Downloads & Free Reading Options - Results

Combining linguistics and composition studies, this paper (part 1 of a two-part article) proposes a model for the analysis of information management and cohesion in written discourse. It defines concepts of discourse analysis--specifically information management, syntax, semantic reference, lexicon, cohesion, and intonation, with examples taken from publications in psychology, biology, and history. The paper discusses key terms related to reference and information, including "information unit,""theme,""rheme,""topic,""comment,""given,""new,""focus,""markedness,""topicalization,""thematization," and "rhematization." Its discussion of spoken discourse includes tone group, pitch, and tonic syllable. Cohesion is also discussed, with examples from the same publications, focusing on lexical cohesion, i.e. repetition, synonymy, antonymy, derivation, inclusion, and collocation. The paper is dependent on notions from the Prague School of Linguistics (Functional Sentence Perspective), M. A. K. Halliday's functional grammar, and research in the analysis of written discourse. Thirty-nine references and an appendix containing the sample texts are attached. (SR)

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert