometimes arrive cloaked in certainties. For example, someone can say,
“Everyone knows that killing is wrong,” when, in fact, killing during wartime is widely regarded as an
essential component of warfare and is not considered to be wrong. Be cautious of truths and facts if they
arrive with statements like, “Everyone knows…,” “It is an established fact…,” “Nobody would argue
with the fact…” There are appropriate places for opinions in arguments; but only when they are
presented as opinions or conjecture.

 Terms with no opposites or undesirable opposites are often common words, like patriotism,
community, family, democracy. These words do not normally operate within a system of binaries. These
words and terms tend to exclude opposing voices from the debate. Were you to propose that “Family
values” creates “community,” you would be invoking two terms that are difficult to oppose. If someone
were so inclined, that person could ask the question about people opposed to your proposition: “What
kind of person is against family values and communities?” The implication that you could make (by
using words that have no opposites or have undesirable opposites) is that this kind of person is immoral,
monstrous, and barbaric. Terms such as democracy, freedom, rights, liberty, security are terms without
 any legitimate opposites or with opposites that are difficult to defend. Clearly, using terms like these as a
basis for any argument is using language to exploit weak argument logic.

 Conflations of truths are uses of language that take liberties with the language. While you may think
that someone who gave you the wrong change at a restaurant made a mistake, it would be a conflation of
the truth to claim that the person who gave me the wrong change was the most ignorant person to ever
breathe air. Although most conflations of the truth will be made with far less bombast than my example,
be cautious of comparisons that cite everyday trivia and banality and compare them with outrageous
events and things.

 Scientific facts would seem to be a safe use of language, one removed from the possible problems of
language. However, there are many scientific facts that are contested, even when they seem to be
obviously true. Scientists have used different models to predict what would happen in the event of a
nuclear tragedy. One model definitively states that the survivors would have to contend with global
warming on a massive scale; while another model just as equally proves that survivors would live in a
frigid nuclear winter, which would span several decades. Without all the pertinent data, some scientific
facts are simply assertions presented as science.

How do I develop a working thesis?

As you consider your argument so far, insure that you keep your focus on the rhetorical situation

A problematic working thesis normally does not take into account either of the previous elements. For example,
let’s speculate that you were considering a call for lower tuition. A weak working thesis might look like this:

College tuition just doesn’t seem to get cheaper. 

This working thesis does not contain the call to action, and its language is so imprecise and vague that decisions
about what kinds of evidence to use will be difficult to make.

A more focused working thesis might look like this:

Although a college education is a valuable commodity in our society, rising costs are making it difficult for
some families to afford to send their kids to college. 

This working thesis would allow you to consider both how a college education is valuable (for example,
gathering evidence of what it allows someone to do that another person without a college education might not
be able to do), while you focus on the effects of rising tuition for working class and/or middle class families,
who can be most effected by rising costs.

How do I narrow my working thesis?

Once you have gathered evidence and support for your working thesis and you have made decisions about how
you will present the evidence and support for your intended audience, you will want to sharpen the focus of
your working thesis, so that you have a specific thesis or clear main point.

How do I draft an argument thesis?

Remember that you are presenting your subject, your position, and what you want you audience to do in your
thesis. While you probably will not articulate each of these three elements in detail, you will certainly want to
provide an overview for each of these, since these are the major considerations of your argument.

What kinds of problems are there with an argument thesis?

Insure that your thesis does not:

 Just presents facts and/or analysis

 Neglect to get involved in the debate or argument

 Forget to cause some explicit action >

For example, an ineffective thesis would sound like this:

A college education is one of the most valuable commodities in our society, and, unfortunately, the costs of
college keep rising and this harms some families.

This is a not an argument thesis statement, but is rather an expository thesis statement. A better thesis would
sound like this:

Since a college education is a valuable commodity in our society and rising costs are making it difficult for
some families to afford to send their kids to college, college tuition should be a deductible expense for working
and middle class families. 
This thesis now presents two premises—the value of college in society and the risks for society presented by the
rising tuition prices—plus, the thesis ends with a call for action (make college tuition a deductible expense for
certain taxpayer groups).

How do I organize my evidence and support?

This is a good opportunity to write down the actual steps, or the logic of your argument, so that you can literally
see where you are starting your argument and where you are taking your readers. Show how one point leads to
the next point. By seeing the logic of the argument, you can also anticipate problems with the logic (see
fallacies) and problems with the language (see language problems). Are there implications that you have not
considered or terms that need clarification?

Persuasion/Argument Structures: Induction, Deduction, Toulmin, Rogerian

What is an induction argument?

Induction offers information and evidence in such a way that your audience is drawn almost “naturally” and
logically” to your proposition. Vital to the success of the induction argument is the strength of the logical
connections between the points and premises and between the points and premises and the proposition.
Normally an induction pattern uses the following organization:

 An introduction that provides enough information about the subject so that the audience understands
where the debate is currently at

 A presentation of evidence that begins with the most easily understood and/or least objectionable points
and moves toward the more contentious points and premises, conceding and refuting as necessary

 A conclusion that is the inevitable conclusion given your points and premises (Often the argument
thesis, or proposition, is stated for the first time in the conclusion.)

What is a deduction argument?

Deduction relies on a logical statement, called a syllogism, to form its organization. A syllogism is a three-part
statement that begins with a generalization, qualifies that generalization for a specific purpose, and reaches a
conclusion by comparing the information given in the first two parts. Essentially, a syllogism uses valid
statements from one scenario and uses them in other cases. An example of a syllogism would be:

 Generalization: Friends should not gossip about each other. 

  Qualifier: You are my friend.

 Conclusion: Therefore, you should not gossip about me.

While the names of the three parts of the syllogism, and the word syllogism itself, may seem foreign to you; the
use of syllogism to make decisions and arrive at conclusions is an everyday practice. You might say, I don’t like
bananas, and that yogurt has bananas in it; therefore, I won’t like that yogurt. The main weakness of syllogisms
can be found in the generalization. Let’s say that you actually tasted the banana yogurt and found that you
enjoyed it. The problem with the syllogism, then, would be the problem with your not liking bananas. Because
you are enjoying banana yogurt, you do, in fact, like bananas to a certain extent, and you cannot say definitively
that you do not like bananas. Now this is a rather banal and mundane syllogism; but it can be made much more
political and socially-relevant.

Normally, a deduction argument uses the elements of the syllogism to form an extended thesis statement at the
end of the conclusion, and each of the three elements of the syllogism are then used as the paper’s topic
sentences . Many writers return to the syllogism in the conclusion to emphasize its logic and relevance for the
context and conditions of the writer’s argument.

What is a Toulmin argument?

The philosopher Stephen Toulmin invented an organizational system for using what he called informal or casual
logic. Toulmin’s system relies on the normal uses of dialogue to create an effective argument. Toulmin’s
argument structure considers what an audience is likely to accept, what emotions and feelings do to effect the
argument, what that audience is likely to do if it accepts the premises and propositions of the argument, and
what potential and chance and probability, as opposed to firm truth, will do to cause an audience to accept your
proposition.

Normally, a Toulmin argument uses the following organization:

1. A Claim for a proposition that is discussed as your belief. You will then explain why your belief is
important for the particular audience to consider
2. Supporting evidence for your claim
3. Warrants or reasons why your audience should accept the supporting evidence, which are normally a
part of each presentation of supporting evidence (i.e., the warrants are usually written after the
supporting evidence is offered in the body paragraphs)
4. Polite concessions and/or civil refutations that acknowledge other arguments but insist on the claim for
your argument
What is a Rogerian argument?

You may have encountered debates that pit one side against another side, with little to no ground for any other
position. For instance, the death penalty and abortion both have debates that are either/or debates. Other
debates, such as Affirmative Action, which has many differing and conflicting aspects, values, facets, and
definitions is clearly not an either/or debate. In either/or debates, resolution, victory, or progress often seem to
be slowed by the fact that both sides are unwilling to yield any ground in the debate. Both sides have much at
stake, whether it is social, financial, or moral, in achieving total victory. One of the problems with trying to join
into these either/or debates is the lack of civility and, in some cases, humanity, that either sides practices within
the debate. Sometimes the rudeness, hatefulness, and incivility problems involve debates that are not either/or
debates.

Psychologist Carl Rogers created a system for joining these either/or debates, so that you can emphasize
resolution, agreement, and civility. Rogers hoped that all the participants in debates could respect one another,
agree on some basic issues, and all work productively toward a peaceful and harmonious resolution. Rogers was
no blind optimist, though; he understood that some debates would never be solved or won, and he hoped that
the two sides could live peaceably even though they fundamentally disagreed.

A Rogerian argument uses empathetic listening, which has listeners repeat back to the speakers what they just
heard. Instead of disagreeing or agreeing with points or premises, the listener gets involved in a process of
negotiation that searches for points and premises of agreement and disagreement; but a system of negotiation
that causes no hurt feelings and no uncivil tones and attitudes. A Rogerian argument often has no obvious
winner or loser in a debate. By searching for the disagreements and agreements, both parties usually gain an
understanding of each other that enables them to appreciate the other party and, Rogers hoped, to negotiate a
middle ground or moderate position that would be acceptable to both. At the least, Rogers hoped that even if
nobody won, lost, or even negotiated a settlement in the debate, the participants would learn to value the people
involved in the debate as equal human beings with the same core values of compassion and understanding.

