lra n sa ctio"n a ll in te rac¡ io na l d ivide, as well as 6 Written language

: is Sa cks el 11[. (1974) ,

173) ~~~ Duncan and Niederehc (1974 ) a re oí
n I crrn cism of turn-raki ng rnod els has come from
i) . nd Power and Dal M arrello (1986 ).
u s a re absenr is d ealr with in Burrerworrh H'
. 1). ' lile
(1986 ).
in rro d u ctio n to n arrati vc, wh ile Hinds (1984) '1 haven 't opened it yet ,' said the
\ .. White Rabbit; 'but it seems to be
rect io ns can be found in Psarhas (1986 ).
a letter, written by the prisoner
. m s of pub,lishc.d ~ater ia ls for spoken English,
to somebody. '
' he generallmphcaClons of conversarion analysis
'It must have been that,' said
the King, 'unless lt was written
iing a re Richards (1983) , G . Brown (1986), and
to nobody, which lsn't usual, you
know.'

Lewls Carral!: Allce's Adventures

In Wonder/snd

6.1 Introduction

Much of what need s to be said concerning written language has already

been said in previous chapters, Ch aprer 1 rouched on the norions of
coherence, c1ause relarions and textual parterns in wrirren language;
Chaprer 2 explored cohesion, rherne and rheme and tense and aspecr,
rak ing many of its examples from writren texrs; and Chaprer 3 examined
lexical cohesion and text-organising voc abulary, again exemplifying with a
number of writren rexr extracts . Even Chapter 5, although it was concerned
with spoken language, made points rhar are relevant to written discourse:
th e active listener and rhe active reader ac.e engaged in very sim ilar pro­
cesses, Also transferable from rhe rest of chis book are two general prin­
cipies: thar not everything de scribed by discourse analysts is relevant ro or
may hav e any immediate applicarions in language teaching, and, on rhe
other hand, rhar rhe more we can learn from discourse an alysts as to how
differenr texrs are organised and how rhe process of creating written rext is
realised at various levels, from small units ro large, rhe more likely we are to
be able ro creare authentic marerials and activities for rhe c1assroom.

6.2 Text types

Unlike our knowledgc of speech, our knowledge of wrirten text has been

147
6 Written language

grea,tly assisted b Jv rhe cxistcnce

'. •
of huge compureri
• •
scd, co rpo
.
ra of wrinen
' .
material such as rhe rwenry-million word Birmingham Collection of Enghsh
Texr (the basis of rhe Collins COBUIl.D dicrionary rr.ojecr ), and corpus­
building over rhe years has lcd ro an inrer~st In der.'llleu raXOn?lllleS of
rexrual types . Howcvcr, we s .rilll~ck hard eVidenCIe of iust h~\\' wn.tte.n rexr
impinges on rhc day-ro-day life ot rnosr peoplc. ~ e can o.bralll sr:JtISCICS for
library-borrowing , or for newspaper sales, and get some Idea ~f whar rnosr
people read of these 'rnainstrearn' rcxr rypcs, b~lr a whale hidden ~arld
exisrs roo, of memos, forrns, noticcs, telexes, rickets, lerrers, hoardlngs,
labels, iunk rnail, ere., and ir is very difficulr ro gucss jusr ~har people's daily
reading and wriring is. Once again, rhc language reacher IS lcfr wlrl~ a rypo­
lagy based on inruirion, or perhaps more ofrcn rhan nor, ~"lth an imposed
syllabus of mainsrrearn rexrs, as the raw material of rcaching.
Reader activity 1 ..-6
Look ar rhis lisr of everyday wrirren rexts and decide how ofrcn you read
and write such texts, 00 an Often/Sometimes/Rarely/Neller scale. Tick the
appropriare box and, if possible, compare your resulrs wirh anorher persono
Read Write
o S R N o S R N
writing in rnost general language courses, Fo
various kinds will a/ways be a uscful rypc '
syllabuses and cxarninarions often deman
wherher narrarive, descriptive or argurncnrari­
find rhe grcatesr challengcs in devising interes
\Ve shall rhercfore consider how lcarners Gil
skills by the insighrs discourse analysis has prr
relarionships berween texrs and their contexts
6.3 Speech and writing
Borh spoken and wrirten discourses are del
conrexrs ro a grearer or lesser degree. The ide
'frcesranding', whereas speech is more closely
undcr attack as an oversirnplification by disi
1982). The rranscripr of a piece of natural co
references irnpossible ro decode withour parr
visual informarion. Sirnilarly, spoken 'langua¡
is used ro accompany acrions being perforn
rypically heavily conrexr-dependent and ma
occurrence of deicric words such as this one, o
that here, which can only be decoded in rclar :

at the rime of speaking. On rhe other hand,

may be quite 'freesranding' in rhar everyrhing
Instrucrion leafler highly srructured, which rnay also be rrue of a:
Lerter ro/frorn friend kind of narrarive,
Public notice This sarne variarion in conrexr-dependabili
Product label sign saying 'NO BICYCLES' is highly context
Newspaper obiruary forbidden ro ride/park a bicycle hcre' or pe
Poem already hired/sold' depending on where rhe [
1
News reporr is true that written rexts such as essays, repor
Academic articlc rend ro be more freesranding and ro conta
Small ads wrirten texrs may srill encode a high degree (
Postcard rolfrom friend reader and wrirer and be ¡usr as opaque as co
Business letter rhis exrracr from a personallerrer.
(6.1) Dear Simon,
Thanks for your tener and me papers
[he chance [O cominue oue conversari
Ir is cenain thar mosr people will read more of rhe rexr rypes lisred in rhe
wasn'r so bad, and I gOl hack about r
reader acrivity rhan acrually write rhem. Nonerheless, apan from speciali.sr
learners, who rend ro have precise reading and wriring needs, ir is sr~1l (AUlhor's dala 1989)
difficulr ro gauge precisely whar rypes of wrirren rexr are mosr useful In We have here references ro anorher rexr sha
language reaching and ro find rhe righr balance berween reading and ('your letrer', '1 too was sorry'), an exophor
148

. o f hu g e computeri sed eorpora o f wr itt e
. in word Birmingh all1 C o lleetio n o f Engl" ~
wriring in rnost ge ne ra l language co urses. For wr it ing pu rposes, Ietters of
BUIL~ d icrio na ry p roj ecr), a nd eo rp ~ss_
various kind s will alw ays be a useful ryp e ro exploit, bur , in addition ,
[Q un IIHer.est 10 dera iled taxon ornies o f
l..ck hard evidc ncc of jusr hu", wrirrcn t exr
( find rhc grc arcst challcnges in devi sing inrere stin g and aurh cnric activi tics.
. most peo plc, We can o bta in sratistics fo r
" r ,er sal es, a nd ger so rne idea of whar mosr
ollll . rcxr rypes, bur a whol e hiddcn world
ro nces, tele xes, tick ers, lerter s, hoarding
¡':Ydifficult to g uess iu sr whar peo p lc's dail~
mn, rhe language rcach er is lefr wirh a rrpo­
1 .ps more ofte~ rh an nor, with an impo sed
the ra w material o f teaching.
'¡((en texrs and decide how o fren yo u read
~l1/So mel imes/Rarely/Never sea /e. Tick the
. co mp a re your results wirh anorher persono
Read W rite
o S R N o S R N
11 read more of the text types listed in the
e. them. ~onetheless, apart from specialisr
,'Ise readmg and writing need s, it is still
. types of writren rext are most useful in
rhe right balance bctween reading and
6.3 Speech and umting
syllabuses a nd c xarninations o fren demand es sa ys or composirions,
wh crh cr narrarivc, de scripri ve o r argurnentari ve, and ir is here that teachcrs
We shall rhcrefore consid er how learners can be assisted in such writing
skills by th e insighrs discourse anal ys is ha s provided inro tcxr rypes and the
relarion ships bctween texts and their conrexr s.
6.3 Speech and writing
Borh spoken and wrirrcn discourses are dependenr on rheir immediare
contexts ro a gr eater or les ser degree. The idea rh at writing is in so rne way
'freesranding', whereas s peech is more dosely tied ro its contexr, has come
under attack a s an o ve rsi m p lifica rio n by discourse analysrs (e.g, Tannen
1982). The transcript of a piece of natural conversation may well conra in
refercnces impossiblc ro decode without particular knowledge or wirhour
visual in fo rrna tio n . Similarly, spo ken 'Ianguage in acrio n ', where language
is used ro accompany actions being performed by rhe speakers, is also
rypically heavily context-dependenr and may show a high frequency o f
occurrence of deictic words such as this one, ouer tbere, near you and bring
that here, which can only be decoded in relation ro where the speakers a re
at the rime of speaking . On the other hand, a broadcast lecrure on radio
may be quire 'freestanding' in rhat e veryrhing is explicir, self-conrained and
highly structured, which ma y also be true of an oral anecdote, joke or other
kind of narrative.
This same variation in contcxr-dependability is found in written rexr s, A
sign saying 'NO BICY CLES' is highly context-dependent: ir may mean 'i r is
Iorbidden ro ridc/park a bicycle here' or perhaps 'a ll available bicyeles
a lrea d y hircd /sold ' , depend ing 0/1 where th e notice is locared, And while ir
is true rhar writren rexrs such as essa ys, reports, insrrucrions and let ters do
tend ro be more freesranding and ro conrain fewer deicti c expressions,
writren rexts may stil] encode a high degree o f shared knowledge berween
reader and wrirer and be just as opaque as con versational rranscripts, as in
rhis extract frorn a personalletter.
(6.1) Deac Simo n,
Thanks for your letter and the papers. 1 too was sorry we didn't get
the chancc to continue oue conversation on the train. My joumey
wasn'r so bad, and 1 got back abollt nine.
(Aurhor' s data 1989)
We bave here refcrences ro anorher rexr sha red by rhe wrirer and reader
(' yo u r letter', '1 too was sorry'), an exophoric refe rence ro 'lh e rrain' (see
149
 In 2.2), and the dcictic back, all of which depend on mutual kuow, 5 eas y chairs
; ro be fully undersrood. As eavesdroppers on rhe rexr, we can o nly 2 sc rcen s
.e inrelligenr guesses (o n mutual knowlcdge in discourse, see Gibbs I dan board
7). But even transparcnr, highly explicit rexts are written by so rnco nc for 1 rnonopol y, I chcss board , I SC! uf I
Sorne puzzle and worJ garues and rn:
someone and for sorncrhing, and rheir form is dererrnined by these facrors .
lmplicirness and explicitness will depcnd on whar is bcing communicared 1. Ser up th c Jan board o n rhe (eh, on
ro whom, rather rhan rnerely on wherher rhe discourse is written or spokcn . 2. Arrange 5 cas y chairs and 1 coffee ta
C1assroom activiries which bring out rhe differences betwecn conrexr. window .
dependenr and relatively Ireesranding discourscs can be devised based on a 3. Separare che darts comer and the qui
cornbinarion of speaking rasks and writing tasks. ­ 4. Please pur a scrcen on tite edge of lef
rhe quict co m er.
In an exarnple of the rask-based approach (see also extracts (5.10- L2)), a
5. Havc a cup o f tea ro eelax. Thanks a
group of German advanced Icarners of English were instrucred to decide on
(ICC dala 1988-90)
rhe disposirions of furniture and equipmem in a room for a school open
day. The first phase of rhe task was a discussion in rhe room itself of how
besr ro arrange the furnirure; in rhe second phase, rhe group had ro wrire a
note ro rhe school careraker explaining rheir requirernenrs. Thus ir was Reader activity 2 .....a
predicred thar the spoken phase would be highly conrexr-dependent and the
written text derached from its irnrnediate conrext in time and space. The Here is the written texr produced by the oth.
transcript of rhe discussion in rhe first phase conrained a number of deictic what ways does ir differ from rhe firsr grou]
words and phrases such as 'this corner', 'a litrle bir ro the side', 'rhere, reflect perceptions as ro how one writes ro a
where rhe door is', etc. The discussíon also conrained the rurn-raking, Group B:

exchanges and transacrion management thar we examined in detail in lnsteuctions

Chaprcr 5, as well as reflccrions on the real-time and planning constrainrs
of speech ín progress ('wa it a minute', 'now, whar's nexr?') . In short, al1
sorts of elemenrs occurred thar would be out of place in the next (written)
phase of rhe rask,
The writren phase (rhe lerrer ro the careraker) then involved the learners
in a number of d ifferem discoursal problems rypica] of (rhough not unique
ro) writing: an absent addressee, detachment from the relevant physical
environmenr as a shared comext for sender and receiver and the resultant
need ro be explicit, and the choice of how ro 'srage ' the text (fr iendly note?
bare list of requirements?). In facr, rhe twO differcnt groups who did rhe
acrivity produced quire different wrieten Output, and the feedback session
afterwards with the tutor led ro a very inreresring discussion on the cultural
differences in sending a leeter to a school careraker in Brirain and in Germany.
This is the te?,t one group produced:
(6.2) Group A:
Dear ]ohn,
Would you be kind enough to get room no. 4 ready for open day and
as games room.
You will need :
2 square and one rectangular rabie
quite c1ear pictures of whom rhey shollld
1 coffee ta ble
relationship they had with ihis persono Thus t
14 chairs
linguistic differences connecred with such
1. Put a daet board between the windov
2. Paeallel to the windows, install a scre
distance of the loudspeaker.
3. PUf rwo square tables with foue chaie
4. Put two coffee rables with rwo chairs
tite door, bctween rhe door and rhe e
5. In rhe middle of rhe room, place anot
chairs .
(lCC dala 1988-90)
Similar problems arise with wriring acriv itie
arise with spoken acrivities: the learners I
instructions and assllme rhat the caretaker i
open day, and therefore not include anything
group B's effort seems to do), or e!se, as mel
differences of cultural perception affecting I
clear was that the participants did not write

