A study investigated properties of children's naturally occurring arguments. The arguments were sampled from transcripts of 20 discussions held in 4 fourth-grade classrooms. The principal findings were that children's arguments are filled with seemingly vague referring expressions; that the arguments sometimes do not contain explicit conclusions;…

Reviews linguistic structures in the annual reports of a machine tool manufacturer. Concludes that, as profits decreased and the news became more negative, linguistic structures (including verb structures, thematic structures, context and cohesion, and condensations) suggested a factual, "objective" situation caused by circumstances not…

Investigates how numbers function rhetorically by influencing persuasive appeals, the structure of messages, and the use of language. Argues that "three" is the dominant numerical motif in the English language. Asserts that, as long as numbers influence the speech, behaviors, and perceptions of people, their rhetorical significance must…

Introduces the concept of powerful/powerless talk for instructors interested in incorporating this construct in their classrooms. Provides a brief summary of powerful/powerless talk literature. Offers guidelines for introducing these research findings into the curriculum. (AEW)

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 31 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the rhetoric of confrontation in Northern Ireland; (2) rhetorical arguments in public health regulations; (3) epideictic discourse in the founding of the…