A Rogerian argument is normally organized much like a Toulmin argument, except that when the Toulmin
argument would anticipate and then concede and/or refute an opposing perspective, a Rogerian argument would
acknowledge and make accommodations for these points and premises. A Rogerian argument normally is
organized like this: 

1. A Claim, which is often articulated as your belief but is qualified as being a claim that many other
people might not agree with. Any shared points and premises are normally articulated so that your
readers will accept you as someone who will respect their opinions and propositions within the debate.
 As you discuss other opinions and propositions within the debate, be
as honest, respectful, and objective as possible, using neutral and
non-emotional language. (See the Problems with Language above for
further guidance in what to avoid.)

LESSON 9: SEMANTIC FEATURES

FOUND IN WRITTEN TEXT

Semantics I once referred to a character in one of my cartoons as a "dork" (a popular insult when I was
growing up), but myeditor called me up and said that "dork" couldn't be used because it meant "penis." I
couldn't believe it. I ran to my New Dictionary ofAmerican Slang and, sure enough, he was right. Allthose years
of saying or being called a "dork" and I had never really known what it meant.

What a nerd. Gary Larson (1989) Semantics is the study of the meaning of words, phrases and
sentences. In semantic analysis, there is always an attempt to focus on what the words conventionally mean,
rather than on what a speaker might want the words to mean on a particular occasion. This technical approach to
meaning emphasizes the objective and the general. It avoids the subjective and the local. Linguistic semantics
deals with the conventional meaning conveyed by the use of words and sentences of a language. Conceptual
versus associative meaning

When linguists investigate the meaning of words in a language, they are normally interested in
characterizing the conceptual meaning and less concerned with the associative or stylistic meaning of words.
Conceptual meaning covers those basic, essential components of meaning which are conveyed by the literal use
of a word. Some of the basic components of a word like needle in English might include 'thin, sharp, steel,
instrument'.

These components would be part of the conceptual meaning of needle. However, you may have
'associations', or 'connotations', attached to a word like needle which lead you to think of 'painful' whenever you
encounter the word. This 'association' is not treated as part of the conceptual meaning of needle. In a similar
way, you may associate the expression low-calorie, when II4 Semantics 115 ~' used to describe a product, with
'good for you', but we would not want to ., mclude this association within the basic conceptual meaning of the
expression. Poets and advertisers are, of course, very interested in using terms in such a way that their
associative meanings are evoked, and some linguists do lfivestigate this aspect of language use. However, in
this chapter we shall be more interested in characterizing what constitutes the conceptual meaning vi terms. ,
Semantic features j So, how would a semantic approach help us to understand something about Ihe nature of
language?

One way it might be helpful would be as a means of accounting for the 'oddness' we experience when
we read English sentences such as the following: The hamburgerate the man My cat studiedlinguistics A table
was listening to some music ~otice that the oddness of these sentences does not derive from their syntactic
structure. According to some basic syntactic rules for forming English sentences (such as those presented in
Chapter 10), we have well-structured sentences:

The hamburger ate the man NP V NP This sentence is syntactically good, but semantically odd. Since
the sentence The man ate the hamburger is perfectly acceptable, what is the source of the uddness we
experience? One answer may relate to the components of the .:onceptual meaning of the noun hamburger which
differ significantly from \hose of the noun man, especially when those nouns are used as subjects of [he verb
ate.

The kinds of nouns which can be subjects of the verb ate must denote entities which are capable
of'eating'.The noun hamburger does not have this property (and man does), hence the oddness of the first
sentence above. I We can, in fact, make this observation more generally applicable by tryIng to determine the
crucial component ofmeaning which a noun must have in order to be used as the subject of the verb ate. Such a
component may be as general as 'animate being'.

We can then take this component and use it to I describe part of the meaning of words as either plus (+)
or minus (-) the feature. So, the feature becomes +animate (= denotes an animate being) or -animate (= does not
denote an animate being). 1 116 The study of language This procedure is a way of analyzing meaning in terms
of semantic features. Features such as +animate, -animate; +human, -human; + male. -male, for example, can be
treated as the basic features involved in differentiating the meanings of each word in the language from every
other word. It you were asked to give the crucial distinguishing features of the meanings of this set of English
words (table, cow, girl, woman, boy, man), you could do so by means of the following diagram: table cow girl
woman boy man +, + + animate - + + human - - + + + + male + - - - - + adult - + - + - + From a feature analysis
like this, you can say that at least part of the basic meaning of the word boy in English involves the components
(+human. +male, -adult). You can also characterize that feature which is crucially required in a noun in order
for it to appear as the subject of a verb, supplementing the syntactic analysis with semantic features: The is
reading a book. N( +human) This approach then gives us the ability to predict what nouns would make the
above sentence semantically odd.

Examples would be table, or tree, or dog, because they all have the feature ( -human). The approach
which has just been outlined is not without problems. For many words in a language it may not be so easy to
come up with neat components of meaning. If you try to think of which components or features you would use
to distinguish the nouns advice, threat and warning, for example, you will have some idea of the scope of the
problem. Part of the problem seems to be that the approach involves a view of words in a language as some sort
of'containers', carrying meaning-components. Semantic roles Instead of thinking of the words as 'containers' of
meaning, we can look at the 'roles' they fulfill within the situation described by a sentence.

If the situation is a simple event, such as The boy kicked the ball, then the verb describes an action
(kick). The noun phrases describe the roles of entitie~ such as people and things, involved in the action. We can
identify a small number of semantic roles for these noun phrases. Semantics 117 Agent, theme, instrument in
the sentence above, one role is taken by the boy as 'the entity that perwrms the action', techically known as the
agent.Another role is taken by the "all, as 'the entity that is involved in or affected by the action', technically
l.ll0Wn as the theme.The theme can also be an entity (the ball) that is simply tieing described, as in The ball
was red. Identifying entities denoted by noun phrases as the agent or the theme is a way of recognizing the
semantic roles Ji those noun phrases in a sentence.

Although agents are typically human, they can also be non-human forces !,the wind blew the ball away),
machines (the car ran over the ball), or crealUres (the dog caught the ball). If an agent uses another entity in
performing an action, that other entity fills the role of instrument. In writing with a pen ,1r eating with a spoon
,the noun phrases apen anda spoon have the semantic role of instrument.

The theme can also be human. Indeed, the same physical entity can .appear in two different semantic
roles, as in The boy kicked himself. Here ;he boy is agent and himselfis theme. Experiencer, location, source,
goal When a noun phrase designates an entity as the person who has a feeling, a perception or a state,it fills the
role of experiencer.1f you see, know or enjoy something, you do not really have to perform any action (hence
you are not an agent). You are in the role of experiencer.1f someone asks, Did you hear :hat noise?, the
experiencer is you and the theme is that noise. A number of other semantic roles designate where an entity is in
the description of the event.Where an entity is (on the table, in the room) fills the role of location. Where an
entity moves from is the source and where it moves to is the goal.When we talk about transferring money from
savings to checking, the source is savings and the goal is checking. All these semantic roles are illustrated in the
following scenario. . Mary saw amosquito on the wall. EXPERIENCER THEME LOCATION She borrowed
amagazine from George AGENT THEME SOURCE and she hit the bug with the magazine. AGENT THEME
INSTRUMENT She handed the magazine back to George. AGENT THEME GOAL "Gee thanks," saidGeorge.
AGENT 118 The study of language Lexical relations Not only can words be treated as 'containers' or as
fulfilling 'roles', they can also have 'relationships'. In everyday talk, we frequently give the meanings of words
in terms of their relationships. If you were asked to give the meaning of the word conceal, for example, you
might simply reply "it's the same as hide", or give the meaning of shallow as "the opposite of deep", or the
meaning of daffodil as "it's a kind offlower". In doing so, you are characterizing the meaning of a word not in
terms of its component features, but in terms of its relationship to other words.This procedure has also been
used in the semantic description oflanguages and is treated as the analysis oflexicaJ relations. The types of
lexical relations which are usually analyzed are defined and exemplified in the following sections. Synonymy
Synonyms are two or more forms with very closely related meanings, which are often, but not always,
intersubstitutable in sentences. Examples of synonyms are the pairs broad - wide, hide - conceal, almost -
nearly, cab - taxi. liberty - freedom, answer - reply. It should be noted that the idea of 'sameness of meaning'
used in discussing synonymy is not necessarily 'total sameness'.There are many occasions when one word is
appropriate in a sentence, but its synonym would be odd. For example, whereas the word answer fits in this
sentence: Cathy had only one answer correct on the test, its near-synonym, reply, would sound odd.
Synonymous forms may also differ in terms of formality. The sentence My father purchased a large automobile
seems much more serious than the following casual version, with four synonymous replacements: My dad
bought a big car. Antonymy Two forms with opposite meanings are called antonyms, and cornmon!} used
examples are the pairs quick - slow, big - small, long - short, rich poor, happy -sad, hot- cold, old - young, male
- female, true-false, alivedead. Antonyms are usually divided into two main types, those which are 'gradable',
and those which are 'non-gradable'. Gradable antonyms, suc.h as the pair big - small, can be used in
comparative constructions like bigger than smaller than. Also, the negative of one member ofthe gradable pair
does nol necessarily imply the other. For example, if you say that dog is not old, you do not have to mean that
dog is young. With non-gradable antonyms, also Semantics II9 called 'complementary pairs', comparative
constructions are not normally used (the expressions deader or more dead sound strange), and the negative of
one member does imply the other. For example, that person is not dead does indeed mean that person is alive.
So, the pairs male - female and truefalse must also be non-gradable antonyms, whereas the others in the list
above are gradable. Although it works for the small number of non-gradable antonyms in a language, it is
important to avoid describing most antonym pairs as one word meaning the negative of another.