150

i uck, all of which depend on mutual kn
• •As e·av 1:-sd roppers on r he rexr we _
' can
mutua I k nowled ge in discoursc see G'bb'
, hlY exp lireir
, rexts are wrirren by somco
'1
' ·
d therr ' ,
'11 d torrn IS determlned bv¡ rhesee factors
'1 epend 0/1 ~har is being communícated
\11 wherher rhe discourse is writrer¡ or
' . spa ken
I b nng our rhe differences berween Cont'
di di
.[ :111 Ing iscourses can be devised based
and wriring rasks, ,.
ased approach (see also extracrs (5.10-[2))
. rners of English were insrructed ro decid ,a
In d eoui equipmenr In a room for a school oeon
k was a diISCUSSlon . 111
, rh e room itself of hpen
n the ~e~ond phase, the group had ro wrir~:
xplaining r~elr requircmenrs. Thus ir was
e.would .be highly conrexr-dependenr and rhe
; irnrnediare contexr in rime and space. The
t~ e firsr phase conrained a number of deicric
his comer', 'a lirtle bit ro the side' 'the re,
di , 1
ISCUSSlon also conrained, the rurn-raking,
anagemenr that we exarnined in derail in
15 ?n th~ :eal-rimc and planning consrrainrs
nunure, now, whar's nexr?'). In short, all
would be out of place in the nexr (wrirren)
ro the careraker) then involved the learners
rsal problems rypical of (rhough nor unique
ee, derachmenr from the relevanr physical
~t for sender and receiver and rhe resulram
Ice of how ro 'srage' rhe rexr (friendly note?
act, .rhe rwo differem groups who did rhe
Ir wrmen ourpur, and rhe feedback session
a very inreresring discussion on rhe cultural
I school careraker in Brirain and in Germany.
::lduced:
)ugh ro ger room no. 4 ready for open day and
19u1ar rabIe
6.3 Speech and writing
5 ea sy chairs
ow,
2 scree ns
onlv
I dan board
.e S 1 monopol y, I chess board, I ser of bridge cards and I roulctte
ne 10r
. Sorne puzzle and word garnes and magazines (see librarían)
1. Ser up rhc dart board on the lefr, on thc wal! next ro door.
2. Arrange 5 easy chairs and I coffee rabie in rhe left corner near rhe
. window.
ext­
3. Separare the darrs comer and rhc quiet comer wirh a scrcen.
on a 4. Please put a screen on rhe edge of Id! window in order ro shicld off
rhe quicr comer.
5. Have a cup of Cea ro relax. Thanks a lot for your help!
(ICC data 1988-90)
Reader activity 2 ..-a
Here is rhe written texr produced by rhe orher group doing the acriviry. In
whar ways does ir differ from the firsr group's, and how do rhe (WO texts
reRecr perceptions as ro how one wrires ro a school careraker?
Group B:
lnsrructions
1. Put a dan board berween the window and the loudspeaker.
2. Parallel ro che windows, insrall a screen ro separare the room at
distance of rhe loudspeaker.
3. Put two square rabies with [our chairs each in from of the screen.
4. Put two coffee rabies wirh rwo chairs each on the righc hand side of
che door, berween che door and rhe cunaín.
5. In the middle of rhe room, place anolher square table wirh four
chairs.
(ICC dm 1988-90)
Simílar problems aris e wírh wriríng activíries of rhis kínd ro rhose which
arise wirh s{:oken acrivíries: rhe learners may mísundersrand rhe rask
insrrucríons and assume rhar rhe careraker is expecting a nore abour rhe
open day, and rherefore nor indude anyrhing bU( a lisr of requiremenrs (as
group B's efforr seems ro do), or e1se, as menrioned, rhere may be unseen
differences of culrural perceprion affecring modes of address. Whar was
dear was rhat rhe parricipanrs did nor wrire in a vacuum and had formed
quire dear picrures of whom rhey should wrire to and whar sorr of
relaríonship rhey had wirh rhis persono Thus rhe acriviry nor only brings our
linguisric differcnces connecred wirh such rhings as deixis and lexical
151
6 Written language
specificiry, but also specific problcms that are ever pre senr in writing : who
the readcr is, what the writer's rclarionsh ip wirh rhe rcader is, whar rhe
purpose of rhe tcxr is, and whar textual form is appropriutc, givcn rhnr
answers ro rhcsc qucsrions are huilr inro thc activiry or can reasonahlv be
expected ro be shurcd knowledge . This ser of qucsrions cncodcs in ano'thcr
form of words rhe (le/d, tenor and mode consrraints of Halliday's modcl of
language in irs social eontext (see Halliday 1978).
Lerters are a good exarnple of a discourse type where rhc receiver is
usually a speeified individual or grollp, unlike rhe classroorn or homework
essay, which is ofren wrirten for an unknown audience, bur wirh rhe overlay
of knowing rhar the reacher/exarnincr will he rhe pseudo-reader. Lctter­
wriring acriviries can rherefore raise all the importanr quesrions of rhe
relarionship between discourse srrucrure and conrexrual factors, as we have
seen . There also appear ro be crcss-culrural problems coneerning letters,
especially business lerrers, jenkins and Hinds (19R7) found significanr
differenees in orienration between American, French and japanese business
letters; rhe American letrers in rheir data were gencrally more informal and
reader-orienred, with the writer srrongly projccting the reader's needs and
assumed pllrposes. The Freneh data were writer-oriented, wirh the wrirer
intent upon prorecting his/her position and rernaining more formal. The
]apanese tcxts oriented rowards rhe mid-ground, the rclarionship between
writer and reader.
So writing is nOl fundamentally differenr from speech. While ir is rrue
rhat the writer usually has time to eompose and think, and is nor going to
be inrerrupted by rhe reader bidding for a mm or saying 'Sorry, can't srop
now, must rush!', all the other important fanors consrraining whar is said
and how ir is said are present in writing as mueh as in speeeh.
6.4 Units in written discourse
In all our discussions on speaking, rhe senrence was dismissed as being of
dubious value as a unir of diseourse (espeeially in Chapter 4). The sentence
is more obvious as a grammaricaI unir in wriring, although cerrainly nar in
all kinds of wriring: signs and noriees, small ads, notes, forms, tiekers,
cheques, all eontain frequent examples of 'non-sentences' (iisrs of single
words, verbless clauses, etc.). The internal eonstruction of the sentence has
always been the provinee of grammar, bur in Chapter 2, we argued thar a
number of things in c1ause and sentenee grammar have implieations for the
diseourse as a whole, in particular, word order, eohesion, and tense and
aspeer. For rhe purposes of our diseussion of these discoursal fearmes, the
sentence will have no special status other than as a grammatical and
orthographic unit whieh can be exploired where desired for pedagogieal
illustratíon, just as rhe c1allse can.
152
Ir is possible ro devise inreractiv- activir
word order, cohcsion and scquences of ten:
tcxr-jigsaw has been uscd successfully wi
[evels ro focus un bortom 'lI p ehoices uf I
class, and any orher dcsired activiries carril
is familiar, ir is then prcsented in jigsaw
individual scnrenccs (or indecd groups of
decisi ón is purely a pracrical one). Whar ti
individual gers rhc rexr with sentences (or
ano has ro recreare sentences 2, 4, 6, 8, etc.
farniliariry wirh rhe contento The orher groi
2, 4, 6, 8, ere, and has ro recreare rhe odd
ncw senrenccs are ready, rhc sentences orig
rhe two sets of creared senrences are put i
coherenr and eohesive rext, and the pa ir
changes needed unril they are sarisfied w
acrivity produces inreresring resulrs, as \
learners of English:
(6.3) The original texr rhat was read and
problems in ciries (see extraer (3.10):
two sers of creared scntences were d.
I. Ar presenr, 15% of Englands surfaec
man made m:uerial, mosr of whieh (
of concrete bond.
2. And yer rhe governmenr suggests bu
ro cope wirh the problem of too mal
can hardly be rhe answer.
3. While I don'r in rhe leasr doubr the ~
observations lead me ro chal1enge rh
have been carried our.
4. Day by day I watch che rraffie ¡am o
more slowl)' rhan my walking speed.
5. If 1 was ro take this as indiearive of ;
nerwork, rhe fol1owing could be sai(
6. There are four possiblc ways in whi.
wirh : one is to build more roads and
environmem, rwo is to tax cars and
our licenees for rhose who really nee
consideration the use of motorbikes
7. Conceivably, rhe firsr three solutiom
governmem citeJes, but rhey remain
mile compuraríon which dcn'r do th
out of sighr the proper use of eaeh VI
fourth solurion, which is in fact the í
(AUlhor's dara 1989)

blcms thar are cver presenr in writin~ : wh
Ir is possibl e ro devi se inr era cri ve acrivirics wh icl: irivolve dcci sion s on
r' rclarionship wirh thc rcader is, whar rh~
word order, coh esion and sequ en ccs o f ten ses in di scoursc, Thc following
-1 ar textual form is appropriarc, given thar
lexr-jigsaw has hccn uscd successfully with grollps at widcly diffcr enr
:: luilt. i~1to rhe activi~Y 'or can reasonahlv be
'e. 11115 ser of quesnons encodes in anorher
td mode consrrainrs of Halliday's rnode] of
. see Halliday 1978).
l ' of a discourse type whcre the rccciver is
)r group, unlike rhc clas sroorn or homework
r an unkno~n audience, bur wirh rhe overlay
-:xa m lller will be rhe pseudo-reader. Letter­
raise all rhc importanr quesrions (lf rhe
srrucru re and conrexrual fa ctors, as we have
; crc ss-culrural problems concerning Íetrers
.nkins and Hinds (1987) founJ significan;
. en American, French and japanese business
he ir data were generally more informal and
er srrongly projecring rhe readcr 's nceds and
h data were writer-oriented, wirh rhe wrirer
r posirion and remain ing more formal. The
ds the mid-ground, rhe relationship berween
Itally different from speech . While ir is rrue
e ro compose and rhink, and is nar going ro
idJing for a rurn or sa)'íng 'Sorry, can't srop
. imporrant facrors consrraíning what is said
in writing as much as in speech.
.!rse
cing, rhe senrcnce was dismissed as being of
ursc (cspecially in Chapter 4). The senrence
ca l unir in wriring, alrhollgh cerraínly nor in
d norices, small ads, nores, forms, rickers,
ex a mp les of 'non-semenccs' (lists of ,;ngle
r he internal consrruction of rhe sentence has
'arnmar, bur in Chaprer 2, we argued rhar a
senrence grarnmar have implícarions for the
;ular, word order, cohesíon, and tense and
.p díscussion of rhese discours<ll features rhe
sra rus orher than as a grammarical 'and
e exploited where desíred for pedagogical
·an.
6.4 Units in u/ritten discourse
levcls ro foclls on bortom-up choi ce s of rh ese kinds . A texr is read in
class, and any orhcr desircd acriviries ca rricd out nn ir. \'<'hen its contcnr
is familiar, ir is then prcserued in jigsaw formal, divided IIp inro irs
individual scnrcnces (or indccd groups al' senrcnccs or paragraph s; rhc
decision is purely a pracrical on e), What rhis rneans is that one grollp or
individual gcts rhc tcxt wirh sen tcnccs (or paragraphs) 1, 3,5, 7 , 9, etc.
and has [O recrea te senrences 2, 4, 6, 8, etc. in rheir own words from their
familiarity wirh thc content, Th e other group or individual gers senrences
2, 4, 6, 8, etc. and has ro recreare rhe odd -nurnbered en es, Whell all rhe
new scn re nces are rcady , rhc senrences or iginally provided are discarded,
rhe rwo sers of creared senrences are pur rogerher ro see if they makc a
coherenr and cohesive text, and rhe paír or group rogerher rnakc an y
changes needed unril rhey are sarisfied wirh the finished producto The
acriviry produces inreresring resulrs, as wieh chis group of advanced
learners of English:
(6.3) The original text rhat wa s re~d and thcn jigsawed was about rraffic
problems in cities (see extraer (3.10)). The resultant texl whcn rhe
rwo scts of cre:ltcd sentences were.: dovetailed was:
1. At presenr, 15% of Englands surb ce area is covered by sorne kind of
man made m:ltcrial, most of whieh comes in thc shape.: of long stripes
of concrete bond .
2. And ye[ [he govcrnmcnt suggcsrs building even more road s in order
lO cope wirh rhe problcrn of too man )' vehicles in our coumry; rhis
can hardly be the answer.
3. While 1 don'r in rhe least doubr rhe sincerit)' of rhese studies, my own
observations Icad me ro challenge lhe ver)' principies \Vi[h which they
have becn carried out.
4. Day by day 1 warch lhe traffic jam on my wav ro work moving even
more slowly rhan my walkillg spced.
5. If 1 was to take thi s as indi<.:ativc uf f1' problelll wirh the ex isting road
network, the fol1owing could bc sa id.
6. Thcre are four possiblc wa)'s in which lhis dilcmma might be dcalt
wirh: one is ro build more roads and thereby desrroy our
environmellt, two is ro tax cars and perrol hea"ily. three is to give
out licenccs for rhose who really need a car, four is ro rake imo
considerarion rhe use of mororbikes instead of cars.
7. Conceivably, the firs[ three solutions have been discussed in
governmem cireles, bu[ [hey remain within rhe simplistic car/road
mile compuration which dcn'[ do the pmblem any justice. They leave
out of sight rhe proper use of each vehicle. This rakes me ro [he
founh solution, which is in fact the ideal one .
(Aurhor's data 1989)
153
I
6 Written languagc

