Distinguishes between the letter of the law and its spirit in the use (or misuse) of E-Prime (a form of English that eliminates all forms of the verb "to be"). Shows how sentences written in E-Prime can still be fraught with unclear thought. Considers how E-Prime can be abused. (HB)

Discusses the feasibility of the total elimination of conjugated forms of "to be," as advocates of E-Prime suggest. Claims that a total elimination is not acceptable, because certain forms of the verb "to be" are more feasibile and therefore more important than others. (HB)

Questions the usefulness of E-Prime (a form of English that eliminates all forms of the verb "to be"), particularly the claim that E-Prime provides a simple discipline by which dishonesty and prejudice can be eliminated from communication. Claims that restructuring verbal communication treats the symptoms of dishonesty without curing the…

Provides an overview and critique by a well-known proponent of E-Prime (a form of English that eliminates all forms of the verb "to be") of the articles included in this special issue. Advocates more widespread use of the E-Prime form, especially in English classes. (HB)

Discusses some of the historical background of the movement to do away with the verb "to be" and employ E-Prime (a form of English that eliminates all forms of the verb "to be"). (HB)

Suggests that the form of English called "E-Prime" (which eliminates all forms of the verb "to be") has a certain attraction, but argues that many important uses of the verb "to be" remain in the English language. Provides examples and develops a method of designating the various forms of the verb in terms of the…

Discusses the beneficial aspects of "E-Prime" (a form of English that eliminates all forms of the verb "to be") and shows how it can be used to alert students to the pitfalls of that verb. Provides examples of how one form of the verb can be greatly overused and abused. (HB)

Argues that a complete alteration of English to the form called "E-Prime" (a form of English that eliminates all forms of the verb "to be") is not possible and would result in losing important speech patterns, such as identities and identification. Lists patterns of identification. Concludes by advocating "E-Choice"…

Compares paragraph topic sentence use in technical writing with four other kinds of writing. Shows topic sentences used less often in technical texts. Investigates two textual factors influencing topic sentence variation. Shows topic sentence use constrained jointly by rhetorical genre and paragraph length. Offers pedagogical applications. (SR)

Small-scale empirical study was conducted of what characterizes morning-magazine radio language and how and why it varies. Results indicated radio language was mixture of spoken and written language, but relationship between amount of discourse planning and type of social interaction was not the same in radio situations as it is in spoken and…

Explores the function of memory in critical theory, particularly in the work of Herbert Marcuse, as the basis for a critical argumentation. Argues that Marcuse's view suggests that argument is a "re-membering" of what had been split asunder--reason, imagination, and the capacity of action. Discusses other implications of Marcuse's…

Discusses communicative acts involving at least two persons, whereby a relationship is established between them, based on the use of language in a given context. The purpose of this study is to clarify the notions that such a relationship is often considered to require or contain some measure of understanding between the persons engaged in it. (19…

Short-term stability of cohesion scores for spoken narratives of 39 language-impaired and 39 normally developing elementary-aged children was investigated. Mean cohesive adequacy scores were stable across narratives, but stability coefficients were only moderately large. Results also indicated that stability increases as children gained experience…

Presents data from a study that was designed to find pragmatic motivation of word order variation in main and independent clauses containing only three constituents: a one-valency verb, a lexical subject noun phrase, and a prepositional phrase. (15 references) (GLR)

Examines remediation as a social construct, as the product of perceptions and beliefs about literacy and learning. Illustrates how inaccurate and limiting notions of learners as being somehow cognitively defective can be created and played out in the classroom. Details the interactive processes that contribute to one student's being defined as…