Consider the opposites tie - untie. The word untie doesn't mean 'not tie'. It actually means 'do the reverse
of tie'. Such pairs are called reversives. Other common examples are enterexit, pack - unpack, lengthen -
shorten, raise -lower, and dress - undress. Hyponymy When the meaning of one form is included in the meaning
of another, the relationship is described as byponymy, and some typical example pairs are daffodil- flower, dog
- animal, poodle - dog, carrot - vegetable, banyan Iree.
 The concept of,inclusion' involved here is the idea that if any object is a daffodil, then it is necessarily
aflower, so the meaning offlower is 'included' in the meaning of daffodil. Or, daffodil is a hyponym offlower.
When we consider hyponymous relations, we are essentially looking at the meaning of words in some type of
hierarchical relationship. You could, in fact, represent the relationships between a set of words such as animal,
IUlt, asp, banyan, carrot, cockroach, creature, daffodil, dog, flower, horse, insect, living things, pine, plant,
snake, tree and vegetable as a hierarchical diagram in the following way: living things I I I creature plant ~~
~_,-----LI animal insect vegetable flower tree horse ih dog snake cockroach ~-lant carrot I I daffodil banyan h
pine asp 120 The study of language From this diagram, we can say that"horse is a hyponym of animal" or that
'ant is a hyponym of insect'. We can also say that two or more terms which share the same superordinate
(higher-up) term are cO-hyponyms. So, horse and dog are co-hyponyms, and the superordinate term is animal.

The relation of hyponymy captures the idea of 'is a kind of', as when you give the meaning of a word by
saying "an asp is a kind of snake". It is often the case that the only thing some people know about the meaning
of a word in their language is that it is a hyponym of another term. That is, you may know nothing more about
the meaning of asp other than that it is a kind of snake. It is worth emphasizing that it is not only words for
'things' that are hyponyms. Terms for actions, such as cut, punch, shoot and stab, can all be found as cO-
hyponyms of the superordinate term injure. Prototypes While the words canary, dove, duck, flamingo, parrot,
pelican, robin, swallow and thrush are all equally co-hyponyms of the superordinate bird, they are not all
considered to be equally good exemplars of the category 'bird'.

For many American English speakers, the best exemplar, or the prototype, of 'bird' is the robin. The
concept of a prototype helps explain the meaning of certain words, like bird, not in terms of component features
(e.g. 'has feathers', 'has wings'), but in terms of resemblance to the clearest exemplar. Thus, even native
sp'eakers of English might wonder if ostrich and penguin should be hyponyms of bird (technically, they are),
but have no trouble deciding about sparrow or pigeon.

The last two are much closer to the prototype. Given the category label furniture, we are quicker to
recognize chair as an exemplar than bench or stool. Given clothing, people recognize shirts quicker than shoes,
and given vegetable, they accept carrot before potato or tomato. It is obvious that there is some general pattern
to the categorization process involved in prototypes and that it determines our interpretation of word meaning.
However, this is one area where individual experience results in variation in interpretation, as when people
disagree about whether tomato is a fruit or a vegetable.

Homophony, homonymy and polysemy There are three other, less well-known terms which are often
used to describe relationships among words in a language. The first of these is homophony. When two or more
different (written) forms have the same Semantics 121 pronunciation, they are described as homophones. Some
examples are bare - bear, meat-meet, flour- flower, pail- pale, sew -so. T

he term homonymy is used when one form (written and spoken) has twO or more unrelated meanings.
Examples of homonyms are the pairs bank (of a river) - bank (financial institution), bat (flying creature) - bat
(used in sports), race (contest of speed) - race (ethnic group), pupil (at school) pupil (in the eye) and mole (on
skin) - mole (small animal).

The temptation is to think that the two types of bank must be related in meaning. They are not.
Homonyms are words which have quite separate meanings, but which have accidentally come to have exactly
the same form. Relatedness of meaning accompanying identical form is technically known as pOlysemy, which
can be defined as one form (written or spoken) having multiple meanings which are all related by extension.

Examples are the word head, used to refer to the object on top of your body, on top of a glass of beer, on
top of a company or department; or foot (of person, of bed, ofmountain), or run (person does, water does, colors
do). The distinction between homonymy and polysemy is not always clear cut. However, one indication of the
distinction can be found in the typical dictionary entry for words.

If a word has multiple meanings (polysemic), then there will be a single entry, with a numbered list of
the different meanings of the word. Iftwo words are treated as homonyms, they will typically have two separate
entries. You could check in your dictionary and probably find that the different meanings of words like head,
get, run,face and foot are treated as examples of polysemy, whereas mail, bank, sole and mole are treated as
examples of homonymy. Of course, one form can be distinguished via homonymy, then shown to have various
uses via polysemy. The words date (= oblong, fleshy fruit) and date (= point in time) are homonyms.

But the 'point in time' kind of date is polysemous in terms of a particular day and month (= on a letter),
an arranged meeting time (= an appointment), a social meeting (= with someone of the opposite sex) and even a
person (= that someone of the opposite sex). The question How about a date? could have many interpretations.
These last three lexical relations are, of course, the basis of a lot of wordplay, particularly used for humorous
effect. In the nursery rhyme, Mary had alittle lamb, we think of a small animal, but in the comic version of
Mary had a little lamb, some rice and vegetables, we tend to think, instead, of a small amount of meat. The
polysemy of lamb allows the two interpretations.

The Pillsbury Flour Company once took advantage of homophony to promote a brand of flour with the
slogan Everybody kneads it. If you are asked the 122 The study oflanguage following riddle: What's black and
white and red all over?, you may initial1y be confused by the answer: a newspaper. The trick depends on the
homophony of red and read. And if you have come across this riddle:
 Why are trees often mistaken/or dogs?, then you wil\ have encountered the use of homonymy in the
answer: Because o/their bark. Metonymy The relatedness of meaning found in polysemy is essentially based on
similarity.The head of a company is similar to the head of a person on top of (and controlling) the body.

There is another type of relationship between words, based simply on a close connection in everyday
experience. That close connection can be based on a container-contents relation (bottle coke; can - juice), a
whole-part relation (car - wheels; house - roof) or a representative-symbol relationship (king- crown; the
President- the White House).

These are examples of metonymy. It is our familiarity with metonymy that makes He drank the whole
bottle easy to understand, although it sounds absurd literally (i.e. he drank the liquid, not the glass object). We
also accept The White House announced ... or Downing Street protested ... without being puzzled that buildings
appear to be talking. You use metonymy when you talk about filling up the car, having a roof over your head,
answering the door, giving someone a hand, or needing some wheels. If you see a mail delivery company called
Spokes, you know, via metonymy, how they are making those deliveries (i.e. by bicycle). Many examples of
metonymy are highly conventionalized and easy to interpret. However, many others depend on an ability to
infer what the speaker has in mind.

The metonymy in Get your butt over here is easier to understand if you are used to male talk in the
United States, the strings are too quiet if you're familiar with orchestral music, and I prefer cable, if you have a
choice in how you receive television programs (in the USA). Making sense of such expressions often depends
on context, background knowledge and inference.These are all topics in the following chapter. Collocation One
other distinct aspect of our knowledge of words has nothing to do with any of the factors considered so far. We
know which words tend to occur with other words. If you ask a thousand people what they think of when you
say hammer, more than half will say nail.

If you say table, they'll mostly say chair and for butter - bread, for needle - thread, and for salt - pepper.
One Semantics 123 way we seem to organize our knowledge of words is simply in terms of collocation, or
frequently occurring together. Some col1ocations are joined pairs of words such as salt and pepper or husband
and wife. However, salt will also make some people say water because of the common collocation salt water.
And for many people in the USA, the word red elicits white and blue (the colors of the flag). It may be that part
of knowing a language is knowing not only what words mean, but what their typical collocations are.

Thus, part of your knowledge of fresh is as it occurs in the phrase fresh air, or knife as in knife and fork
or enough as in enough already.

Okay, that's enough already! Study questions I What is the basic lexical relation between the following
pairs of words?
 (a) shal/ow deep

(b) mature ripe (

c) suite sweet

(d) table furniture

(e) single married

(f) move run 2

How would you describe the oddness of the following sentences, using semantic features? (a) The
television drank. my water

(b) His dog writes poetry

3 Identify the semantic roles of all the noun phrases in this sentence:

With his new golfclub, Fred whacked the ballfrom the woods to the grassy area near the river and he felt good.