This acriviry Icd ro a discussion a rn o ng rhc participanrs . Everyon e ag reed vídeos and listen music. In facr Brir.
rhar 'rhese st ud ies ' (sen rcncc 3) rendcrcd rh c rcxr incoherent, and alre rnarivc rnusicians of thc world.
superordinares such as 'rh ese policics', 'rhese vicws', 'rhese ideas ' wcre
3. (From a summary of a rext on [rain
offered ro rnake thc tcxr lcxically cohc sive (see secrion 3.2). Sorne in rhe
Thc passage spea ks about rh c ast ror
group were nor happy with conceiuably (scnrcnce 7) and with its fronr­
probierns wh en one lives in spa ce, a
placing, since (senreuce 3) hao rnentioned road expansion as an idea of gravity. It is necessary a long per
already pur inro pracricc. Alrcrnarives such as 'Thc firsr rhree solurions rnay operations which allow rhe life and
well have been discussed ' , and "Thc firsr rhree solurions havc probably .. .' They are rrained in simple jobs like
were proposed. There werc also macro-leve] discussions on [eatures such as in different operarions as ernergency
the use of first person and whar sorne felr was a clash of register berween rhe so on.
'sa rcasrn' of sentence 1 and the neutral tone of thc rest of the texr, bur, in (Aurhor's data 1989)
the rnain, the group mernbers wcrc concerned with intersentcntial links
affecring cohesion and word ordcr.
The suecess of the jigsaw acrivity was undoubrcdly due ro rhe facr that
the parricipanrs were defending their oum texr, crearcd by themselves,
rather rhan taking a rnodcl rext ro pieccs. The decision-rnaking processes 6.5 Clause relations
were brought ro the surfaee and iudividuals had ro explain and defend their
choices, a proeess more rnorivaring for learners than having to explain the In section 1.9 we looked at che clause-relari
choices of an invis ible, unknown aurhor. There has been a tendency in where ir was stressed rhar rhe unirs of wrirre
teaching rnatcrials ro see knowlcdge of cohesi ón as somerhing ro be tested being co-extensive wirh sentences (rhough I
in relation ro textual products, bur process approaches can also rackle this seen as funcrional segrnents (of anyrhing fro
area, by getting learners ro evaluare rheir own texts as rhey are creating which could be relared ro one another by a
thern (see ]ohns 1986 for Iurrher discussion of pecr evaluations). such as cause-consequence, instrurnenr-acl
and rnarching relarions such as contrastin
segrnenrs of texrs combined ro form the log
Reader activity 3 .....o ro form cerrain characreristic patterns (su.
sequencing of segrnents and how rhe relaric
Look at thcsc pieccs of learner data purely from rhe point of view of were viewed as factors in texrual coherence
intersentential connexions, rhar is, ignoring errors which could be said to In facr, rhe problems which could be su
be principally senrence-internal. Look for problems of cohesion in terms of cohesion by conjuncrion in the lasr reader al
such things as refcrcnce and conjunctioll and decide whar effect sllch a c1ause-re1arional standpoint, in rhar ina~
featmes have on overall comprchcnsibiliry and readability. cr~ares difficulries for rhe reader in relatin
1. (From an essay 011 tOWI1 planning by an ¡raljan lOwn rlanner doing anorher coherently. Bur we also notcd il
an English course.) borderline berween how conjuncrions sigl
Unforrunatel)", nOI alw ays lhe growrh of cil ies go on with an ceetain lexical irems do rhe same is somewl
artention research. II'S the cause of many problems that people have rions su eh as and, so and because have rhei
in living in big dties, and also the dcstruction of rhe environmt:nl. verbs and adjectives such as additiona/, e
2. (From an essay on differences between Italían and British and
sequent{ce), instrumental, reason, and so on .
American teenagers, by an Italian learner.) thar foeus on eonjuncrion and orher local co
The Brirish, Italian and American reenagers are like, bur 1 rhink lhat ar the lexicon ofelause-relarional signals ma
for the Italian tecnagers lIsing lO play football more than British and acriviries can be used for rhis purpose. An op
American recnagers . a senrenee or more) and a c10sing segmenr o
So as for lhe American tecnagcrs using ro play rugby more than four or five srudenrs, and each individual i
Italian and British tccnagers. For use, British tcenagcrs líke ro look containing a differenr lexical c1ause signa!. I

154

·n a rn o ng rhe parti cipanrs, Everyon - agre::cd
rendercd rhe rext incoherenr, and alternativ
p licics', ' rhese views', 'rhese ideas' wer;
11 )' co hesive (see section 3.2.). Sorne in thc
ceivab/y (sentence 7) and wirh its fronr­
Id rnentioned road expansion as an idea
• a r i v c ~ such as 'Thc f1rsr rhrcc solurions may
T he firsr threc solurions have probably .. .'
I macro-leve! discussions on featmes such as
me felr was a c1ash of regisrer berween rhe
. neutral tone of the rest of the text, bur, in
were conccrncd wirh inrersenrcntial links
'd er.
rivity was undoubtedly due ro the facr rhar
19 rhcir oum text, creared by themselves
r ro piece s. The decision-making processe~
individ ua ls had to explain and defend their
ting for learners than having to explain the
In section 1.9 we looked at rhe clause-relarional approach ro written text,
Vil aurhor. There has been a tendency in
ledge of t:Ohesion as sornerhing to be resred
hut process approaches can also rackle this
rlua re their OWIl texrs as rhey are crearing
r discussion of peer evaluarions).
'r data purely from rhe point of view of
is, ignoring errors which could be said ro
Look for problems of cohesion in rerrns of
~ o ll j u n cr i oll and decide what effecr such
'hcnsibility and readability.
11 planning by an ItaJian town rlanner doing
a}'s th e growlh oE cities go on with an
rhe cause oE many oroblems thar people have
nd al so the destruction oE Ihe cnvironmcnL
:rcnces between Italian and British and
. an Italian Icarner.)
I American teenagers are like, but I think that
; usillg to play Eootball more than British and
In tcenagers using to play rugby more than
1gers. For use, British teenagers likc to look
6.5 Clause relations
vid eos and list en rnu sic . In facr Br iru in is rhe counrr y of thc besr
musicians of (he w orld .
J . (Fro m a sllll1mary o f a tcxt on rraining astrouaurs; lralian lcarner.)
Th e paSS'lge sp eaks ahout rhe asrronaur 's lifc, Therc are a 101 of
problerns whcn une: livcs in Sp:lCC, and thc mosr imporrant is ab sen ce
of gravity. It is necessary a long peri od of training 10 learn rhc basic
operations which allow th c life and tbc work wirhin (he Shuttlc.
They are rrained in simple jobs like as cooking or daily routincs and
in differcnr opcrarions as erne rgcncy procedures, sarellire repairs and
so on .
(Auth or's dala 1989)
6.5 Clause relatlons
where ir was stressed that the units of wrirten dis course, rarher rhan always
being co-exrensive wirh senrences (rhough they sometimes are), were best
seen as functional segrnents (of anyrhing from phrasal ro paragraph length)
which could be related ro one another by a finire set of cognirive relarions,
such as cause-conscquence, instrurnenr-achievement, temporal sequence,
and rnarching relarions such as contrasting and equivalence. Individual
segrnents of texrs combined ro form the logical srrucrure of the whole and
10 form cerrain characteristic parrerns (such as problem-solurion). The
sequencing of segments and how rhe relations berwecn rhern are signalled
were viewed as facrors in textual coherence (see Winrer 1977; Hoey 1983).
In facr, rhe problerns which could be subsurned under the norion of
cohesion by conjuncrion in rhe last reader acrivity can also be viewed from
a clause-reiational standpoinr, in that inappropriate use of conjunctions
crea tes difflculties for the reader in relating; segmems of rhe rexr ro one
another coherently. But we also noted in Chapters 2 and 3 thar the
borderline betwcen how eonjunctions signal c1ause rclations and how
certain lexical irems do the same is somewhat blurred, and rhat conjunc­
tions such as and, so and because have their lexical equivalents ín nouns,
verbs and adjectives such as additiona/, cause (as noun or verb), con­
sequent(ce), instrumental, reason, and so on. Therefore, as well as activities
rhat focus on conjunction and orher local cohesive cho¡ees, activities aimed
at the lexicon of c1ause-relational signals may also be useful. Segment-chain
activities can be used for rhis purpose. An opening segment (which eould be
a sentence or more) and a c10sing segment of a iéxt are given ro a group of
four or five srudents, and each individual is given the sran of a segment
conraining a different lexical c1ause signa!. Individllals complete their own
155
6 Written languagc
6.6 Cettin¡
segrncnr wirh as much rexr as rhcv fcc:l ncccssary, and rhcn compare rhcir
~lethods rhar include exerciscs in inserring mi
segrncnt wirh cvcryoue elsc's in ordcr ro asscmble the segrncnts inro a
1llrcxrs . These force the learner ro rnake voca
cohcrenr t("XL This involves not only being satisfied wirh the individual
than the individual scnrcnce inro accounr (1
segrnenrs hut dcciding on au appropriate scquence for rhe chain of clause
1983).
relarions rhat will lcad 10gic,1Ily ro rhe given closing segmeut, and makíng
auy changos felr ncccssary ro impr ove coherence. In rhe following exarnple,
groups of advanccd German lcaruers werc givcn an opening sentence­
'Young people nowadays are cxposed ro a lot of violence on televisi ón, in
Reader activity 4 ...-o
films, and so on ', and the conclusion: 'This would suggesr rhar sorne son of
Look at rhese pieces of learner data, in which
control or censorship may be neccssary ro sol ve the problern.' Individual
how individual senrences relate ro one anot
segment-cards had starters such as:
eirher by using conjuncrions or lcxica] sign
The result is .
rnade more clear.
Tbe reason is .
l. My field of srudy conccrns archicecrur
The [act ís that _..
think, it's a huge world going frorn se
This contrasts ioith ...
rnarerials, to rhe hisrory and composit
of psychological needs and wishes of I
Typical of the rexrs produced by rhe groups was:
2. The problerns of modern ciries are del
(6.4) Young peoplc nowadays are exposed tu a 101 of violencc on Revolurion, and also if rhe citics ~f m
televisio n, in íilms, and so on. The result is that Aoods of blood from rhis event ir's rrue rhat rhcre are
suffocarc thc TV news and films all over Europc, This conrrasts wirh
countries where rhere is :1 srrict control of TV and films. Thc reason (Aurhor's dala 1989)
is an uproored, deculturalized young gcnerarion whieh has ceased to
stiek ro the strigent values of thcir eldcrs. Thc faet is rhat rhe
siruation has gor worse and worse recently, This would suggest rhar
sorne sorr of control or censorship is nccessary .
(Auehor's dala 1989) 6.6 Gettlng to grips with larger patterm

