FOUR PASSAGES OF EXPOSITORY PROSE WERE ANALYZED IN TERMS OF EXTRA-SENTENCE STRUCTURES IN THREE SYSTEMS--LEXICAL, GRAMMATICAL, AND RHETORICAL. NONSENSE WORDS WERE SUBSTITUTED FOR ALL CONTENT WORDS IN EACH PASSAGE, GRAMMATICAL ENDINGS ON WORDS WERE RETAINED, AND PARAGRAPH INDENTIONS WERE REMOVED. FORTY-EIGHT COLLEGE UNDERGRADUATES WERE INSTRUCTED TO…

Results of experiments (1) to assess the degree of agreement with which subjects identify paragraph boundaries in unindented prose passages, (2) to determine whether a significant proportion of the cues to paragraph structure are formal in nature, (3) to ascertain whether the identification of paragraphs in different kinds of prose differentially…

An evaluative review of Francis Christensen's generative rhetoric theory and its application to teaching freshman composition. (DS)

In the context of classroom communication, there is a premium on the clarity of the message, and instructors will typically employ multiple linguistic cues to highlight information structure. Using a model of intonation in discourse [Brazil, D. (1986). "The communicative value of intonation in English." Birmingham, England: University of…

Explores the surface structure observed in Japanese and English spontaneous oral narratives from the perspective of subject and theme. Although both the Japanese and the English narratives employ participant identification as a major cohesive ingredient, how referring forms are used and how they contribute to discourse organization differ. (SED)

To determine formal principles of discourse processing and production, a study reviewed theories in various disciplines related to language and/or thought and thereby rationalized an approach of quantitative matrix analysis to the problems caused by discrepant discourse structures encountered in second language learning. Statistical analyses of…

The purpose of this book is twofold: to present important coherence models and to suggest how insights from coherence theory and research can be introduced to the classroom. The book is organized into four sections: theoretical overview, coherence models, studies of student writing, and pedagogical approaches. Articles include: "Seven Problems in…