4 Which of the fol1owing opposites are gradable, non-gradable, or reversive?

(a) absent present

(b) high low

(c) til/empty

(d) fail pass

(e) fair unfair (f) appear disappear 5 Which of the following examples are best described as polysemy or as
metonymy? (a) Computer chips are an important new technology. (b) The bOOKstore has some new titles in
linguistics. (c) Yes, I love those. I ate a whole box on Sunday! (d) I hadto park. on the shoulderofthe road. (e)
The pen is mightier than the sword. Discussion topics/projects A One way to identify the semantic structure of
sentences is to start with the verb as the central element and define the semantic roles required by 124 The study
of language that verb. For example, a verb like kill requires an agent and a theme, as in The cat killed the
mouse.We can represent this observation as: KILL [AGENT THEME]. As another example, we can represent
the verb give as in Mary gave the book to George: GIVE [AGENT THEME. GOAL] (i) How would you define
the set ofsemantic roles for thefollowing verbs, as in the pattern just shown? break build die eat fear happen kiss
like occupy offer put receive resemble send steal taste teach understand want write (ii) Does it help, in this
exercise, to make a distinction between obligatory roles (i.e. you must have these or the sentence will not be
grammatical) and optional roles (these are often present, but their absence doesn't make the sentences
ungrammatical)? B The words in the following list are all related in terms of the superordinate term tableware.
(i) First, create a hierarchical diagram to illustrate whatever hyponymous relations exist among these words:
glass bread-basket salt-shaker ware bowl cup plate crockery knife linen cutlery mug table-mat tablecloth
candlestick napkin tumbler wineglass bottle fork pan ladle goblet tray dish peppermill teaspoon saucer spoon
flat (ii) Second, can you work out what the prototype item of tableware is? One research procedure would be to
create a list of these terms down one side of a page, with a scale beside each term.The scale would go from 5
(== excellent example of 'tableware') to 1 (== not really an example of'tableware'). Make copies of your list
(plus scale) and ask people to indicate their choices on the scale.The highest score would presumably be the
prototype.What do you think of this procedure? c A famous example of a sentence that is syntactically 'good',
but semantically 'odd', was suggested by Noam Chomsky (1957): Colorless green ideas sleep furiously. How
many mismatches of meaning are present in this one sentence? Can it be interpreted at all? Having done that,
what Semantics 125 do you make of this advertisement from an American store: Colorful white sale this week?
D In the use of gradable antonyms there is generally one member of the pair that is used more often than the
other in certain constructions. It is called the 'unmarked' member. For example, we usually ask How old is he? if
we want to know someone's age, and not How young is he? This is taken as evidence that old is the unmarked
member of the old-young pair.

Additional evidence is the common practice ofsaying that someone isfive years old and notfive years
young in talking about age. (i) Can you determine the 'unmarked' member in each of the following pairs? small-
big short-long wild-tame cheap-expensive near-far many-few early-late dangerous-safe good-bad fresh-stale
easy-difficult strong-weak thick-thin wide-narrow full-empty (ii) Can you think of any special situations where
the 'marked' member is more typically used? What kind of meaning is conveyed by such uses? E There is one
aspect of contemporary English that seems very redundant (to some people). One example would be: You will
receive afree gift. We might complain that if it's a gift, it is necessarily free, so it is redundant to use both words.
Do you agree with this point of view?

Do the following expressions also contain redundancies? Might there be a reason for such
combinations? We shouldprovide advance warning I'll make it my first priority That was an unexpected surprise
Couldyou repeat that again? They had already heardthat before We got it for acheap price There was ageneral
consensus It was in close proximity Andthat was his final conclusion Further reading There is a good basic
coursebook on semantics by Hurford & Heasley (1983). More general treatments are presented in Allan
(1986),Palmer (1981) and Leech (1974).The latter has an extended discussion of different types of'asso 126 The
study oflanguage dative' meaning. Semantic feature analysis can be found in Bever & Rosenbaum (1971) and
Kempson (1977). An accessible review of the psychology of word meaning is presented in Miller (1991). A
more complex discussion is in Jackendoff (1983).
 On lexical relations, see Cruse (1986) and Lipka (1990 ). An extended treatment of antonymycan be
found in Lehrer (1985). The most comprehensive work on the subject, and hence rather technical, is Lyons
(1977). Also technical, but providing introductions to the philosophical issues in semantic analysis are
Chierchia & McConnel-Ginet (1990 ), Garfield & Kiteley (1991) and Martin (1987).An overview ofsemantic
roles is presented in Andrews (1985) and more comprehensive surveys can be found in Cook (1989) and Palmer
(1994).

Discussions of prototypes are in Aitchison (1994), Lakoff (1987), Pulman (1983), Rosch (1978) and
Tsohadzidis (1990 ). On collocation, see Sinclair (1991).The frequencies mentioned in the collocations section
are from Postman & Keppel (1970 ). T(I 12 Pragmatics A: I have a fourteen year old son B: Well that's all right
A: I also have a dog B: Oh I'm sorry Harvey Sacks (1992) In the previous chapter, we concentrated on meaning
in language as a product of the meaning of words. There are, however, other aspects of meaning which are not
derived solely from the meanings of the words used in phrases and sentences. In making sense of the quote
above, it may help to know that A is trying to rent an apartment from B.

When we read or hear pieces of language, we normally try to understand not only what the words mean,
but what the writer or speaker of those words intended to convey. The study of 'intended speaker meaning' is
called pragmatics. Invisible meaning In many ways, pragmatics is the study of 'invisible' meaning, or how we
recognize what is meant even when it isn't actually said (or written). In order for that to happen, speakers (and
writers) must be able to depend on a lot of shared assumptions and expectations.

The investigation of those assumptions and expectations provides us with some insights into how more
gets communicated than is said. Driving by a parking lot, you may see a large sign like the one in the picture.
Now, you know what each of these words means, and you know what the sign as a whole means. However, you
don't normally think that the sign is advertising a place where you can park your 'heated attendant'. (You take an
attendant, you heat him up, and this is the place where you can park him.) 127
 LESSON 10: ENGLISG FOR SPECIC PURPOSES (ESP)

How is English for Specific Purposes (ESP) different from English as a Second Language (ESL), also
known as general English? The most important difference lies in the learners and their purposes for learning
English. ESP students are usually adults who already have some acquaintance with English and are learning the
language in order to communicate a set of professional skills and to perform particular jobrelated functions. An
ESP program is therefore built on an assessment of purposes and needs and the functions for which English is
required . ESP concentrates more on language in context than on teaching grammar and language structures. It
covers subjects varying from accounting or computer science to tourism and business management. The ESP
focal point is that English is not taught as a subject separated from the students' real world (or wishes); instead,
it is integrated into a subject matter area important to the learners.

However, ESL and ESP diverge not only in the nature of the learner, but also in the aim of instruction.
In fact, as a general rule, while in ESL all four language skills; listening, reading, speaking, and writing, are
stressed equally, in ESP it is a needs analysis that determines which language skills are most needed by the
students, and the syllabus is designed accordingly. An ESP program, might, for example, emphasize the
development of reading skills in students who are preparing for graduate work in business administration; or it
might promote the development of spoken skills in students who are studying English in order to become tourist
guides. As a matter of fact, ESP combines subject matter and English language teaching. Such a combination is
highly motivating because students are able to apply what they learn in their English classes to their main field
of study, whether it be accounting, business management, economics, computer science or tourism. Being able
to use the vocabulary and structures that they learn in a meaningful context reinforces what is taught and
increases their motivation.

The students' abilities in their subject-matter fields, in turn, improve their ability to acquire English.
Subject-matter knowledge gives them the context they need to understand the English of the classroom. In the
ESP class, students are shown how the subject-matter content is expressed in English. The teacher can make the
most of the students' knowledge of the subject matter, thus helping them learn English faster. The term
"specific" in ESP refers to the specific purpose for learning English. Students approach the study of English
through a field that is already known and relevant to them. This means that they are able to use what they learn
in the ESP classroom right away in their work and studies. The ESP approach enhances the relevance of what
the students are learning and enables them to use the English they know to learn even more English, since their
interest in their field will motivate them to interact with speakers and texts. ESP assesses needs and integrates
motivation, subject matter and content for the teaching of relevant skills. The responsibility of the teacher A
teacher that already has experience in teaching English as a Second Language (ESL), can exploit her
background in language teaching. She should recognize the ways in which her teaching skills can be adapted for
the teaching of English for Specific Purposes. Moreover, she will need to look for content specialists for help in
designing appropriate lessons in the subject matter field she is teaching.

As an ESP teacher, you must play many roles. You may be asked to organize courses, to set learning
objectives, to establish a positive learning environment in the classroom, and to evaluate student s progress.
Organizing Courses You have to set learning goals and then transform them into an instructional program with
the timing of activities. One of your main tasks will be selecting, designing and organizing course materials,
supporting the students in their efforts, and providing them with feedback on their progress. Setting Goals and
Objectives You arrange the conditions for learning in the classroom and set long-term goals and short-term
objectives for students achievement.

