This chapter presents a system of analysis developed for an undergraduate course in Discourse

Analysis at the National University of Singapore. The authors aimed to define analytical
categories for students to apply confidently while providing a flexible system that can handle
various discourse situations. They interpreted and integrated various adaptations and
refinements of the original Sinclair-Coulthard model, resulting in a revised version that
accurately reflects different types of talk while remaining true to the original model's
principles. The authors propose two radical changes to the notion of 'exchange', abandoning
the one-to-one correspondence between move and element of exchange structure and
discussing the limits of the exchange. They also introduce an additional element of structure,
R/I, and express typical exchanges as I (R/I) R (Fn). The revised system aims to accurately
reflect different types of talk while remaining true to the original model's principles.

This chapter presents data from a complete telephone conversation between two native
English speakers, who are close friends. Video recording was chosen for two reasons: to avoid
criticism of face-to-face interaction and to capture short interactions with rituals. The data
mainly consists of two-party conversations, with Singaporeans as the majority.

The system of analysis

The system of analysis focuses on the structure of everyday conversations, based on

diagrammatic representations from Sinclair and Coulthard's 1975 work. It provides three-
column lists for each rank, from Transaction to Act, presenting the elements of structure of
each class or unit. The system is applicable to everyday conversation, excluding categories
typical of formal situations. The elements of structure include initiation, conversational, and
move structure. The system includes framing, opening, answering, and eliciting. The system is
based on Sinclair and Coulthard's diagrammatic representations and is applicable to everyday
conversations. The system includes elements of structure such as initiation, conversational,
and move structure. It is not applicable in two-party everyday conversations.

Explanation of the system of analysis

This summary discusses the system of analysis of language structure, starting with the lowest
rank of Act, which is realized at the level of grammar and lexis. Acts are units at the lowest
rank of discourse level and are essential to an intonational paradigm and describing basic
functions of language, such as asking others to do things. The list of acts includes starters,
meta-ms, conclusion, acquiesce, greeting, reply-re-gr, and summons.

Starter acts provide information about or direct attention towards the act realizing the move
head. Meta-ms structures the conversation prospectively and obtains a warrant for doing so.
Conclusions tie up a particular topic and obtain a warrant for doing so. Acquiesce is realized by
'yes' and other items indicating assent, while greeting involves a closed class of items forming
the first-pair parts of adjacency pairs used in rituals of greeting and leave-taking. Summons are
realized by the ringing of the telephone, a knock at the door, or the calling of somebody's
name.

In a conversation, the lts function is to engage another participant or attract their attention. It
is realized by answering questions, such as 'helio' or 'what?', and indicating willingness to
participate. Inquiry inq is used to seek information, while neutral proposal marked proposal
n.pr m.pr is used to elicit a decision between 'yes' and 'no'. Return ret loop is used to seek
clarification of a preceding utterance, and prompt p is used to reinforce the point of a
preceding utterance. Observation obs is realized by statement, and informing moves at 1 or R/I