This particular group were unhappy with thc rclarionship bctwcen rhe We have considered larger patterns of disco
Semence beginning 'The reason is .. .' and rhe rest of rhe texr, as rhey felt poims in rhis book. The problem-solutior
rhar sínce nothing had bccn said abollt young peoplc's behcwíour, ir was Chapter 1, and again ín Chaprer 3 in rel<
pointless ro givc a rcason for ir, and a 'deculturalized generaríon' could Chapter 3 also looked at examples of c1aim-cc
hardly be cired as rhe reasun for violencc on rckvision. The opinion was real) panerns, and Chaprers 2 and 5 referred 1
also voiccd rhar rhe final text was a little unnatural \Vith so many front­ These are nor rhe only panerns found in te
plaeed phrases such as 'the reason is ... ', once agaín raising new decisions rhe 'question-answer' pattern, which has sor
on rheme and rheme which had ro be raken in rdation [O rhe texr as a rhc problcm-solution pattern, but whose prirr
whole. The group finally decided [O move rhe words 'rhe resulr is rhar' from of a satisfacrory answer to a question ex pi
sentence 2 to semence 4 [O replace 'rhe reason ¡s', and then to reverse the begillning of rhe text. l-or example: ~
order of semences 3 and 4.
The aim of rhe activiry was ro reproduce so me of rhe processes of choice
rhar are involved in using rhe lexicon of c1ause-relational signals, once
again as an alrernative to only examining rexrual products comaining such
items. This does nor mean thar cohesive and c1ause-rclarional featu res
cannor also bc usefully rackled on readymade rexts; alongside rhe process
approach to wriring, rhcre is a healrhy rradirion of problcm-solving

156
 6.6 Getting ro grips ioith larger patterns
I cy feel necessary, and rhen compare rheir
mcthods that include exerciscs in in serting missing linking and signal words
n o rd er ro assernble the segrnenrs into a
in rcxrs. Thcsc force che learncr ro rnake vocabulary choices rhat rake more
t only being sarisficd wirh the individual
rhan rhe indiv idual sen teuce inro accounr (e.g . C o c, Rycroft and Ernest
p ro p ria re sequence for thc chain of clause
1983).
ro the given closing segmem,. and making
p re ve coherence. In the followlIlg cxample
a r ne rs wcre given an opening sentcnce;
Reader activity 4 ..-+)
cpo sed ro a lor of violence on relcvision, in
rsion: "T h is would suggesr rhar sorne son of
Look at thcsc pieces 'o f learncr data, in which rherc sccrn ro be problems of
ecessa ry ro solve rhe problern.' Individua!
how individual sentences relate ro onc anorher. Suggesr ways in which,
as :
eirhcr by using eonjunctions or lexical signals, rhe relarionships can be
made more clear.
1. My ficlJ of study concerns architecture. lr's not a ficld of srudy, I
th ink, ir's a huge world going frorn science to knowledge of
marcrials, ro (he hisrory and cornposirion of cultures, to knowledge
of psychological needs and wishes of men and women in the world.
y rhe groups was:
2. The problems of modcrn ciries are derived Frorn rhe Industrial
ys are exposed ro a lar of violence 011 Rcvolution, and also if (he cines ~f 111)' country were nor intcrcssed
1 so o n. The resulr is rhat floods of blood from rhis evenr ir's rrue that there are relarions betwcen every cirics .
.ind films al! over Europe. This contrasrs wirh
(AudlOC'S data 1989)
s a strict control of TV and films. Thc rcason
ira lized young gencration which has ceased ro
ues of rheir elders. The facr is rhar the
: a nd worse rccenrly. This would suggesr that
. ccnsorship is necessary.
6.6 Getting to grips wlth larger patterns

happy wirh rhe relarionship berween rhe
is . . .' and thc resr of rhe rext, as rhey felr
d abour young people's behaoiour, it was
r, and a 'deculturalízed generarion' could
·r \'iolcncc on tekvision. The opinion was
vas a litde unnatural wirh so many (ron/­
mis .. .', once again raising new decisions
d ro be taken in rdaríon to the texr as a
1 ro movc the words 'rhe result is that' from
Ice 'rhe reason is', and then ro reverse the
We have considered larger parrerns of discourse organisation at various
poinrs in rhis book. The problern-solurion partern was illusrrared in
Chaprcr 1, and again in Chapter 3 in relation ro vocabulary signals,
Chaprer 3 also looked at examplcs of claim4:ounterdaim (or hyporhetical­
real) pattcrns, and Chaprees 2 and 5 referred ro narrativc pattcrns.
These are not rhe only patterns found in t~xts; anorher common one is
rhe 'qucstíon-answer' patrcrn, which has sorne features in comrnon with
the problem-solution pattern, bU( whose primary motivation is the pursuit
of a satisfacrory answer ro a quesrion explicitly posed (usually) at the
beginning of the texto For example: »»;-+

, reproduce sorne of the processes of choice

lexicon of clause-relarional signals, once
'Camining textual products conraining such
It cohesive and ciause-re1arional features
on readymade texts; alongside the process
a healthy tradition of problem-solving

157
6 Written language 6.6 Cetti

One point to note abolir parterns is rhar r

(6.5 ) london ­ of nurnber of senrences or paragraphs conr.
too expensive? rhat any given tcxr may conrain more thar
lt's no surprise that London Is
eirher following one another or ernbcddo
the most expensive city to stay
problern-solurion pattern may conrain gl
In. In Britain; we've all heard the
individual segrncnrs, or a claim-counterclai
horror storles. But Just how

expensive Is It? According to

rions are being evaluated, borh of which fe:
Intematlonal hotel consultants

Horwath & Horwath's recent re­

port. there are now tive London

hotels charging over egOa nlght

for a single room.

(6.6)
Two-wheel
But evenIfyou r hotel choice Is
THOUSANDS 01 acres provide more resouroes, wiJlbe
a Iíttle more modesto you'lI still
01 our countryside are In this case build more motion
buried (or ever under roads and car parks: cycle a
be forklng out nearly twice as
ribbons 01 concrele and two, restrict tbe avail­ our env
much for a night's stay In Lon­
tarrnac every year. ahility 01 motorised
don as elsewhere In Britaln.
Every lew months a lransport by artificially rt is .
Governrnent study or raising (he price 01 be bul
Average room rates last year
staternent from an auth­ velúdes and fuel: three, scrious
worked out at around f:19 In the
oritative hody claims th.al ~cense only lhose ...i!h a acciden
provinces compared to OS In
our molorway network good reason for nceding cars, Se
London. •
is inadequale and musl molorised transpon and sorne d
be extended . prohibil un­ lo mole
Weck by week lhe necessary use: lour c an in
arnount 01 cae tr.Iffic on reduce !he average size redueec
(from Moneycare, Ocrober 1985, p. 4) our roads grows, 13 per 01 motor vehicle s ,
Depa
cent in the last year especially those used for
por! s
aJone. commuting purposes .
Each day as I walk to sbownl
Tbe ideaJ vehicle lor ninetin
In rhis rexr, a siruarion is esrablished which conrains an unanswered work, 1see !he ludicrous transporting one person
takeso
quesrion. Answcrs are rhen offered, along wirh evidence or authorirarive spectade 01 hundreds 01 lo and from ros or her him in ,
commuters sitting aJone place 01work has been in motor {
supporr for rhem. As wirh 'possible responses' in rhe problem-solurion in íour or ñve-seater use lor as long as !he
motor
caes and barely moving motor car. There is
parrern, if rhe answer(s) offered do nor answer rhe original question, rhen as íast as I can waIk.
rnaking
room on our existing road sal
Our traffic crisis now roads íor presen! and
orher answers are soughr. presenls us with the future needs but not i! Our s
Orher rypical textual parrerns inelude various permurarions of rhe c1assic conservarion theyare lo be cIogged up and we
dilemma - loo many with haH-emply can ish reaJi
general-specific partcrn, whcre macro-structures such as rhe fol1owing are people making too much when the molor cycle that W1
demand on inadequate would serve (he same riele on
found: resources, purpose more !han aée­ A good
Th ere are (our pos­ quately . ket cos'
sible solutions : One, Inevitably, objections newb;1
General sratemenr General sraternenr
! . ! ~ (fro rn Cambridg e Weekl)' NeUJ5, 22 Septernber, I
Specific sraremenr 1 Speciíic sratemenr
!
Specific sra\ement 2 Even more specific Here we begin with a general srarement and
! ! of everl110re specific ones, culminating in a !
Specific starement 3 Even more specific
! ! 5 of the problem that is ro form the central
etc.... etc. ... paragraphs then pur forward possiblc sol!
! ! solution, rhe mororcycle, is rhen evaluarcd i
General srarement General statement
of c1aims and counterelaims with jusrificati
Examples of these patrerns can be found in rexrs such as esrare agents' sales Only the last sentence breaks the complerer
Iirerarure in Brirain, where a general descriprion of rhe property for sale is counrerargumenr thar the aurhor chooses tI
followed by detailed descriprions of individual rooms/fearures, and then, us right back ro the starement of the problen
finally a return ro a general srarement about the whole properry again (for text, So rhe rexr is highly parrerned, and ¡ts
further discussion of differenr parrerns, see Hoey 1983). wirhin the overall strucrure of the rext.

158
 6.6 Getting to grips with larga patt erns

O ne poinr ro note abour parrerns is rhar rhey are of no fixed size in tcrrns
of number of sen rences or paragraphs conrained in rhcrn. Another poinr is
've? rhar any givcn rext rnay co nta in more rhan one of the cornmon patrerns,
don Is
eirher foll owing onc anorher or embeJJeJ wirhin one anorher, Thus a
y to stay
problern-solurion patrern ma y contain gencral-specific parrerns within
rd the

, t how
individual seg men rs, or a clairn-counterclairn partcrn when proposed solu­
rding to
rions are bcing evaluared, both of which features are present in this text:
isulta nts

ecent re­
!london
Oa nlght

choice is
(6.6)
Two-wheel solution

TIIOUSANDS of acres provide more resource s , will be raised lo the pro­ Bul I must drive a
ou'lI still nf our countryside are UI this case build more motion of the motor BMW or Jaguar or ru
twice as buried lar ever under road s and car parks; cyeJe as the sa viour of have no credibility wilh
ribbons of concrete and two, restrict the avail­ our envirorunent. my clients, my OO". my
(In ton- tarmac every year. ability of motorised shareholders: That is
Britaln. Every few monlhs a transport by artificiaUy It is dangerous: It can jusI a matter 01 fashion
ast year Government study or raising the price of be bul three-Iiflhs of alI which most oC lhe busi­
19 1n the s tale me nl from an auth­ vehieJes and fuel: three, serious motor cycling ness communily follow
oritative body clairns that ticense only lhose wilh a accidents are caused by as síavi shly as shee p.
) E35 In good reason lor needing cars . So, by transferríng
• OUf rnotorway network
is inadequate and musl
be extended .
Week by week lhe
lf the right person
molorised transport and sorne drivers from cMS were lo set lhe lead and
prohíbit un ­ lo motor cycles , lhe risk exchange his tin box
necessary use: lour can immediat e ly be traffic jammer for an
amounl 01 car traIfic on reduce the average size reduced . environmentally respon­
ser 1985, p . 4) OUf roads grnw s, 13 per 01 motor veh icles, Department of Trans­ sible set 01 lWO wheels
cent in the last year especially those used for port s t atisti c s have !he rest of the business
aloee. cormnuting purposes, shown that a car driver is sbeep would be falling
Each day as 1 waIk to Tbe ideal vehicle for nine times more likely to over lhemseJves to fol­
ablished which conrains an unanswered work, I see lhe ludi.::rous transportíng one person take sorneone e1se wilh low suit and sorne oí our
:red, along with evidence or aurhoritarive spectaeJe 01 hWldreds of lo and from his or her him in an accidenl !han a traffi c problems would
commule rs sitting alonc place of work has becn in motor cyctisl , so riding a be solved ala stroke.
ssible responses' in the problem-solurion in (our or live -seater Use for as long as lhe molor cyele is actualIy
cars and barely moving motor Car. There is making a rontribution lo AJI tIlal is needed is
do nor answer rhe original quesrion, rhen as lasl as 1c:m walk. room on our existing road safely, lhe willingness lo sacri­
Out tr.Iffic crisis now road. for present and lice a til!le bil of cooúort,
presents us with the future n~s but nol if Out climate is too cold take a titile bit of a risk
ns indude various permurarions of rhe c1assi c conservalion !bey are lo ~ clogged up and wet : Have we Bril­ and dare lo be a tittle
dilemma - lOO n,.ny wilh half-emply cars ish realIy becorne so soft differen!.
llJcro-strucrures- such as rhe following are people making loo much when Ihe motor cycle tIlat we couldn 'l lace a On the olher hand ,
demand 011 inadequale would serve !he sam e ride on a chiIly moming? whal ís a few lhousand
rcsources . purpose more !han ade ­ A good watelllroof jac­ acre s of co un tr ys id e
1ñere are fotU' pos ­ qualely. kel COSIS a 101less lhan a ,," ch year and a ten-mile
ral sraremenr sibil' solulions: One , Inevitably, obiections new bypass . taiJback?
! (from Cambriligl' Weckl)' News, 22 Sep lcmbcr , p. J I )
fic sraremenr
! .
more specIfic Hcre we begin ""ith a general sraremenr and then, in rerms of time, a series
! of cv crmore spccific ones, clllminaring in a general statemem in paragraph
more specific
! 5 of rhe probtem rhar is to form the cenrral focus of rhe rexr. The nexr rwo
.. ! paragraph s rhen pur forwarJ possible solurions. The aurhor's pteferred
~a l sratemem sulmiol1, rhe murorcyde, is rhen evaluared in rhe rest of the text in a series
of daims and counrcrclaims with justificarions for rhe cOllnterargumenrs.
e found in rexrs such as esrate agenrs' sales Only thc last sentence breaks the complereness of rhe parreros by raising a
eral descriprion of rhe property for sale is coumerargumc:nr rhat the aurhor chooses to leave open, bur which brings
s of individual rooms/fearures, and rhen, us righr back ro rhe srarement of rhe problem in rhe very first sentence of his
ment abour rhe whole propeny again (fur rext. So lhe text is highly panerned, and ilS aUlhor has embedded parterns
tterns, see Hoey 1983). wirhin rhe overall strucrure of rhe rext.