Your knowledge of students' potential is central in designing a syllabus with realistic goals that takes
into account the students' concern in the learning situation. Creating a Learning Environment Your skills for
communication and mediation create the classroom atmosphere. Students acquire language when they have
opportunities to use the language in interaction with other speakers. Being their teacher, you may be the only
English speaking person available to students, and although your time with any of them is limited, you can
structure effective communication skills in the classroom.
 In order to do so, in your interactions with students try to listen carefully to what they are saying and
give your understanding or misunderstanding back at them through your replies. Good language learners are
also great risk-takers , since they must make many errors in order to succeed: however, in ESP classes, they are
handicapped because they are unable to use their native language competence to present themselves as well-
informed adults. That s why the teacher should create an atmosphere in the language classroom which supports
the students. Learners must be self-confident in order to communicate, and you have the responsibility to help
build the learner's confidence. Evaluating Students The teacher is a resource that helps students identify their
language learning problems and find solutions to them, find out the skills they need to focus on, and take
responsibility for making choices which determine what and how to learn.

You will serve as a source of information to the students about how they are progressing in their
language learning. The responsibility of the student What is the role of the learner and what is the task he/she
faces? The learners come to the ESP class with a specific interest for learning, subject matter knowledge, and
well-built adult learning strategies. They are in charge of developing English language skills to reflect their
nativelanguage knowledge and skills. Interest for Learning People learn languages when they have
opportunities to understand and work with language in a context that they comprehend and find interesting. In
this view, ESP is a powerful means for such opportunities.

Students will acquire English as they work with materials which they find interesting and relevant and
which they can use in their professional work or further studies. The more learners pay attention to the meaning
of the language they hear or read, the more they are successful; the more they have to focus on the linguistic
input or isolated language structures, the less they are motivated to attend their classes.

The ESP student is particularly well disposed to focus on meaning in the subject-matter field. In ESP,
English should be presented not as a subject to be learned in isolation from real use, nor as a mechanical skill or
habit to be developed. On the contrary, English should be presented in authentic contexts to make the learners
acquainted with the particular ways in which the language is used in functions that they will need to perform in
their fields of specialty or jobs.

Subject-Content Knowledge Learners in the ESP classes are generally aware of the purposes for which
they will need to use English. Having already oriented their education toward a specific field, they see their
English training as complementing this orientation. Knowledge of the subject area enables the students to
identify a real context for the vocabulary and structures of the ESP classroom. In such way, the learners can
take advantage of what they already know about the subject matter to learn English. Learning Strategies Adults
must work harder than children in order to learn a new language, but the learning skills they bring to the task
permit them to learn faster and more efficiently. The skills they have already developed in using their native
languages will make learning English easier.
 Although you will be working with students whose English will probably be quite limited, the language
learning abilities of the adult in the ESP classroom are potentially immense. Educated adults are continually
learning new language behaviour in their native languages, since language learning continues naturally
throughout our lives. They are constantly expanding vocabulary, becoming more fluent in their fields, and
adjusting their linguistic behaviour to new situations or new roles. ESP students can exploit these innate
competencies in learning English. Copyright © 2005Lorenzo Fiorito. This article is for educational purposes
only. It may be freely redistributed in its entirety provided that this copyright notice is not removed.

In spite of its relatively young age, English for Specific Purposes is today quite literally the most global
of language disciplines and exists, in some form or the other, in practically every country in the world.1
Research in the field is fecund, dynamic and diversified as befits a discipline that is intrinsically international,
intercultural and interdisciplinary.

Like Munby’s 1978 Communicative Syllabus Design, Hutchinson and Waters’ 1987 English for
Specific Purposes: A Learning-Centred Approach, Swales’ 1990 Genre Analysis: English in Academic and
Research Settings, and DudleyEvans and St John’s 1998 Developments in English for Specific Purposes: A
Multidisciplinary Approach, for example, The Handbook of English for Specific Purposes (2013) – “a state of
the art survey of research in ESP” (p. 2) according to its editors, Brian Paltridge and Sue Starfield — is
undeniably set to become a landmark publication in ESP studies.

2 ESP studies are defined in a straightforward and pragmatic way as [referring] to the teaching and
learning of English as a second or foreign language where the goal of the learners is to use English in a
particular domain. […]

A key feature of an ESP course is that the content and aims of the course are oriented to the specific
needs of the learners. ESP courses, then, focus on the language, skills, and genres appropriate to the specific
activities the learners need to carry out in English. (p. 2)

3 Although the definition may appear narrow-angled and restrictive to researchers who view ESP in its
broader perspective of specialized language, discourse and culture (Petit 2002: 2)2 or who, like Bhatia (2004)
have moved away from pedagogic applications towards the analysis of specialized varieties of English as
objects of study per se, the defining framework proposed by the editors has the merit of providing a mainstream
working definition with regard to the otherwise complex issue of defining the scope and aim of ESP studies.
Editorial characteristics
 4 Composed of twenty-eight essays, the volume is divided into six parts bookended by an opening
article on the history of ESP by Ann M. Johns and a closing one on its future by Diane Belcher, former and
current editors of the discipline’s flagship journal, English for Specific Purposes. The main body of essays is
divided into four parts, each related to what may be considered as one of the major macro-domains of ESP
studies:

• Part I. “ESP and Language Skills” comprising five chapters dealing with the four traditional language
skills;3 Brian Paltridge, Sue Starfield (eds.), The Handbook of English for Specific P... ASp, 64 | 2013 2

• Part II. “Areas of ESP Research” comprising ten chapters which cover both traditional and more recent
ESP subject-domains;

• Part III. “ESP and Pedagogy” comprising three chapters respectively on three core ESP interests, i.e.,
needs analysis and curriculum development, genre and ESP, and assessment in ESP, and a fourth chapter on a
more recent domain, that of the role of technology in ESP pedagogy;

• Part IV. “Research Perspectives and Methodologies in ESP Research” comprising seven chapters
devoted to established and, more largely, to emerging areas of ESP research. 5 Given the quality of the
contributions, the term Handbook in the title, connotative as it is of manuals and instruction guides, may be
suggestive of an introductory nuts-and-bolts guide for the novice ESP teacher.

This is far from so as The Handbook is about ESP research and one of its strengths is that it holds
something of interest for everyone involved in this field of enquiry, ranging from experienced ESP researchers
to doctoral students, as the editors indicate: The audience for the Handbook is students, teachers, and
researchers with an interest in English for specific purposes research, as well as people working in the areas of
language studies, language teaching, and applied linguistics more generally. […]

The book is also a reference work for scholars with an interest in researching this particular area of
language teaching and learning. (p. 1)

6 In view of its multi-audience purpose, care has been taken to make the volume as userfriendly as
possible, as illustrated by the attention paid to defining terms, concepts and theories referred to, cross-
referencing, providing background contextualisation, avoiding over-technical jargon, etc., all of which prove
invaluable even for the experienced researcher with regard to the newer specialisms presented in the volume.

Contributions are methodically presented as self-contained chapters and may be read as stand-alone
articles, the inevitable (but minor) defect of this quality being a certain degree of redundancy for the reader who
undertakes the nevertheless stimulating experience of reading the volume as a whole. International: endogenous
or exogenous learning contexts?

7 Thirty-one authors were commissioned to contribute to the different chapters of The Handbook of
whom a number — Diane Belcher, John and Lynne Flowerdew, Dan Douglas, Ken Hyland, Ann M. Johns,
Catherine Nickerson, and Brian Paltridge, for example, — are widely-known figures in the ESP world. In this
context, the absence of two such eminently authoritative ESP figures as John Swales and Vijay K. Bhatia from
the roster of authors commissioned to contribute to this collection on current ESP studies appears somewhat
conspicuous, a paradox underlined by the bibliometric evidence of their work present throughout the volume, a
palimpsest testimony to the extent and influence of their contribution to ESP studies the world over.

8 The contributions to the volume are written by an international bevy of ESP specialists representing
major loci of ESP studies, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, the United States and
Singapore. However, in view of the very global dimension of the discipline, the term “international” needs to be
nuanced. With regard to the language learning context in general, it is important to bear in mind a fundamental
Brian Paltridge, Sue Starfield (eds.),

The Handbook of English for Specific P... ASp, 64 | 2013 3 variable introduced by how close the
learning context is situated to Kachru’s inner circles, i.e., whether the learning takes places in a linguistically
endogenous (Englishspeaking) or exogenous (non-English-speaking) environment. ESP learning in an
endogenous English-speaking environment runs parallel to the multiple EGP (and ESP) acquisition
opportunities available beyond the prescribed confines of the classroom, whereas ESP learning in an exogenous
non-English-speaking context — most of Europe and Latin America, and large parts of Asia and Africa, for
example — remains a comparatively simulated and/or ICT-mediated experience.

