Examines cohesion in the introductions to some scientific articles and compares the patterns to those from popularizations. Discusses a computational model of cohesion. Argues that readers of scientific articles must have a knowledge of lexical relations to see the implicit cohesion, whereas readers of popularizations must see the cohesive…

Examines how conceptions of the text, reader, author, and context are altered by postmodern theories of intertextuality (ITX), and what ITX itself has come to mean as articulated by this theorizing and research. The idea of deconstructing reading is described. (Contains 48 references.) (JP)

Describes the design and construction of Resume Automatique a Fragments Indicateurs (RAFI), a system of automatic text summary which sums up scientific and technical texts. The RAFI system transforms a long source text into several versions of more condensed texts, using discourse analysis, to make searching easier; it could be adapted to the…

Argues that discourse knowledge (knowledge readers have of the way a text or story is organized) can be taught from the earliest grades using authentic contexts and quality children's literature as well as the children's own writing. Suggests specific books and specific strategies to foster the students' knowledge of three patterns of…

Looks at a sample of instructional documents using Restricted and Elaborated Code and metadiscourse analysis to determine how easily users can read and understand the material. Suggests that the documents do not send a clear message to authors and editors and can be stylistically hard to understand and consequently, the approved standards…

Explores the relationship between linguistic and conceptual structuring of narratives, focusing on linguistic devices used by German and U.S. narrators to identify transitions in text structure. Identifies and outlines two types of narrative orientation: differentiating events and integrating events. (SR)

Cites the lack of authenticity in intertextuality (ITX) research and argues that collaborative learning environments offer a better research setting. One particular research context, literature circles, is examined to identify characteristics of generative research environments for the study of ITX. (Contains 27 references.) (JP)

Indicates a facilitation in undergraduate students' reading time for congruent text marking for both cohesion and textual structure that manifested itself at different points in the sentence. Suggests that readers are highly sensitive to coherence marking devices, and strictly local coherence models cannot completely account for what readers are…

This study investigated the representations that readers construct for narratives describing a sequence of events. Participants read narratives describing 4 successive events in chronological order (Event 1, Event 2, Event 3, Event 4 [E1, E2, E3, E4] Experiment 1) or in nonchronological order with E1 being mentioned in a flashback (E2, E3, E1,…

This qualitative study investigated written discourse in the form of personal letters written by ten people with aphasia following stroke and ten people with cognitive-language disorder as a consequence of traumatic brain injury, and compared their performance with 15 non brain-damaged writers. Personal letters perform the dual function of…

Several examples of genre analysis are examined to identify criteria employed for the identification of textual boundaries. The conclusion is that there are nonlinguistic reasons for generic staging in texts and that the search for structural divisions is a search for cognitive boundaries in terms of convention, appropriacy, and content. (42…

Describes and categorizes patterns we construct between texts of different kinds (patterns of intertextuality). Whether the principles of intertextuality can be applied to other sorts of semiotic "texts" such as computer graphics and hypermedia is raised as a crucial question for the future of educational research. (Contains 48…

Investigates fifth-grade children's expectations for stories in relation to knowledge of literature/reading ability. Shows "high readers" included more high-level story propositions and structurally important story information than did low readers; students who included structurally important story information scored higher on knowledge…

Textual analysis is an umbrella term used to introduce undergraduate students to a variety of methods for describing and interpreting messages contained in texts. A common goal of a number of textual analysis methods, including the analysis of qualitative interviews, social text analysis, discourse analysis, and conversation analysis, is to…

This paper considers the generic structure of "Conclusion" chapters in PhD theses or dissertations. From a corpus of 45 PhD theses covering a range of disciplines, chapters playing a concluding role were identified and analysed for their functional moves and steps. Most "Conclusions" were found to restate purpose, consolidate research space with a…