159
6 Written languagc

Finding parrern s in texrs is a marrer of irucr

Reader activity 5 'r""O
Wh at parterns can you obser ve in rhc fol1owing cxtru cts from rhc opening
lines of[WO magazine a n id es (yo u havc alrcady analy scd the second one
for modals in section J.8 )? What rexr partern would you predicr is going ro
be rhe dorninanr onc in each of rhc texts as a whole?
1. Meo can mcnd stcrcos, drive cars and budgct rhcir pay packets
effic ienti y; worncn are helplcss whcn faeed with anyrhing mechan ical
and are ex rra vag a n r s pcnd e rs, Cha ps, of coursc, a re cool and
rational, whilc woruen are sw ayed by thcir ernotions and are sla ves to
rhe lunar cycle , M en are polyga rnou s, women monoga rnou s.
Ridiculous src reo ry pes ? Ab solutcly . So why do quite a lar of men and
rathcr a lnrge numbcr o f worucn still half bclieve th cm?
use of clues and sign als provided by rhc
finding ou e single rigllt an swer, aud ir wil
givcn texr in more th an ene way. Bur ccr
freqncnr ly in parti cu lar settings: rhe probk
in advertising texrs (onc way ro sell a pro,
have a problcrn they may nor be aware of) .
gical advances (which a re often seen as
ob sracles). Claim-eounrerclaim texrs are fl
as well as in rhe lctrcrs-ro-the-editor pages
(hut see Ghadessy 1983, for a problern-solu
General-specific parterns can be found in l
enee texrs.

(Opt;fl/lS, Oc to bcr 1985: 201) 6.7 Patterns and the learner

2. Can citrus
If wc look ar learners ' arrcrnpts ro creare tI

peel harm?
have described aboye , we find thar thcre a
we nored rhat learncrs whose overall co
Did you Icnow that lernon and trappeJ in rhe difficulries of local en coc
orange peel is coated with wax discoursc management in spoken discours
and chemicals? difficulríes affecting learners' written work.
The skin of almost all otros
which we took an cx rract carlier , thi s rime
fruit sold in the UK is treated
can see an arternpt at a general-speeífic par
with fungicides to stop it going

mouldy. And the glossy

midsrrearn, lackíng the typic al rerurn to
surface is the result of bathing
specific cxamples rhar is expected in a well-I
the fruit in wax.
one could equally say rhar rhe rexr sets out t­
Could the fungicides used
conrrasrs, but gets 'losr' in a digression a b
on citrus peel be hannful­
world of musi c:
particularly since there's sorne

evidence frorn laboratory tests

(6.7)
, (gen eral statem ent¡ The British, Iral
that, in sufficient quantities,
like, (specific: modilication o] gene¡
they may produce cancers or
th e Italian rcenagers using te pl ay f·
rnutations in animals?

American tcenagers.
The Government doesn't feel

there is any need to worry

(specific: parallel modijicatiom S
because the levels of fungicide
using ro play rugby more rhan Itali :
pemútted are very low. The
spe cific ) For use, Brirish reenagers 1
levels are based on the
music. (digression ?) In facr Britain i
recommendations of UK and
musicians of the world . (end of lex.
intemational advisory bodies

for the amount that can be

(Aucho r's dal a (989)
conswned daiJy without any

significant effect.
Ir is extrcmely doubtful whether the wril
person) would wrire such an unsrrucrured I
(from Which? January 1984, p. 4)
Ir is quite clear that rhe strcsses of crear

160
 6.7 Patterns and the learner

Find iug parrcr us in rcxr s is a mart cr of inrcrp rera tion by rhe rcad er, mak ing
use of clues and signa ls pro vidcd by rhe a urho r; ir is not a quesrion of
rinding one sing le ri,l!,ht an swer , and it will o ften be possib le ro analyse a
givcn tcxr in more rh an onc way . Bur cerrain partern s do tend ro occur
'1rh e follo wing ex rra cts
from rh e opening

[rcquenrl y in particular scrtings: the p ro blem-..so lurio n parrcrn is frequcnr

" Uha ve already ana lysed rhe secon d ene

in ad vertising rexrs (one wa y ro sell a producr is ro convince peoplc they

~ l .rcxt patrern would you predicr is going to

the texrs as a whole? have a problem rhey ma r nor be aware 00 and in rexts reporring technolo­
gical ad vances (which are often seen as solving problerns or removing
• d riv e c a rs a nd budger rheir par p a ckcts obsraclcs). Claim-co u nrerclai rn texts are frequenr in pol irical journalism,
he lplcss whcn faced wirh anyrhing mechanical as wcll as in rhc lcrrers-ro-rhe-ediror pag es of newspapers and magazines
iendcrs, Chaps, of course, are (001 and
(bur sec Gh adcssy 198.3, for a prohlem- solurion oricnrarion ro such lerrers).
are swayed by rhe ir crno rio ns a nd a re slav es ro
Gene ra l-speci fic patrern s can be found in encyclopacd ias and orher refer­
re polyga rno us, wo rncn monog amous.
ence rcxrs .
? A bs o lu re ly. So why do qu it e a lor of mcn a nd
of wornen srill half bclieve thern?

)1)
6.7 Patterns and the learner

If we look at learncr s' attemp rs to crea re textual parteros of thc kinds we

?• ha ve described above, we find thar there are sometimos problerns. just as
we nored rhar learuers whose overall cornperence was poor often got
on and rrapped in rhc difficultics of local encoding ar the expense of larger
ith wax di scourse managernent in spoken di scou rse, so roo can we observe such
d ifficultics affecring learners' writrcn work. If we look again ar a texr from
I citrus which we rook an extraer ea rlicr, this rime reproducing rhc whole texr, we
reated
it going can sec an attcrnpt at a general- specific partero which scems ro just end in
midsrrcarn, lacking rhe rypical return ro a gen eral sraternenr after rhe
sp ecific exarnples that is expected in a well-formed text, On rhe other hand ,
onc could cqually say that rhe text sers out ro crea te a number of descr iptive
used contrasrs, our gers 'los!' in a digression abour Brirain 's ascendanc)' in rhe
ul ­ world o f mu sic:
S sorne
.' tests (6.7) (gen erlll statemetlt ) Thc Bri rish, Iralian anJ American reenagers are
'ties,
likc, (specífic: modificaticm of gf'tl er"bl statement) hur 1 rhink rhar for
~rs or
rh e Iralian rcen a gers lIsing ro play foorball mure rhan Briri sh and
m 'r Cee! Arn cr ic;u1 rcenagers .
rry (spe cillC.' parallel modifiecltion) So as for rhe American rcenager s
19icide ll sin~ ro play rughy more rhan Iral¡an al1(~ Brirish reenagers. (new
The sflecific) For lIse, Brirish rccnagcrs like ro look videos and lisrt~n
mu sic. (digres si cm?) In facr Brirain is the counrry o f rh e besl
: and Illusi c ians of rhe worlJ. (end u f text)
)(jjes
be (Aurhor' s dara 1989)
: any
Ir is extremcly doubrful wherher rhe wrirer (a highly educated, marure
person) would wrire such an unstrucrured rext in his own narive language.
984, p. 4)
Ir is quite clear thar rhe stresses of crearing rhe rexr (and rhe frequenr

161
6 Written language

cro ssings-o ut in rh e manuscripr supporr this) at rhe leve! of local choice of

grarnmar and vocabulary has preved too rnuch, and all sense of overal]
planning has been abandoncd. Reader activity 6 ~
At lower leve! s, clause- and sentence-chaining aetivities can rake the
srrain off macro-leve! planning but srill produce a lcarner-gcnerared text for An advanccd group of Gcrman learners of E
scruriny in class. As wirh rhe clau se-relational chaining acrivity, each sentenccs bascd 011 thc topic card (seen by "
Iearner creares a textual segrnenr relevant ro a given topic, bur wirh the segment-starrers given (in iralics). What, in y'
segme nt -sta rre rs eomaining signal words of rhe (in rhis case) problcm-. order for the senrences ro make a sarisfacn
solution srructure, For an all-Italian group of architects and environmenral acceprablc orders are there? What ehanges \
planners on an intensive English eourse, rhe topic senrence was: 'Nowa­ wording of individual senrences?
days, more and more people wanr ro use rhe counrry side for leisure Topic: 1. Football hooliganism is a comm.
purposes.· The srarrers were: Euro pcan coun tries.
But the problem is ... 2. O ne possible solution to reduce
of all, ro stop violenr fans from I
Planners baue an important role to play: .
3. The rcason for rhc fans aggressii
One pos sible solution to th e problem is . background .
These were designed to genera te rhe problem, a response from planners and 4. The problem is how ro inrerfere
a possible solution. Thus rhc next srage of the acriviry, marshalling the marches and wirhout frustraring
individual segmenrs inro a coherenr rext, is guided by top-down consrraints 5. The situation can be described a
are injured every weekend and a
of typical problem-solution sequences. The discussion on sequeneing of
srad iums.
segrncnrs and necessary changes ro the rcxr was carried on in rhc learners'
(Aurhor's data 1989)
L1 on this occasion. The author of extraer (6.7) was a member of the group
whose final rext is reproduced here:
(6.S) Nowadays, more and more people want to use rhe counrrysidc for
leisure purposes. But rhe problem is that [he urbanism take over and Anorher inreresting aspect of learners' suece
dominares ir. Planners have an imporrant role ro play: they have ro comrnunicarion in their writing is how rh.
ensure the cornrnunity rhe righr disrincrion between spaces for
signalling vocabulary diseussed in secrions 3.~
working rime and for leisure purposes, and rnoreover ro locare rhis
ablc in learner data is rhar, although the over.
last acriviries in rhe besr convenient situation for mosr of people, One
of signalling words can disoricnt rhe reader s
possible solution to the problcrn is rhat people havc ro know the
advantages ro I¡vc far from rraffic and noi se, because a calm place a summary of a rext on rhe problems of train
where cver:ybody ca n havc a relationship wirh irsclf, ir is nccessary (6.9) As soon as aman of ou r cemur:y rea'
for our soul. '" complete control of communicating
(Am hor's dara 1989) considc:r the huge number of difficuJ!
dcveloping of spacc rravds .
The author of text (6.7) eomposed the senrcnce beginning ' b U( the problem Sciencc and techn ique may develo
is .. .', which reAect~ his lexico-grammatical weaknesses eompared with like for example loss of oxygen, ¡me
the orhers in the grollp, bU( in tcrms of the final text, whieh was used for and so on .
remedial vocabulary and grammar work, his conrribution was as usefuI as (AlIlhor's dala 1989)
the resto
The first infelicity in diseourse-signalling vo
ties that overcome', but here ir is not en tire!
lexical; it may be (inrerference from a cognat
false friend) or it could be synraetic, insorr
'thar' construction where English would ha

