The present study offers a novel methodology for corpus-based discourse analysis that combines Kenneth Burke's (1968, 1969) dramatistic method of text analysis and the corpus techniques of keyword extraction and concordance reading. Applying the methodology, a two-stage analysis of Donald Trump's 2016 Orlando speech has been conducted: First, at a…

This article looks into the theme--rheme pattern of presidential press conference that can be employed by speakers to organize the text in order to have a texture. Since a message should be conveyed in clause contextually and co-textually. Therefore, the objectives of this study are to analyze and describe the theme-rheme pattern employed in…

There is general agreement that discourse markers help dialogue partners to highlight or locate available goal- or coherence-related information. There is, however, less agreement with regard to how the nature of the relation between the marked stretch of discourse and the rest of the dialogue should be defined. Recent work (Louwerse &…

Research is reviewed on systematic differences in expository styles due to cultural or linguistic diversity. The critique concentrates on the method of data gathering, the usage of the categorization "Oriental," and the description of English paragraph development. An investigation is reported that consisted of an analysis of the Japanese and…

Focuses on Lyndon Johnson's public statements about Vietnam during the final eighteen months of his presidency in an attempt to gain a perspective on the factors which shape presidential rhetoric. (MH)

An examination of the stylistic differences among writing from literary specialists, from science, and from social science shows that a more precise diagnosis of the writing problems of clarity and coherence is possible. Ten randomly selected paragraphs from each of four publications, the "Canadian Medical Association Journal," the "Canadian…

A study of the use of citations (references to the work of previous researchers) in articles reporting research focuses on the writer's motivation in using them. It is suggested that citation is a rhetorical element that contributes considerably to the persuasive tone of the article, and that citations are introduced primarily to support or be…

A discussion of approaches to comparative rhetoric looks at diverse approaches and proposes that analysis can be enriched by incorporating the perspective of ethnography of communication. Contributions to the field of comparative rhetoric from second language learning and teaching mainstream rhetoric, and text linguistics are discussed, focusing…

A revisionist account of the development of ideas about semantics in modern theories of language is presented, focusing on the rift between Noam Chomsky and Generative Semanticists about the concept of deep structure, or the role of meaning in grammar. The discussion re-appraises the paradigm that has dominated American linguistics since the…

Contrastive rhetoric (CR), the study of cultural influence on written discourse has provided educators with a way to conceptualize and address anomaly in grammatically correct English texts since its birth in the mid-1960s. The development of this notion, particularly in the past 10 years, can be characterized as evolving from a narrow,…

Sensitivity to syntactic structure can be increased by direct instruction. (JH)

One fruitful line of research has been to explore the local linguistic as well as global rhetorical patterns of particular genres in order to identify their recognizable structural identity, or what Bhatia (1999: 22) calls "generic integrity". In terms of methodology, to date most genre-based studies have employed one or the other of Swales'…

Surprisingly little work has been done to develop a valid rhetoric of scientific and technical discourse. What little work has been done has not kept pace with the changing needs of scientific and technical disciplines. Research is needed, specifically, on the rhetoric of technology assessment, on visual communication, and on technical manuals.…

The book is an introduction to the field of contrastive rhetoric, an area of research in second language learning that identifies learners' problems in composition and attempts to explain them by referring to the rhetorical strategies of the first language. It traces the history of contrastive approaches to the study of second language writing and…