Contends that rhetoric of apologia constitutes a discrete genre and suggests that the needs that motivate apologetic speaking are inner-directed, social or personal and tend to shape the speech itself. (MH)

Recounts observations made by Professor Carroll C. Arnold at the 1976 SCA National Meeting concerning the rhetorical aspects and implications of the American experience. (MH)

Compares two methods for evaluating syntactic complexity and maturity: (1) the T-unit method of W. K. Hunt and (2) the sentence weight method of P. DiStephano and S. Howie. Concludes that sentence weight is no more accurate than T-units, and more difficult to compute. (JG)

Contends that simultaneous speech is not necessary for the recognition of "interruption" by interlocutors. A speaker's "completion right" is validated by how long s/he has been speaking, how often s/he has spoken, the number of "points" s/he has made, and the rights of some speakers to speak about some topics. (SED)

Presents a conceptual framework for analyzing and interpreting turn exchange and speaking turns from two perspectives: that of the surface forms of turn taking such as smooth and simultaneous exchanges and that of an empirical analysis of the formal or underlying structure of a turn-taking system. (SED)

Points out that the future of technical writing can be sustained only if teachers persist in setting for technical writing the same standards they apply to other sophisticated modes of writing, and if they require refinement in style as well as accuracy in content. (MS)

Suggests the concept of convention provides a basis for teaching the cross-curricular writing course. Describes an experimental freshman writing course which focused on the written discourse of five disciplines: art history, history, biology, literature, and philosophy. (RAE)

Examines the strategic coordination of local and global textual resources in conversations of dyads with three different patterns of interaction involvement. Finds the dyads seemed to rely on integrated discourse strategies leading to the use of unified configurations of discourse resources. (MS)

Discusses secrecy and disclosure as rhetorical forms, especially as expressed in the archetypal role of translator and in commonplaces. (JK)

Maintains that John Quincy Adams'"Lectures on Rhetoric and Oratory" and Adams Sherman Hill's "Principles of Rhetoric" reveal significant differences in what their authors perceive to be the most salient environmental conditions facing their students. (JK)

Reviews distinctions between negative and positive letters and summarizes the advice commonly offered for conveying negative messages. Outlines the tenets of Grice's theory of conversational implicature, and discusses sociolinguistic explanations for the use of indirectness in negative messages. Analyzes the texts of several letters, using Grice's…

Describes the unitary concept of preference, investigates the properties of that concept, differentiates related concepts including conversational implicature, and reveals common confusions in understanding "preference" in its everyday usage and as a technical notion.( Author/DJD)

Suggests that because feminism is impelled to seek experimental forms of discourse that attempt to propose and practice a radically different mode of communication, feminist works require careful consideration. Discusses two books by Luce Irigaray, SPECULUM OF THE OTHER WOMAN and THIS SEX WHICH IS NOT ONE. (ARH)

Examines topic sentences in academic writing, specifically the percentage of (1) minor topic sentences, (2) minor and major topic sentences (combined), and (3) topic sentence "influence." Shows that writers rely heavily on topic sentences, although there are variations across disciplines that may be attributed to paragraph length,…

Describes conversational joint remembering in terms of three hierarchically related functions--framing and orientation, correspondence functions, and validation function. Highlights the importance of studying remembering as a social activity governed by the setting in which it occurs. (JD)