162

t upport rhis) ar rhe leve! of local choice of
p re ved roo much, and al! sense of overall
J sem ence-c ha ining activiries can take the
bu t srilI produce a learner-generared texr fo r
e clausc-relarional chaining activiry, each
t relevanr ro a givcn ropie, but wirh the
znal words of rhc (in this case) problem­
al ia n group of archirecrs and environmenral
h course, thc ropic scntencc was: 'Nowa­
wanr ro use rhe counrryside for leisure
nt role lo play: ...
:he problem is . . ,
; rhe problem, a response from planners and
ncxr srage of rhc activiry, marshalling rhe
rent rext, is guided by top-clown consrrainrs
qucnces. The discussion on sequencing of
s ro the text was carried on in rhe learners'
. of extraer (6.7) was a member of rhe group
iere :
mo re people wanr ro use thc counrryside for
le problem is thar the urbanism rake over and
have an irnportanr role ro play: they have ro
rhc right distincrion berwcen spaces for
eisure purposes, and moreover ro locare rhis
;[ convenicnr siruarion for most of people, Onc
. prohlern is rhar people have ro know rhe
rom rraffic and noise, because a calm place
ave a rclationship wirh irself, ir is necessary
ed rhe senrenee beginning 'bur the problem
>-grammaricai weaknesses compared wirh
erms of the final texr, whieh was used for
lar work, his conrriburion was as useful as
6.7 Patterns and the learner
Reader activity 6 ...-f}
An advanccd group of German learners of English produced rhc following
scnrences based 011 the topic card (seen by al! mernbers of thc group) and
segmenr-srarters given (in italics) . Whar, in your opinion, would be rhe bcst
order for rhe senrences ro make a sarisfactory rexr? How rnany possible
acceprable orders are rhere? Whar changes would you like ro rnake to the
wording of individual sentences?
Topie: 1. Football booliganism is a COmIllOl! phenomenon in a lot o{
European countries,
2. Gne possible solution ro reduce rhe worsr effccrs might he, firsr
of all, ro stop violent fans from enrering rhc sradiurn .
3. Tbe reason for thc fans aggressivc behaviour is their social
background.
4. Thc problem is how ro inrerfere without cancelling al! foorball
marches and withour frustraring the real non-violent fans.
5. Tbe situation can be describcd as follows: thousands of pcople
are injured every weekend and a lor of darnage is done (O rhe
sradiurns .
(Author's dara 1989)
Anorher inreresring aspecr of learners' suecess or orherwise in macro-leve!
cornrnunication in rheir wriring is how rhey use rhc kind of discourse­
signalling vocabulary discussed in secrions 3.5-6. Whar is sornerirnes observ­
able in learner Jara is thar, alrhough rhe overall parrerning is presenr, misuse
of signalling words can disorient rhe reader sornewhat. This extraer is frorn
a summary of a tcxt on rhc problems of training astronauts ro live in space:
(6.9) As soon as aman of our cemury realizcs we're goillg ro rcach rhe
complete control of communicating '~nd travelling in space, he has tO
consider rhe huge nllmber of difficulries rhar overcome with rhe
devcloping of space travels.
Science and [echnique may develop ro hinder a lor of prohlems,
like :or cxample loss of oxygen, intense cold, severe radiarion bursts
and so on .
(Aurhor's dara 1989)
The firsr infelieiry in discourse-signalling vocabulary oeeurs wirh 'diffielll­
tíes rhar overeome', bur here it is nor enrirely c1ear wherher rhe problem is
lexicalj ir may be (inrerference from a cognare form .in ltalian whieh hides a
false friend) or it could be synraerie, insomuch as many languages use a
'rhat' consrruction where English would have an infinirive ('difficulties to
163
6 Writtert language
pr cfercnce .o f particll.LH rhernc-rh crn e sequenc
OL'crc?m e' ), but che voca bularv-choicc tcnds ro he dominnrcd by thc quice
cla irncd. E\'~n wirhin rhe sume language f,
plausible SYlH3X herc, a mi mosr rcaders prescnr cd wirh rhc rcxr slIff ·
disori suggcsrcd: Ccrrnan ac adc m ic rexrs seem to
isoricntan.on. TIt e seCOI1lI erro r, 'to himla a lor nf prohlcms' is Illorccr
parenthctical inform:ltioll. ami freedom ro d i¡
obviou sly lexi.cal, and undcrli nes thc point mude in C ha pte r 3 ahour rhc
rhc sanie kind, and there IS sorne evidcnce rh:
uuportancc ot grouping words rogcrhcr alou g d iscoursc-functional lincs
ropic senrcnccs ar che beginning of paragraphs
and suggesl ~ a. role for rhe tcaching uf collocaring pairs in the C1SC of sud ;
prefer a bridging senrence berween paragraph
words. A similar collocational problern scems ro han: occurrcd in the
But by no means evcryone agrces thar such r
~oorball hooliganism tcxr in .Rcader activiry 6: one docs nor normallv
rhar rhey cause problcms for language lcarner
mterferc . ro 50Iv.<: a prohlern (inrcrfercnce 1I511ally suggcsrs making rhings
rhc case of Arabic and Chincse: Kaplan ha
\~ors~) ; 10 English, onc int eruenes ro solve problcms, Such local crrors
Arnbic and indirection for Oriental tcxts, bur
d~so.nenr rhe reader in che sense that he/she is conrinuously mak ing pre­
a rendency ro 'fluidiry' in Arahic rexr (i.e. non­
diction s about rhe rext as a wholc and its likcly scquencing and pattcrn ing.
a prcfcrcnce for conncxion wirh and, but, an
lelisru is a propeny of Chinese and Viernarnes,
rhat Arabie texr has a preference for the therr
6.8 Culture and rhetoric
of thc rhree thcme and rherne parterns discus :
different from English and indccd suggesring
Our data cxarnples so far show one rhing: European learners o f English in
again, as regards Chincse, Mohan and Lo (1~
general are perfecrly capable of rransferring discourse patrerns such as
erices herween Chincse rexrs and English o:
problern-solution patterns from rheir LI ro an 1.2 (as wirnessed in rhe
evidence does nor provide the answers ro rh.
chaining acrivitics) . Where problems arise, thev sccrn ro be relarable ro lack
tcachcrs are concerned wirh. Nor is thc pictu
o~ linguistic cornpercnce at rhe lcxico-grarnrnarical level and rhe natural
wherher rhere is cross-cultural inrerference fo
dlfficu.ltles of coping with global plann ing whcll one is under great stress
are rherefore lefr wirh ínruirion, experience ar
encodlt1g at the sentence leve!. Bur whar of the wriring of learners from
reliable re50urces for deciding whether interf(
cultures quite differcm from Wesrern ones? Are there established norms of
What we find frequendy in examining N
writing in orher literare eultutes thar are different and mighr rhercfore be
orher learner data in English are the same I
expeeted to interfere with the macro-leve! decision-making of rhe learner
data: rhat bad discourse organisarion oftel
writing in English ?
grammatical eomperence. ]ust as we observe.
!he afea of cross-culrllral rhcroric studics has spawned a vasr literature
produce a satisfaerory and complere general-­
of Irs own,. and a somewhat confusing one. On the one hand, lingllists c1aim
British and Italian teenagers (extraer 6.7), so v,
ro ~l~\'e eVldenee of textual patterns in other lan gu3p:es not fOllnd in English
a ]apanese low-Ievcl learner doíng the sarne t
wfltlt1g; on the orher hand, there is disagrcemellt over whcthcr these
parterns are transferred and cause interference when the Icarner writcs in (6,1°) Bricish cccnagcrs w3cching ccievision .
English . A pape.r by Kaplan (1966), in which he posired a typology for My country ceenagers ver}' more peo~
mr counrry rclevision more select. M.
textual progresslon with differcm t>,pes associated with different cultures
no . 1, J, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12. .
was very inHlIenrial, but has since been underrnined by other srudics: British ceenagers playing football v·
KJplan suggested rhat English rext was characteristically linear and hier­ cecnagers playing bascball very famol
archical., while . Semi tie (Hebrew and Arabic) text was charaetcrised by
(Aurhor's data 1989)
parallellsm; Onental text haJ 'indirection' as a characterisric, and Russian
and Romance texts had a prcference for digressions. Some c'Iidence seems
ro support differences in textual strucrure, such as the acceptability in
Reader activity 7 ...-6
]apanese texts of what seems ro the English eye ro be the abrupr insenion of
Irrelevant maner (sec Hinds 1983), or eerrain features of word order and use
Consider this essay on differences between El
?f conjl~~ctio~1S that are redolenr of Indian languages being carried over
by a higher-Ievel ]apanesc learner of En~
II1to Wfltlllg III Indian English (Kachru 1987). Similarly, diffcrenccs in

164

ho ice rends ro be dOlllin .'lted bv
. I rh e qUite
'
(1 t rea d c rs pr escn red wi rh the rcxr s ff
, bi { , U er
l r, ro J/1Ic cr a lor o f probl em s' I'S
h ' . mOre
s r C pornr mad~ in C h a ~ rn J abour the
~oge th cr along, d lscourse-fllncrional ti/les
mg of colloeallng pairs in rh e case of such
p ro blc rn SCCIllS ro have occlIrrcd in rh
. d ' , e
. ea cr aClIvlry 6: one does not no rma 11 v
.u er ference usually suggcsrs rnaking rhing~
:'Izes ro solvc problerns. Such local crrors
-c thar ~ eI~he IS continuously mak ing prc ­
-le a ud irs likely sequcncing a nd patrcrning.
~ nc rhing: ~uro~can learners of English in
)1 rra~lsfcrnng dl scourse partcrns such as
11 rhelr, L1 ro an L2 (as wiruesscd in rhe
Icm~ ari se , they secrn ro be re/atable ro lack
IcxJco -~rammatical leve! and thc natural
ti planmng when one is under grear srress
Bur whar of rhe writing o f learners from
'srern ones? Are therc csrablished norms of
¡ rhar are differcnr and mighr rherefore be
lacro-Ievel decision-making of rhe learner
rorie studies has spawned a vasr litcrarure
.lS Il~g one. On rhc one hand, linguisrs c1aim
' ll S Ill. orh~r
Ianguagcs nO[ found in English
tcre IS <:!Jsagreement over wherher rhese
~ e Interference when rhe learner \\'rires in
166), in which he posired a rypology for
~ r rypes asso ciated with differenr culr'urcs,
II1CC been lIndcrmineJ by other srudies.
:xr was charaererisri cally lincar and hier­
o and . Arabic) rext was characrerised by
dlreCtlOn' as a characrerisric, and Russia~
:nce for digressions. Some evidence seems
I srruc.rure, such as rhe acceprabilirr in
le Enghsh eye to be rhe abrllpr inserrion of
, or cerrain fearmes of word order and use
[ of Indian languages be ing carried over
(Kaeh ru 1987). Similarly, differcnces in
6.8 Culture and rhetoric
prefcrcncc uf part icula r th cm c-rhcrne seq ucnces (sec sccri on 2,3) ha ve been
claimed. Evcn wirhin rhe sarnc languagc family differcnces have bccn
suggcsrcd: G erma n acadcmic tc xrs seem ro all ow a grearer arnounr of
parenthctical inforrnarion and frccdorn ro digrcss rhan Engl ish wriring of
rhc sarnc kind, and rhcrc is so rn e cvidence rhar English writers rcnd ro use
ropic senrcnccs a t the bcginning of paragraphs where German writers rnighr
prefer a bridging scnrcnce berwcen paragraphs.
• BU[ by no rneans cveryonc agrees rhar suc h rendencies a re significanr, nor
rhar they cause problerns for languagc learners. Typical of the confllsion is
the case of Arabic and Chinese: Kaplan had spokcn of parallelism for
Arable and indirection for Oriental texts, out Bar-Lcv (1986) finds more of
a rcndency ro 'fluidity' in Arabic rexr (i.c , non-hierarchical progression w irh
a prefercncc for connexion wirh and, but, and so ), and claims rhat paral­
lelisrn is a propcrty of Chinese and Victnamese. Aziz (1988), however, finds
rhar Arable tcxt has a prcference for the rhcrue-reperirion partern (rhe firsr
of the thrcc therne and rheme parterns di scusscd in secrion 2.3), making ir
differenr from English and indeed suggesring a sorr of parallelisrn. Thcn
again, as rcgards Chinese, Mohan and Lo (1985) found no marked differ­
ences berwcen Chiuese rcxr s and English ones, This son of contlicting
evidcnce does not pro vide thc an swers ro the sorts of qllesrions language
teachers are coneerned wirh . Nor is the picture any c1earer wirh regard ro
wherher rhere is cross-cultural imerference for learncrs. Language reach~rs
are rherefore lcft wirh inrllirion, experience and rheir own dara as rhe mosr
reliable resources for deciding wherher inrerfercnce is a problem.
Whar we find frequenrly in examining Middle Easrern, Orienral and
orher learner dara in English are rhe same problems nored in European
data: rhar bad discourse organisarion often accompanies poor iexico­
grammarical comperencc. Just as we ohserved an Iralian learner failing ro
produce a satisfacrory and complete general -specific parrern in comparing
Brirish and Iralian reenagers (exrracr 6.7) , so we find similar difficulries wirh
a Japancse low-Ievellearner doi ng rhe sallle rask:
(6.10) Brilish teenagers watching td evisiol~\ Bo)'s and girls man)' pcople.
M)' country teenagers very more peóplc watt:hing tcicvision, because
m}' eountry tclcvisioll more seleet. My t:ountr}' TV have chanllcll
no . 1, .1, 4, 6, 8, lO, 12.
British teenagcrs playing football vcry famolls. BU( roy country
reenagers playing baschall very famous .
(Author 's data 1989)
Reader octivity 7 ..-o
Consider rhis essay on differcnces bcrween English and Japanese rcenagers
by a higher-level Japanese learner of English. Does ir display berrer
165
6 Written languagc