9 Keeping this variable in mind, and in spite of the editors’ affirmation that “ESP research is clearly not
the property of the English-speaking world, nor is it taking place solely in English-speaking countries” (p. 133),
the fact remains that the majority of contributions to The Handbook are written by researchers working in the
essentially linguistically endogenous environments of “host” countries (Australia, Canada, Hong Kong,
Singapore, the UK, the USA and New Zealand), whereas a small minority represent exogenous ESP learning
environments (France, Japan, China and the UAE).

This underlying but essential variance necessitates a gentle caveat lector with regard to some of the
research presented and the subsequent need to relativize when evaluating its relevance to linguistically
exogenous learning situations. Subject-domains: towards multiperspective interdisciplinarity

10 Part II of the volume, “Areas of ESP Research”, is the most substantial of the four parts, comprising
ten contributions, each one devoted to a specific subject-domain. No single volume can be expected to cover the
entire spectrum of ESP-related subject-domains and the editors have made a discerning selection between
foundational and mature areas as EST and aviation English, more mainstream ones such as EAP (in
linguistically endogenous contexts), ELP, EMP, EBP, and, finally, such relatively emerging ones as workplace
English, thesis and dissertation writing, and ERPP (English for research publication purposes).

11 The number and nature of subject-domains which possess their own specific language and culture
makes ESP studies a necessarily eclectic and composite area of research. It also entails the risk of the “time-
poor academics and teachers” (Krishnamurthy and Kosem, cited in Nesi, p. 408) that we ESP researchers-cum-
practitioners are, tending to over-focus on their particular specialism at the inevitable risk not only of losing
sight of “the big ESP picture” but also of being left behind with regard to the evolution of the discipline. As
recent ESP research increasingly emphasizes, the need to “de-blinker” is no longer an option given the
groundswell movement away from monolithic specialisms towards the demand for multiperspective expertise
characterized by disciplinary hybridisation and over-laps, genre cross-overs and colonization, genre sets,
interdiscursivity, etc. As Hyland underlines in the case of learners (and therefore necessarily relevant to teachers
as well), “… business students may be expected to confront texts from accountancy, economics, financial
management, corporate organisation, marketing, statistics, and so on” (p. 105). A volume such as The
Handbook is an effective and stimulating means of “de-blinkering” specialism-specialists, offering Brian
Paltridge, Sue Starfield (eds.), The Handbook of English for Specific P... ASp, 64 | 2013 4 them, in addition to a
more holistic and systemic view of their discipline, multiple entry points into subject-domains at the nexus of
their own specialism. Research: updates and new perspectives

12 One of the richest aspects of The Handbook is undoubtedly its presentation of current ESP research.
In a subject-domain perspective, it provides new insights into such foundational ESP areas as science and
technology, law, medicine, and business studies, and in a crossdisciplinary perspective, it serves the dual
purpose of updating research in the more documented areas of enquiry as corpus studies, English as a lingua
franca, intercultural rhetoric (“[…] the study of written discourse between and among individuals with different
cultural backgrounds” p. 427), and presenting more recent perspectives, such as the multisemiotic (visual,
written, oral, proxemic and gestural) nature of multimodality in oral presentations, the ethnographic approach
(as method, methodology and deep theorizing) to situated needs analysis, gender and race related to ESP, and,
last but not least, the more radical and iconoclastic area of “critical perspectives” which challenges the very
foundations and defining precepts of the discipline. Amongst the diversity of subjects presented, three lines of
enquiry emerge as points of interest common to many of the contributors, English as a lingua franca, critical
perspectives and the status of English as the language of research publication.

13 The “de-anglicization” or “indigenization” of English and its phenomenal escalation as a global

lingua franca is analyzed by Catherine Nickerson, a pioneer in ELF studies, in her contribution “English for
Specific Purposes and English as a Lingua Franca” and is also a recurrent theme in other contributions. The
research presented raises troubling questions with regard to one of the most fundamental precepts of teaching
English in most European (and other) universities, i.e., the fact that native-speaker referenced norms are now an
obsolete reference since “native speaker competence is not a primary goal” (Feak, p. 36), and is even considered
counter-productive (Nickerson, p. 451). In the light of this evolution, several contributions (Hyland p. 105;
Parkinson p. 163; Marra p. 186; Bargiela-Chiappini and Zhang p. 195; Thompson p. 283; John Flowerdew p.
316; Lynne Flowerdew p. 337) highlight the “mismatch” or “disjoint” observed between pedagogy and
research, between English as it is now used for professional purposes the world over and English as it is
institutionally taught. Given that ESP is essentially a teaching-related discipline, the implications of such
findings are far-reaching and challenge some canonical precepts regarding the norms which define acceptability
and transgression: what, it may be asked, is the point of teaching our business studies learners, for example, to
handle grammatical structures they will never be called on to use or hear and content to which they will never
have to relate to? As Nickerson states, “… global English requires a re-evaluation of learner’s needs including
the most appropriate teachers to teach it, the most appropriate textbooks to use, and the most appropriate
accents to use as models.” (p. 450) — not to forget, the most appropriate criteria to assess language competence
defined in terms of transactional and relational skills rather than linguistic ones.

14 “Critical perspectives” is a radical rethinking of ESP objectives and finalities, an approach with
which one may or may not agree but which, nonetheless, raises questions which provide stimulating food for
thought. It is one of the dominant ideas to emerge in current research, as highlighted by The Handbook and
evidenced by the fact that it is a recurrent Brian Paltridge, Sue Starfield (eds.), The Handbook of English for
Specific P... ASp, 64 | 2013 5 reference throughout the volume. “Critical Perspectives on ESP” by Sue Starfield
outlines the tensions between the traditional pragmatic ESP approach which aims to equip learners with the
language skills necessary to function professionally, and the militant and ideological critical perspectives
approach, which views such “vulgar pragmatism” (Pennycook 1997, cited in Starfield p. 465) as unquestioning
acceptance and Bourdienne reproduction of the norms and power asymmetry established by the dominant
majority and its power holders (teachers, employers, institutions and funding bodies). The approach challenges
ESP’s cornerstone premise of needs analysis as correlated to present or future disciplinary/professional
insertion, calling instead for an approach based on “rights analysis” aiming at individual betterment,
empowerment and social insertion.

15 Critical perspectives focuses largely on ESP teaching in the context of EAP and immigrant
resettlement and work courses, two ESP learner profiles more largely prevalent in such linguistically
endogenous host countries as Australia, the United States and Canada, for example, but less so in the many
linguistically exogenous learning environments where the objective of ESP teaching is to help students, whether
indigenous or international, to integrate their present or future professional communities at international level,
an objective students themselves identify with. Developing learners’ awareness of their rights is unquestionably
commendable, but may be akin to putting the cart before the horse in that teaching learners the language skills
which enable them to integrate professionally is perhaps a first step towards social integration and
empowerment — as Hyland suggests, helping learners negotiate expected communicative practices also equips
them with the tools needed to critique those practices (2004 as cited in Belcher p. 536), or again, Bargiela-
Chiappini and Zhang who point out that “[a]daptation of ideas and models usually comes after adoption […]”
(p. 205).

16 The hegemonic status of English as the mandatory language of publishing research — the
Tyrannosaurus rex of the academic world, as Swales puts it (1997, cited in Starfield, p. 474) — is another key
issue raised in The Handbook. Several contributors underline the fact that, though LSP is a global discipline and
that research in one language is often interrelated to other languages, the field is dominated by ESP research
which in turn is subject to two interdependent criteria, publishing in English and in “central” journals, (as
opposed to “periphery” journals to borrow John Flowerdew’s metaphor, p. 304).

17 Ironically, The Handbook is in itself a reflection of this trend: if we are proud to see a GERAS
member amongst the contributors commissioned, and to find the work of several other GERAS members cited
throughout the book, it is somewhat disheartening to realise that the references derive almost exclusively from
“central” journals and not from contributions by the same authors to ASp, a journal of some repute published by
GERAS.

18 Research in ESP/LSP is prolific but a good part of it is “inaccessible” because, as Ann M. Johns
remarks in her opening chapter on the history of ESP, “… there has always been considerable localized, on-site
ESP/LSP research that is either unpublished, published in a language other than English, or in local journals.”
This, as John Flowerdew points out, citing Gibbs, results in “lost science” (p. 301) for the ESP research
community as a whole in that research not published in mainstream English-speaking journals is overlooked,
leading to the duplication of already existing research. Examples abound of parallel research which never
meets. One example of such “lost science” is today’s emphasis on the “situated” and “ethnographic” approach
in ESP pedagogy, an ESP approach initiated in the 1980s (p. 468) and paralleled by French and Swiss
researchers a decade or so earlier who summed it up by the very apt observation, “l’apprenant est aussi une
personne”.4 In the Brian Paltridge, Sue Starfield (eds.), The Handbook of English for Specific P... ASp, 64 |
2013 6 same vein, the increasing pressure to move away from the narrow-angle approach which characterized
early ESP towards a more holistic ethnographic one as represented in Jean Parkinson’s graphic (p. 156) of
concentric circles illustrating “the expanding focus of ESP” reminiscent of Geert Hofstede’s famous “cultural
onion”, or in Ulla Connor and William Rozycki’s analysis of the multiple layers of professional cultural
identity, meshes with the French vision which holds that l’anglais de spécialité is inseparable from the
professional and/or specialized sociocultural environment from which it stems. On a different plane, Alan
Hirvela’s proposal to introduce “a Literature for specific purposes framework” (p. 89) segues with one of
 France’s most innovative contributions to ESP research, i.e., the
identification and codification of popular contemporary specialized fictional
narrative as a genre christened fiction à substrat professionnel (FASP) and
its relevance to ESP teaching (Petit 1999; Isani 2004).

