Using a discourse interview method, the way that professionals read resumes was investigated. Results showed that professional readers shared a special inferential reading of resumes; however they did not share the kind of consistent reading that might result in a formula of how to write resumes. Shortcomings of popular prescriptions for writing…

An analysis of gender differences in the use of compliments in one genre of written discourse is presented based on a set of 47 peer reviews of academic papers written by graduate students in the form of letters. Women are found to make greater use of compliment intensifiers and personal referencing than are men. (49 references) (Author/LB)

Dunlop's account of narrative resolves puzzles about second-order desire and evincing complex emotions, but it works with a too simple view of emotion. This article suggests how a different view of the connection between narrative and emotion can have similar consequences. (five references) (Author/LB)

Ways in which the notion of causation is expressed in written British English are examined in a study that collected 130 different expressive devices. The use of causative conjunctions was found to be the most frequent of eight major ways of marking causation, closely followed by causative adverbs. (21 references) (Author/LB)

A language-in-context model is presented that integrates linguistic analysis of higher levels of organization in writing with analysis of student use of grammatical resources. Procedures for assessing student writing that are based on this model and used for diagnostic purposes are illustrated with texts by seven year olds. (23 references)…

Explores how graphic symbols came to represent underlying linguistic constituents. It is suggested that the relationship between speech and writing may be just the opposite of what is traditionally assumed. Writing systems may provide the concepts and categories for thinking about the structure of speech rather than the reverse. (47 references)…

Procedures useful in teaching translation are presented, including the following: silent reading, focused rereading, identifying vocabulary, dictionary work, oral translation, written translation, rereading the translation. (three references) (LB)

Reconsiders the usual typologies of diagram presentations, questioning accepted taxonomies. Examines diagrammatic structures, revealing some hardened categories. Suggests that new discoveries can be made if questions are raised about how information is framed. (SR)

PPRUE(H), which stands for Present, Prepare, Rehearse, Use, Exhibit, and (H)omework, a student-centered oral skills learning device with an optional writing component, is described. It is designed to be used at intervals throughout the school year in foreign language classrooms with oral skills components. (LB)

Expansion of the progressive (be+ing periphrastic form, where "be" is at the same time the copula and a statement of existence) was a major feature of modernization of the English verb system in the 19th century. A survey (1787-1880) of a collection of private letters, most from famous writers, reveals that linguistic factors played a small role…

Responds to Block's 1996 paper "Not So Fast: Some Thoughts on Theory Culling, Relativism, Accepted Findings, and the Heart and Soul of SLA," which deals in part with blackboxing, the practice of citing references in support of some given position. Maintains that Block raises an important issue but fails to demonstrate important…

Examined preschool children's self-management as they engaged in a literacy task of constructing an "autonomous" text for others to read. Analyzed texts for their holistic quality, and identified metacognitive utterances surrounding the texts, which showed the development of metacognition and its indications for preschoolers. (JPB)

Examines the development of sales genres in mainland China in the pre-reform period (1949-78) and the reform period (1978 to the present). Discusses how all the sales genres are related to the three larger genres in Chinese written discourse: the superior writing to the subordinate, the subordinate writing to the superior, and equals writing to…

Focuses on language shift in a signed language in contact with the spoken language. Suggests that British Sign Language, under the influence of spoken English, has witnessed effects such as increased use of finger spelling as well as changes in lexical and function words that reflect spoken/written language structures. (Author/VWL)

Examines the range and depth of English in India and argues that these Kachruvian notions go a long way towards explaining how the language is used, exploited, extended, and recreated in the sub-continent. Data, both written and spoken, are presented, and it is suggested that in-depth analyses of such data are a prerequisite to any real…