discoursc partcruing than extraer (6.10), and if so , in whar wuyt s)? enriry afrer first menrion (as scerns ro o¡
whethcr local encoding stresses are once m
l'd lik e ro co m p a re thc h abir » o f tc en a g er s wi rh th c se of tccnagcrs in
m)' co u n t ry .
linguisric inrerfcrcnce . If we examine two o
In Brirain borh bo ys a mi grrls spelll lime [or watch iug TY, ese learner's texr in Reader acriviry 7, w,
lisrening lo record s and going ro diSCO. That is rhe sa rn c rccnagc rs in noun-hcad reperiti on:
m)' COllJ1!r)'. Of co u rse rh erc a re so rn e lc isure for g irl s and for DOYS.
(6.ll) British boys spcnr rnost rime: for (Oc.
Br iri sh girls s pc n t most rime for going ro thc cinema and rime with
[ootball is the ruost popular sporrs ,
boyfricnd, Thar is a litrlc b it differcnt fro rn tcenagcrs in my country,
for [ootball, In Japan baseball is lh ,
my sisrer who is 15 year s old, shc spcnt rnosr rime for sho pp ing and boys (recnagers) spcnr most rime fO I
srudying. I think japan and Briraiu are differcnr from educarion
sysrern rhar's why japancse tccn agcrs sp enr most time for Somerhing like this might sound more natu
studying.
Brir ish boys sp cnt ruo st time for [ootball bccausc, in th is country, (6.12 ) Brirish boys spend mosr of rheir rim
foorhal1 is thc mOSI popular sporrs rhnr ' s why thc y spcnt mosr rime country ir is rhe mosr popular sport
for foorball . In j apan baseball is rhe ruost popular sports so japanese of their time playing ir.
boys (reenagers) spent rnosr rime for bascball. We might even wish to look at the possibili
If rhe culture is similar japan a nd Brirain ir would he a sarnc result rhe lasr pan of rhe text to 'and that is why
but in [acr japan a nd Britain are completely differcnt from the
rext do not hide rhe more obvious lexicc
culture . For cxarnplc, food , rel igi ón, popular sporrs and so on . So the
resulr is a bit diffe rent .
cerrainly improve the overall feeling of
grammatical errors have also been dealt w;
(Aurho r's dala 1989)
separare discourse-level weaknesses from
ones, especially when the larter are thick on
writing.
The arguments we havc bcen making about the link between lcxico­
grammatical cornperence and discoursc cornpcrence do not mean that
Reader activity 8 .....-E)
panicular Iearures in rhe realisation of discourse parrerning cannot be
irnproved or directly taught; the rnain point is rhar rnacro-patterns thern­
In what way(s) could this paragraph frol
selves do not seem tú be lacking once reasonable general competence has
improved in terms of discourse features s
been achieved, and that, where the macro-patterns are absent, there seem to
rderence, ellipsis/su bstitution? You may fir
be basic clause- and sellrenee-b'e1 problems that demand higher priority in
obvious mistakes in grammar and vocabul:
teaching. Nonethelcss, \Ve h ~lve argued that while lowcr-order skills are
texto
being taught, the highcr-order fcatmes can be praL~tiseJ through pair and
group activities such as chaining and text-jigsaw activities, where rhe Korea has developed radically in cc
macro-Ievel decisiollS can be diseussed in the learners' L1, or if in LI, then indusrries have developed and espe,
at least divoreed from thc.: immeJiate stresses of encoding the individual advanced, for ~xamplc, c1ccrric, sm
clauses and sentences. development of industries, Korea h,
almost houses have had lelevisions,
The sorts of discourse fearures that do lend themselvcs tú direcf interven­
tion are likely to be discourse-signalling vocablllary, appropriate use of (Author's dala 1989)
conjunctions and other linking words, and perhaps a closer look at rder­
ence and ellipsis/substitlltion. There does seem tú be sorne evidence that
learners do nor handle anaphoric reference at the text level as efficíentl)' as
they might, but again it is nm always clcar whether this is because sorne Paying attention to rhe grammar-and-di
languages tolerare more repetition of the noun head rather than pronorni­ Chapter 2 is a partial means of attendin¡
nalisation, or that they use eBipsis for slIbsequent occurrences of the same towards the reader, in terms of 3ssisting orie

166

ict (6.10) , and if so , in wha r wa y(s)?
.: hab irs of tecn ager s with rhose o f reenager s in
, a nd, g irls spc n r rime for warch ing T V,
d go rng ro di sco , Th ar is rhc sarne reenagers in
. r~ e re a re sO,m e leisure fo r girl s nnd for boys ,
r time fo r gorng ro rhc cinema a nd rime wirh
rrle bit d ifferenr
. from tecnagcrs in rnvI counrry,
rrs o Id ,~ 1le. spe nr mosr rime for shopping and
1 a nd Brira in ar e different from ed uc a rio n
me se reen ag er s spen t mosr rime for
osr rim e for football becau se, in rhi s counrry
p ul a r spo r rs rhar 's w hy rhcy spe n t mo sr rim e '
Ja seba!1 is the rnosr popular spo rrs so j apanese
rno st time for baseball.
a ~ ja pa n a nd B~irain ir would be a same resulr
\fItam a re cornplerel y d iffer enr from rhe
o od , religion, popular sp orrs an d so on. So rhe
mak ing abour rhe link between lexieo­
:Iiseourse cornpetence do nor mean rhar
.ation of discourse patrerning cannot be
: rnain point is thar rnacro-parrerns thern ­
; once reasonable general co m perence has
le macro-patrern s are ab senr, rhere seern ro
~I problem s rh ar d emand h ígher priority in
argued rhar while: lowcr-order skílIs are
:a tll rcs ca n bt' pracriseJ throllgh paír and
ng and rexr-jigsa w activities, where rhe
: lI~sed in rhe learners' ll, or if in Ll, then
:d la tc srresscs of enc oding rhe ind i\' id ua l
rhar do lend rhemselves ro direcr inrerven­
ig na lling vocabular)', appropriate use of
vords, and perhaps a doser look ar rder­
Je re does seem ro be sorne evidence rhar
rderence ar rhe rexr level as efficiently as
Iw a ys dear wherher rhis is beca use sorne
n of rhe noun head rarher rhan pronomi­
.s for subsequenr occllrrenccs o f rh e sarne
6.8 Culture and rhetoric
enriry afte r first rnenrion (as sce rns to o pe ra re in j apanese ), o r indeed
wherher local cncod ing srrcsscs ar e o nce morc ro blamc rather rhan cross­
lingui sric inrerfercn ce. If wc exa mine tw o o f the senrcnces from the japan­
ese learner' s texr in Reader act iviry 7, we sec an unn arur al arnounr of
noun-head rcpctir ion :
(6.11 ) Briti sh boys spent rno st rime for [oothatl bec ause, in rhis country,
[ootball is rhc rnosr popular sp orrs rh ar' s why th ey spenr rnost time
for [oo tball, In japan bnsehull is th c rno sr popula r spo rts so j apanese
bo ys (rce na gers ) spcn t mosr rim e for basehall.
Somcthing like rhis might sound more natural:
(6. 12) Brir ish hoys sp cnd rno st o f rhe ir rim e playing fo orball, beca use in rhis
COllntry ir is rhe rno st popular spo rt , a nd th at is why rhey spend rnosr
of rheir rime playing ir.
We might even w ish ro look ar rhe po ssibilities for subsritution and reduce
the lasr part of rhe rext ro 'and rhar is why th is is so'. Sueh changes to th e
texr do not hide rhc more obvious le xico-grarnmatical errors, bur they
certainl y improve the overa 11 feclíng of naruralness once the lex ico ­
grarnrnarical errors have also been dealr wirh . Bur ir is nor always ea sy ro
separare d iscourse -lev el weaknesses from rhe local lexíco-grammarical
ones, especialIy when rhe latter are rhick on rhe ground in a pieee of learner
wriring.
Reader activity 8 ......-6
In whar way(s) eould rhi s paragraph from a Korean learner's essay be
irnproved in rerrns of d isc ourse fearures such as conjuncrion, anaphoric
reference, ellipsis/substirurion ? You ma)' find ir helpful to correct the more
obvious rnistakes in gramrnar and vo cabulary firsr , and then to reread the
text o
~
Korea has d evelopcd radically in economy over the past 25 years. Al!
industries have dcvcloped and especiall y me chanical industries have
advilnced, for example, ele crri c, srcel and ca r indu stries. As a resllh
developmem of industries, Korca has become rich co untry and
almosr houses have had tel evisions, videos and cars.
(Aulh or ' s dal a 1989)
Pa ying attemion ro rhe gramrnar-and-discourse features described in
Chapter 2 is a partial means of arrending ro rhe wrirer's responsibiliry
rowards rhe rcader, in rerms of a ss isring orientarion ro the wrirer's argurnenr
167
6 W ritten language
ami giving ~ignal~ ro rhc rcader as ro how rhc scg m cn ts ~) f rhc rexr relate ro
onc anorhcr. Pr occss a pproaches ro rhc rcachiug of wrinng rcnd ro Illcludc
such feature s anywuy, ami sorne rnatcrials for thc teaching of wriring do
also rakc inro accou nr thc ma cro-planning o f rexr wirh rcgard ro parrern s
such as problcm- solurion ami o rhers wc havc look cd at (e .g . Hamp-Lyon s
and Hca sley 1987 ).
6.9 Discourse and the reader
\VIl' cannot leavc this chaprcr, ami indeed, rhe wholc discussion of discoLlrsc
analysis and language tcaching, withour considcring rhe influence of dis ­
course analys is on rhe rcaching of rcading . Whar wc shall concludc a bo ur
discoursc and reading in facr follows con sistenrly frorn what we have said
in this chaprer and in earlier enes : we cannot explain discourse patterning
at the macro-leve! wirhout paying due artenrion ro rhe role of grururnar and
lexis; hy the sa rne token, we cannot fosrer good rcading wirhour considcr­
ing global and local reading skills sirnu lraneo usly.
In recent years, quesrions of reading pedagogy have cenrred on whether
bortorn-up (i.e. decoding of rhe texr srep-by-step frorn sma1l textual
elemcnrs such as words and phrases) or rop-down (using macro-leve! c1ues
ro decode (he (exr) srraregíes are more important. The debate seems [O have
seuled, quite sensibly, on a compromise between local and global decoding,
and there is general agreemenr rhar efficienr reaJers use rop--Jown and
bouom-up processing simulraneously (e.g. Eskey 1988). This firs with our
general view of discourse as being manifested in macro-Ie-,re! parrerns to
whieh a constcllation of local lexico-grammatical choices eonrrihure. The
besr reading marerials will eneourage an engagement wirh largcr rextual
forms (for example through problem-solving exercises ar rhe whole-rext
level) but Ilot neglect (he role of individual worJs, phrases and grammarical
dcvices in guiding rhe reader around rhe text (e.g. GreenaIl and Swan 1986,
who achícve a balance of borh ingredienrs ).
BU[ at both rhe micro- and macro-Ievel, caution in how ro introduce the
discourse dimcnsioll is called for o In the case of cohesion, for example, the
precise relationship bcrween eohesion and eohercnce is unclear, and fuclls­
ing on cohesive deviccs for readhlg purposes mar nor guarantee any be[ter
roU[e towards a coherent interpreration of the text (see Steffensen 1988) . Ar
the macro-Icvel, mueh has been made in recent years of schema theory, that
is, rhe rolc of background knowledge in rhe reader's ability ro make sense
of the texl. The theory is thar new knowledge can only be processed
eoherently in re1aríon ro existing knowledge frameworks, and that the
efficient readcr acrivates the necessary frameworks to assisr in decoding the
text being read. The frameworks are nor only knowledge about rhe world
(e.g . about narural phenomena, aboU[ typical sequences of real-life eventS
168
a nd beha viour), but also abour rcxts, how te
o rga nised , rhus cnabling us [() ralk about rwo
[orinal, rcspectivcly. The rheory in irself sce
we are loeked into rhc world of rhe rexr, rhe
mari ón. Ir is ofrcn held rilar the reacher 's job
rhc appropriatc schernara . Whilc we llave a
dicring what textual parrernts) a given rext m
activiry 5 as an awareness activity for consn
not at all certain whether activaring the right
help rnuch if rhe right conrcnr schcma is lal
becomes one of supplying the appropriarc e
va st number of te xtual encounrers, rben we a
as such and firmly in the realm of rhc rcach
necessarily teaching the learner any skill that \
What we have already said, and whar I
listening and rcading have in common a p
receiver, and, if any insighr is ro be raken sen
analysis, ir is rhar good lisrencrs and readers
segrnenration of rhe discourse, whethcr by il
or by orthographical features in writing, or
in bocho Whar is also c1ear is rhar good lis
predicring what is to come, both in [erms
rcrms of larger pa[[erns such as problem-s
This aet of prediction may be in the form of I
a more diffuse prediction of a set of quesri(
answer. For this reason, inrerprering the a
grammar and vocabulary as [O whar quesrio
as usefu! as predicring, for example, rhe (
senrence or paragraph. This will mean payíl
as c1efr senrences (see section 2.3), rherorit
adverbials and orher markers, and any othe
reading rexr will be seen sim u lta neo usly
context and a particular set of assumptions (
llnfolding message in which the writer has
content, with signposts at various stages to 1
Reader activity 9 ~
Try and predict as much as you can abour d
paragraphs which are given on rhe followl
caused rhe problem of [he telcphone boxes b
give us an answer? What other (hings is it I
rypical problem-solurion texr?