19 ESP researchers across borders have much to share and exchange.

Regrettably, short of introducing mandatory publishing in English and
through open access media, there seem to be no immediately foreseeable
solutions to making ESP research globally accessible. Until then, The
Handbook of English for Specific Purposes fills the vacuum. More than a
handbook, it is a companion to all researchers in ESP studies.

LESSON 10: DISCOURSE ANALYSIS)

Discourse analysis is a research method for studying written or spoken language in relation to its social context.
It aims to understand how language is used in real life situations.

When you do discourse analysis, you might focus on:

 The purposes and effects of different types of language

 Cultural rules and conventions in communication
 How values, beliefs and assumptions are communicated
 How language use relates to its social, political and historical context

Discourse analysis is a common qualitative research method in many humanities and social science disciplines,
including linguistics, sociology, anthropology, psychology and cultural studies.
What is discourse analysis used for?
Conducting discourse analysis means examining how language functions and how meaning is created in
different social contexts. It can be applied to any instance of written or oral language, as well as non-verbal
aspects of communication such as tone and gestures.

Materials that are suitable for discourse analysis include:

 Books, newspapers and periodicals

 Marketing material, such as brochures and advertisements
 Business and government documents
 Websites, forums, social media posts and comments
 Interviews and conversations

By analyzing these types of discourse, researchers aim to gain an understanding of social groups and how they
communicate.

How is discourse analysis different from other methods?

Unlike linguistic approaches that focus only on the rules of language use, discourse analysis emphasizes the
contextual meaning of language.

It focuses on the social aspects of communication and the ways people use language to achieve specific effects
(e.g. to build trust, to create doubt, to evoke emotions, or to manage conflict).

Instead of focusing on smaller units of language, such as sounds, words or phrases, discourse analysis is used to
study larger chunks of language, such as entire conversations, texts, or collections of texts. The selected sources
can be analyzed on multiple levels.

Discourse analysis

Level of What is analyzed?

communication

Vocabulary Words and phrases can be analyzed for ideological associations, formality, and
euphemistic and metaphorical content.

Grammar The way that sentences are constructed (e.g. verb tenses, active or passive construction,
Discourse analysis

Level of What is analyzed?

communication

and the use of imperatives and questions) can reveal aspects of intended meaning.

Structure The structure of a text can be analyzed for how it creates emphasis or builds a narrative.

Genre Texts can be analyzed in relation to the conventions and communicative aims of their
genre (e.g. political speeches or tabloid newspaper articles).

Non-verbal Non-verbal aspects of speech, such as tone of voice, pauses, gestures, and sounds like
communication “um”, can reveal aspects of a speaker’s intentions, attitudes, and emotions.

Conversational codes The interaction between people in a conversation, such as turn-taking, interruptions and
listener response, can reveal aspects of cultural conventions and social roles.

How to conduct discourse analysis

Discourse analysis is a qualitative and interpretive method of analyzing texts (in contrast to more systematic
methods like content analysis). You make interpretations based on both the details of the material itself and on
contextual knowledge.

There are many different approaches and techniques you can use to conduct discourse analysis, but the steps
below outline the basic steps you need to follow.

Step 1: Define the research question and select the content of analysis

To do discourse analysis, you begin with a clearly defined research question. Once you have developed your
question, select a range of material that is appropriate to answer it.

Discourse analysis is a method that can be applied both to large volumes of material and to smaller samples,
depending on the aims and timescale of your research.
You want to study how a particular regime change from dictatorship to democracy has affected the public
relations rhetoric of businesses in the country. You decide to examine the mission statements and marketing
material of the 10 largest companies within five years of the regime change.

Step 2: Gather information and theory on the context

Next, you must establish the social and historical context in which the material was produced and intended to be
received. Gather factual details of when and where the content was created, who the author is, who published it,
and whom it was disseminated to.

As well as understanding the real-life context of the discourse, you can also conduct a literature review on the
topic and construct a theoretical framework to guide your analysis.

You research factual information on the politics and history of the country and on the businesses you are
studying. You also research theory on democratic transitions and the relationship between government and
business.

Step 3: Analyze the content for themes and patterns

This step involves closely examining various elements of the material – such as words, sentences, paragraphs,
and overall structure – and relating them to attributes, themes, and patterns relevant to your research question.

You analyze the selected material for wording and statements that reflect or relate to authoritarian and
democratic political ideologies, including attitudes toward authority, liberal values, and popular opinion.

Step 4: Review your results and draw conclusions

Once you have assigned particular attributes to elements of the material, reflect on your results to examine the
function and meaning of the language used. Here, you will consider your analysis in relation to the broader
context that you established earlier to draw conclusions that answer your research question.

Your analysis shows that the material published before the regime change used language that emphasized the
quality and necessity of its services and products, while the material published after the shift to a democratic
regime emphasized the needs and values of the consumer. You compare the results with your research on the
ideology and rhetoric of the political regimes, and infer that the shifting political context shaped the
communication strategies of national businesses.
Getting technical: discourse analysis in ten steps

So you have formulated a research question, have collected source material, and are now ready to roll up your
sleeves and dig into your sources. But how do you make sure that you have covered all your bases and that you
will later be able to make a good case for yourself and your work? Here are ten work stepsthat will help you
conduct a systematic and professional discourse analysis.

1) Establish the context

Before you start chiselling away at your source material, jot down where the material comes from and how it
fits into the big picture. You should ask yourself what the social and historical context is in which each of your
sources was produced. Write down what language your source is written in, what country and place it is from,
who wrote it (and when), and who published it (and when). Also try to have a record of when and how you got
your hands on your sources, and to explain where others might find copies. Finally, find out whether your
sources are responses to any major event, whether they tie into broader debates, and how they
were received at the time of publication.
2) Explore the production process

You have already recorded who wrote and published your sources, but you still need to do a more
thorough background check. Try to find additional information on the producer of your source material, as
well as their institutional and personal background. For example, if you are analysing news articles, take a look
at the kind of newspaper that the articles are from (Jäger 2004: 175): Who are the author and the editorial staff,
what is the general political position of the paper, and what is its affiliation with other organizations? Are any of
the people who are involved in the production process known for their journalistic style or their political views?
Is there any information on the production expenditures and general finances of the paper? Do you know who
the general target audience of the paper is? In many cases, media outlets themselves provide some of this
information online, for instance in the “about” sections of their websites. In other cases, you will find such
information in the secondary academic literature. Don’t hesitate to write the editors an email or call them up:
personal interviews can be a great way to explore production backgrounds.

Once you have established the institutional background, take notes on the medium and the genre you are
working with. Some scholars go as far to argue that “the medium is the message” (McLuhan 1964/2001), or in
other words that the medium in which information is presented is the crucial element that shapes meaning.
While I am skeptical of such extreme technological determinism, I do agree that the medium matters: reading
an article online is not the same as reading it in a printed newspaper, or in a hardcover collection of essays.
Make sure to identify the different media types in which your source appeared, and to also be clear about the
version that you yourself are analysing.

For instance, the layout of a newspaper article and its position on the page will be different in a print edition
than in an online edition. The latter will also offer comments, links, multi-media content, etc. All of these
factors frame the meaning of the actual text and should be considered in an analysis. This may also mean that
you should think about the technical quality and readability of your source, for instance by looking at paper
quality (or resolution for online sources), type set, etc. You should also take notes on the length of your source
(number of pages and/or words) and any additional features of the medium that might contribute to or shape
meaning (such as images).

Finally, ask yourself what genre your source belongs to. Are you analysing an editorial comment, and op-ed, a
reader’s letter, a commentary, a news item, a report, an interview, or something else? Establishing this
background information will later help you assess what genre-specific mechanism your source deploys (or
ignores) to get its message across.
3) Prepare your material for analysis

In order to analyse the actual text, it is wise to prepare it in a way that will allow you to work with the source,
home in on specific details, and make precise references later. If you are working with a hard copy I would
recommend making a number of additional copies of your source material, so that you can write on these
versions and mark important features. If you haven’t already, try to digitize your source or get a digital
copy. Then add references that others can use to follow your work later: add numbers for lines, headers,
paragraphs, figures, or any other features that will help you keep your bearings.

4) Code your material

When you code data, it means that you are assigning attributes to specific units of analysis, such as paragraphs,
sentences, or individual words. Think of how many of us tag online information like pictures, links, or articles.
Coding is simply an academic version of this tagging process.