. as ro how the , segrncnrs' of thc text
,
r"I~r
~ .. e ro
es ro rhe .reach1l1g of wrir ing, rcnd ro l' -1 Uti e
llC
oc mat erials for thc rcachinu of wririn I
ro -p laaruu
nning of rext with
." rcgard ro parrerng uo
rhers we have looked at (e.g. Harnp -Lyons
de r
id il,ldeed, rhe \~rhole discussion of discoursc
;, WIthOl.lr co~sldering rhe inf1uence of d is­
of reading.' Whar we shall • conclude ab our
11 lows consistenrly from whar we havo said
les: we cann~t explain discourse parrerning
19 due arrcntron ro rhe role of gramrnar and
nor. fosrer good reading without consider­
lis sirnulraneouslv
read ing pedagogy have centred on wherher
the rexr step-by-srep from small textual
ases) o,r top-down (using macro-level clues
. more lmportant. The debare seems ro have
~ rom i s e ~e~ween local and global decoding,
. rhar eftiClent readers use rop-down and
eously (e.g. Eskey 1988). This fits with our
:in.g manifesred in macro-Je-,rel parrerns ro
:xlCo-grammarical choices contribute. The
)urage an engagement wirh larger rextual
oblem-solving exercises at rhe whole-text
individual words, phrases and grammarical
Illlld rhe texr (e.g. Greenall and Swan 1986
ngredients) .
lcro-Ievel, caurion in how ro introduce the
r. I.n rhe case of cohesion, for example, rhe
~cslon and coherence is ullc!ear, and focus­
mg ~urposes mal' not guaranree any berrer
'tlatlon of rhe rexr (see Steffensen 1988). At
nade i~1 recent years of schema rheory, rhat
-Iedge 111 the reader's ability ro make sense
[ new knowledge can only be processed
ng knowledge frameworks, and rhat rhe
:ssary frameworks ro assisr in decoding rhe
s are nar only knowledge abour rhe world
abo ut rypical sequences of real-Jife events
6.9 Discourse and the reader
and beh aviour), bur also abour rcxrs, IHJ\\' texrs are rypically structurcd and
organi scd, thu s enabling us ro ralk abour two kinds of schernam : content and
s [ormal; respec~ivel y . Thc theo~y in irself seerns plau sible enough; thc more
we are locked mro rhe world ot the text , rhe easier ir is ro absorh new infor­
marion. Ir is ofrcn hcld thar rhc rcacher's [ob is ro help the reader ro activare
t~c ~ppropriarc schernara. \X1hik wc have alrcady tesred the value of pre­
dlC~lI~g \~har textual parrcrn ís) a givcn texr rnay be going ro rcalise in Reader
acnviry .) as al~ awarcness acriviry for co nstrucring patrerns in writing, ir is
nor ar all ce:ralll wherher acrivanng rhe righr formal scherna for reading can
help rnuch if rhc nghr conrcnt schcrna is lacking. If rhc reachcr's job rhen
becomcs onc of supplying thc appropriare conrenr schernara for a possibly
vast nurnber of textual en counters, rhen we are out of the world of discourse
as such and tirmly in the realm of rhe teaching of culture, and w« are not
necessarily teaching the learner any skill rhar will be suhsequently producrive,
What we havc already said, and whar may be repeated now, is thar
listcning and reading have in comrnon a po sirive and active role for the
receiver, and, if any insight is ro he taken scriously on board from discourse
analy sis , ir is thar good lisrcners and readers are constautly attending to thc
segmentarion of the discourse , wherher by inronarion al features in speech,
?r by orthogra~hical features in writing, or by lexico-grammarical signals
111 borh. What IS also clear is that good lisrencrs and readers are always
predicting what is ro come, borh in rerms of rhe nexr few words and in
terms of Iarger patterns sllch as problem-solurion, narrarive, and so on .
This aet of prediction mal' be in the form of precise prediction of content or
a more diffuse predicrion of a ser of quesriolls thar rhe author is likely to
answer. For this reason, inrerpreting rhe aurhor's signals at rhe leve! of
grammar and vocabulary as ro whar questions he/she is going ro address is
as uscful as predicring, for example, rhe contem of rhe resr of a given
senrence or paragraph . This wil! mean paying arrention ro srrucrures such
as clef~ sentences (see secrion 2.3), rherorical qllesrions, from-placing of
I
adverblals and orher markers, and any orhcr discourse-Icvel fearure:s. The
reading rexr will be scen simulrancously as an artifacr arising from a
conrexr and a particular ser of assumprions of world knowledge, and as an
unfolding message in which the wrirer has cllcoded a lar more rhan ¡ust
content, with signposrs ar various stages ro guide rhe rcader around .
Reader activity 9 ......o
Try and predicr as much as you can abour this news rexr from rhe first two
paragraphs which are given on rhe following page. Whar do you rhink
causcd rhe problem of rhe tdephone boxes being our of order? Will rhe texr
give liS an answer? Whar orher things is it likely ro tell us? Will rhis be a
typical problem-solurion texr?
169
6 Written language
Public telephones ring
again in Newmarket
A NEW era is about to dawn for
Newmarket residents who for the
past few weeks have been unable to
use the public telephone boxes in the
town.
Following complaints made over
several weeks British Telecom set
aside two days last week and several
engineers worked to put the' faults
right.
(from Cambridgel Neunnarket TowlI Crier, 1 August 1987, p. 32)
6.10 Conclusion
Ar rhis point, we have come ro rhe conc!usion not only of this chaprer, bur
of this book. Thcre willno doubr be many orher things that will need to be
said about discoursc analysis and language reaching, for discourse analysis
is a fast-rnoving discipline, and our knowledge of how language occurs in
its na rural conrcxts is growing all rhe time. There is, perhaps, lirtle need ro
reiterare rhe conc!usions rhar have constanrly reared their heads in rhe
course of chis book, out this may be thc righr morncnt ro restare one
fundamental principie: just because Iinguists can describe a phenorncnon
convincingly does nor mean rhar ir has ro bccome an e1ement of the
language-teaching syllabus. Thc practica] pressurcs of language teaching
mean thar teachers will always, rightly, wanr ro evaluare ca refully any
dcscriptive insights befare taking rhern wholly ro heart as reaching points,
Discourse analysis is not a rncrhod for teaching languagcs, nor does it clairn
ro be rhar. Bur ir is m)' OWIl personal view rhat discourse analysis has
presented us with a fundarnentally different way uf looking ar language
compared wirh scnrence-dorninated modcls, one in which the traditional
e1ements of grammar, lexis and phonology srill have a fundamental pan to
play, out one which is biggcr and more immediately relevant. What is more,
we now know more abour what people acrually do with language when
rhey speak and write, and no ¡onger have to rely on what textbooks largely
based on intuiríon and sometimes, sadly, on Classical-based notions of
what 'good' usagc ¡s, claim ro be rhe wa}' peoplc speak and wrire. We
know more abour the dclieate rdatiollship bctween language forms and
170
particular conrexrs and users; such kno
valuable. Teachcrs will rnake up their (
rnethods and techniqucs nced rethinking
analysrs say, bur, as wirh all new rrends in !
ir is irnportant rhar discourse analysis be s
of applicd linguisrs bur ulso ro the testin,
and classroom activities. I hope rhar rhis lx
will inspire a good deal more, especially o
Further reading
On differences between spccch and wnnng,
Torric and Biicklund (1986 ), Bibcr (1988) an
For more 011 implicimess/explicitness in spce
A ver)' pracrical1y oriented approach ro speech
al . (1986).
Good general papers on recent vicws of writin¡
Discussion of differenr approaches ro thc reachi
(1983 and 1987), Shih (1986) and Michaels (
On thc links between rhc density of cohesivo rie
and Mosenrbal (1983).
On the status of rhe paragraph, see Longacre (
For a discourse-segrnent approach lo paragra
(1989 ).
The arguments for and againsr cross-cultural
discoursc leve! may be pursued furrher in CI1
and McCagg (1983), Scarcella (1984), HOI
Sralker and Stalker (1989).
Rhetoric studics coutrasting English wirh 0 1
Hindi, German, Korean, Mandarin and J:
(1983).
Problerns associated with rop-down and bo
explored in C a rrell (1988).
-Schema rheory is discussed in Rumelharr (15
(1983), or tbe updared versi ón of rhis par
5reffensen (1986 ); wherher conrcnt or fon
prehension more is raken IIp in Caerel1 (198~
Hocy and Winrcr (986) give funher details on
On infcrence and che language learncr, sec C:II
The reciprocal relarionship between writer al
(1986) and in Smith (1986).

nes ring
particular co n rex rs and use rs; suc h knowledge can only be irnmenselj
market
valuablc. Teachers will rnake up their own rninds as ro wherher rheir
to dawn for
vho for the
n unable to
le boxes in the
s rnade over
Telecom set
ek and severa]
ut the faults
'ket Town Crier, 1 Augusr 1987, p . 32)
. conclusion not only of this chapter, but
be many orher thíngs rhar will need to be
anguagc teaching, for discourse analysis
Ir knowledge of how language occurs in
[he time. There is, perhaps, Iirrle need to
le consrantly reared rheir heads in the
IY be the right rnornent te restare ene
linguists can describe a phenomenon
r it has ro become an elcmenr of rhe
'~3.ctical pressures of language reaching
rightly, wanr ro evaluare carefully any
hcm wholly ro heart as reaching poinrs.
fur reaching languagcs, nor does it clairn
,on.al view that discutlrsc analysis has
y dlfferent way of looking at language
d models, one in which the traditional
. nology still have a fundamental pan te
.o re immediately relevant. What is more,
)cople actually do with language when
r have to rely On what textbooks largely
;, sadly, on Classical-based notions of
: rhe way people speak and write. We
arionship berween language forms and
6.10 Conclusii
mcrhod s and rechniqucs nced rcrhinking in rhe lighr of what discourse
analysrs say, but, a s wirh all ncw rrcnds in linguistic theory and description,
ir is important rhat discoursc analysis be subjccred not only ro the scrutiny
of applied linguisrs but also ro the resting grounds of practica] rnarerials
and classroorn acrivirics. J hope rhar rhis book has done a lirtle of borh, and
will inspire a good deal more, espccially of rhe latter.
Further reading
On diffcrcnccs bcrwcen speech a nd ....'rrn ng, sce Chafe (1982), Redeker (1984),
Tottic and Backlund (1986 ), Bibcr (19H8) and Halliday (1989).
For more on implicitness/explicirness in speech and writing, see Mazzie (1987).
A vcry pracrically oricnted approach ro spcech and writing is found in F~eeborn et
al. (1986).
Good general papers on rccent views of wriring are ro be found in Couture (1986).
Discu ssion of differenr approaches 10 the reaching of wriring can be found in Zarncl
(1983 and 1987), Shih (1986) and Michacls (1987).
On rhc links berween rhe dcnsity of cohesivc ries and overalJ coherence, see Tierney
and Mosenrhal (198.3).
On thc status of the paragraph, sec Longacre (1979) .
For a discourse-segrnenr approach ro paragraphs see Srark (1988) and Hofmann
(1989 ).
Thc argurnents for and againsr cross-culrural differences and intcrference at rhe
discourse level rnay be pursucd furrher in Clyne (1981 and 1987a and b), Connor
and McCagg (1983), SearceIla (1984), House (1985), Wienbicka (1985) and
Sralker and Sralker (19H9).
Rhcroric studics contrasting English wirh orher, specific languages (including
Híndi, German, Korcan, Mandarin and ]apanese) may be found in Kaplan
(1983).
Problerns associared wirh top-down and borrorn-up srraregies in reading are
explorcd in Carrell (1988) .
Scherna rhcory is discussed in R urnclharr (1975)"and in Carrell and Eisrerhold
(1983), or rhe updared versión of rhis paper in Carrell et al. (1988), and in
Srcffcnscn (l9H6 ); whcthcr contcnt or formal sehemara affect rcading eom ­
prehcnsion more is rakcn up in Carrell (1987).
Hoey and Winrer (1986) give funher dcrails on the qucsrion-answer partern.
On infen:n<.:c and rhe Ianguagc !carner, see Canon (1971) .
The reciprocal relarionship berwecn wrirer and reader is explored in Nysrrand
(1986) and in Smith (1986).
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