For instance, you might be analysing a presidential speech to see what globalization discourse it draws from. It
makes sense to mark all statements in the speech that deal with globalization and its related themes
(or discourse strands). Before you start with this process, you need to come up with your coding categories.
The first step is to outline a few such categories theoretically: based on the kind of question you are asking, and
your knowledge of the subject matter, you will already have a few key themes in mind that you expect to find,
for instance “trade”, “migration”, “transportation”, “communication”, and so on. A thorough review of the
secondary literature on your topic will likely offer inspiration. Write down your first considerations, and also
write down topics that you think might be related to these key themes. These are your starting categories.

You then go over the text to see if it contains any of these themes. Take notes on the ones that are not included,
since you may have to delete these categories later. Other categories might be too broad, so try breaking them
down into sub-categories. Also, the text may include interesting themes that you did not expect to find, so jot
down any such additional discourse strands. At the end of this first review, revise your list of coding categories
to reflect your findings. If you are working with several documents, repeat the process for each of them, until
you have your final list of coding categories. This is what Mayring (2002: 120) calls evolutionary coding,
since your categories evolve from theoretical considerations into a full-fledged operational list based on
empirical data.

How the actual coding process works will depend on the tools you use. You can code paper-based sources by
highlighting text sections in different colours, or by jotting down specific symbols. If you are working with a
computer, you can similarly highlight text sections in a word processor. In either case, the risk is that you will
not be able to represent multiple categories adequately, for instance when a statement ties into three or four
discourse strands at once. You could mark individual words, but this might not be ideal if you want to see how
the discourse works within the larger sentence structure, and how discourse strands overlap.

A real alternative is using other types of software. If you have access to professional research
programmes like NVivo, then the software already has built-in coding mechanisms that you can customize and
use. There is also open-source software available, for instance the Mac programme TAMS, but I have not tested
their functionality. However, even if you only have regular office tools at your disposal, such as Microsoft’s
Office or a Mac equivalent, there are at least two ways in which you can code material.

The first is to copy your text into an Excel table. Place the text in one column and use the next column to add
the coding categories. You’ll of course have to decide where the line-breaks should be. A sensible approach is
to place each sentence of your original text on a new line, but you could also choose smaller units of text.

Another tool that provides coding assistance is Microsoft OneNote 2010, or the Mac equivalent Growly Notes.
In OneNote, you can right click anywhere in the text and select “tag” to assign a category to any sentence. You
can also customize your tags, create new ones, and easily search and monitor your coding categories and
activities. The downside is that you can only tag full sentences, not single words or phrases, but depending on
your intentions, this may not be a crucial drawback.

5) Examine the structure of the text

Now that you have prepared your materials and have coded the discourse strands, it is time to look at
the structural features of the texts. Are there sections that overwhelmingly deal with one discourse? Are there
ways in which different discourse strands overlap in the text? See if you can identify how the argument is
structured: does the text go through several issues one by one? Does it first make a counter-factual case, only to
then refute that case and make the main argument? You should at this point also consider how the headers and
other layout features guide the argument, and what role the introduction and conclusionplay in the overall
scheme of things.

6) Collect and examine discursive statements

Once you have a good idea of the macro-features of your text, you can zoom in on the individual statements,
or discourse fragments. A good way to do this is to collect all statements with a specific code, and to examine
 what they have to say on the respective discourse strand. This collection of statements will allow you to map out
what “truths” the text establishes on each major topic.

7) Identify cultural references

You have already established what the context of your source material is. Now think about how the context
informs the argument. Does your material contain references to other sources, or imply knowledge of another
subject matter? What meaning does the text attribute to such other sources? Exploring these questions will help
you figure out what function intertextuality serves in light of the overall argument.

8) Identify linguistic and rhetorical mechanisms

The next step in your analysis is likely going to be the most laborious, but also the most enlightening when it
comes to exploring how a discourse works in detail. You will need to identify how the various statements
function at the level of language. In order to do this, you may have to use additional copies of your text for
each work-step, or you may need to create separate coding categories for your digital files. Here are some of the
things you should be on the lookout for:

 Word groups: does the text deploy words that have a common contextual background? For instance, the
vocabulary may be drawn directly from military language, or business language, or highly colloquial youth
language. Take a closer look at nouns, verbs, and adjectives in your text and see if you find any common
features. Such regularities can shed light on the sort of logic that the text implies. For example, talking about a
natural disaster in the language of war creates a very different reasoning than talking about the same event in
religious terms.
 Grammar features: check who or what the subjects and objects in the various statements are. Are there
any regularities, for instance frequently used pronouns like “we” and “they”? If so, can you identify who the
protagonists and antagonists are? A look at adjectives and adverbs might tell you more about judgements that
the text passes on these groups. Also, take a closer look at the main and auxiliary verbs that the text uses, and
check what tense they appear in. Particularly interesting are active versus passive phrases – does the text delete
actors from its arguments by using passive phrases? A statement like “we are under economic pressure” is very
different from “X puts us under economic pressure”… particularly if “X” is self-inflicted. Passive phrases and
impersonal chains of nouns are a common way to obscure relationships behind the text and shirk responsibility.
Make such strategies visible through your analysis.
 Rhetorical and literary figures: see if you can identify and mark any of the following five elements in
your text: allegories, metaphors, similes, idioms, and proverbs. Take a look at how they are deployed in the
 service of the overall argument. Inviting the reader to entertain certain associations, for instance in the form of
an allegory, helps construct certain kinds of categories and relations, which in turn shape the argument. For
instance, if I use a simile that equates the state with a parent, and the citizens with children, then I am not only
significantly simplifying what is actually a very complex relationship, I am also conjuring up categories and
relationships that legitimize certain kinds of politics, for instance strict government intervention in the social
sphere. Once you have checked for the five elements listed above, follow up by examining additional rhetorical
figures to see how these frame the meaning of specific statements. Things to look for include parallelisms,
hyperboles, tri-colons, synecdoches, rhetorical questions, and anaphora, to name only the most common.
 Direct and indirect speech: does the text include quotes? If so, are they paraphrased or are they cited as
direct speech? In either case, you should track down the original phrases to see what their context was, and what
function they now play in your source material.
 Modalities: see if the text includes any statements on what “should” or “could” be. Such phrases may
create a sense of urgency, serve as a call to action, or imply hypothetical scenarios.
 Evidentialities: lastly, are there any phrases in the text that suggest factuality? Sample phrases might
include “of course”, “obviously”, or “as everyone knows”. A related question then is what kinds of “facts” the
text actually presents in support of its argument. Does the text report factuality, actively demonstrate it, or
merely suggested it as self-evident? One of the strongest features of discourse is how it “naturalizes” certain
statements as “common sense” or “fact”, even if the statements are actually controversial (and in discourse
theory, all statements are controversial). Be on the look-out for such discursive moves.
9) Interpret the data

You now have all the elements of your analysis together, but the most important question still remains: what
does it all mean? In your interpretation, you need to tie all of your results together in order to explain that the
discourse is about, and how it works. This means combing your knowledge of structural features and individual
statements, and then placing those findings into the broader context that you established at the beginning.
Throughout this process, keep the following questions in mind: who created the material you are analysing?
What is their position on the topic you examined? How do their arguments draw from and in turn contribute to
commonly accepted knowledge of the topic at the time and in the place that this argument was made? And
maybe most importantly: who might benefit from the discourse that your sources construct?

10) Present your findings

Once you have the answer to your original question, it is time to get your results across to your target
audience. If you have conducted a good analysis, then you now have a huge amount of notes from which you
can build your presentation, paper, or thesis. Make sure to stress the relevance, and to move through your
analysis based on the issues that you want to present. Always ask yourself: what is interesting about my
findings, and why should anyone care? A talk or a paper that simply lists one discourse feature after another is
tedious to follow, so try to focus on making a compelling case. You can then add evidencefrom your work as
needed, for instance by adding original and translated examples to illustrate your point. For some academic
papers, particularly graduation theses, you may want to compile the full account of your data analysis in
an appendix or some other separate file so that your assessors can check your work.

Mind the limitations:

Discourse analysis offers a powerful toolbox for analysing political communication, but it also has its pitfalls.
Aside from being very work-intensive, the idea that you only need to follow a certain number of steps to get
your results can be misleading. A methodology is always only as good as your question. If your question does
not lend itself to this sort of analysis, or if many of the steps I list above do not apply to you, then come up with
an approach that suits your project. Don’t be a methodologist: someone who jumps at a set of methods and
applies them to everything in a blind fit of activism. Always remain critical of your own work.

This means being mindful of the shortcomings in your approach, so that you do not end up making claims that
your material does not support. A common mistake is to claim that a discourse analysis shows what people
think or believe (or worse: what entire societies think or believe). Discourse analysis is a form of content
analysis. It is not a tool to analyse the impact of media on audience members. No amount of discourse analysis
can provide adequate evidence on what goes on in people’s heads.

What we can learn from a discourse analysis is how specific actors construct an argument, and how this
argument fits into wider social practices. More importantly, we can demonstrate with confidence what kind of
statements actors try to establish as self-evident and true. We can show with precision what rhetorical
methods they picked to communicate those truths in ways they thought would be effective, plausible, or
even natural. And we can reveal how their statements and the frameworks of meaning they draw
from proliferate through communication practices.