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Nature and Purpose of A Discourse

Discourse refers to both written and spoken communication. It can be analyzed on both small and large scales. David Sloan Wilson stated that discourse involves both cooperative and selfish strategies, and recognizing "discourse hawks" is important to keep discourse cooperative. The document goes on to discuss the nature, purposes, and types of discourse, including argumentation, description, exposition, narration, poetic, expressive, transactional, academic, and literary discourses. Key differences between academic and literary discourses are also outlined.

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Arcelita Aninon Magbanua
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4K views

Nature and Purpose of A Discourse

Discourse refers to both written and spoken communication. It can be analyzed on both small and large scales. David Sloan Wilson stated that discourse involves both cooperative and selfish strategies, and recognizing "discourse hawks" is important to keep discourse cooperative. The document goes on to discuss the nature, purposes, and types of discourse, including argumentation, description, exposition, narration, poetic, expressive, transactional, academic, and literary discourses. Key differences between academic and literary discourses are also outlined.

Uploaded by

Arcelita Aninon Magbanua
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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NATURE AND PURPOSE OF A

DISCOURSE
NATURE OF DISCOURSE

• David Sloan Wilson stated that discourse is a


social behaviour with cooperative (dove) and
selfish (hawk) strategies. If we want discourse to
be cooperative, we need to recognize, avoid, and
punish discourse hawks.
NATURE OF DISCOURSE

• Discourse is any written or spoken communication. It can also


be described as the expression of thought through language.
While discourse can refer to the smallest act of
communication, the analysis can be quiet complex.
•  In literature, discourse means speech or writing, normally
longer than sentences, which deals with a certain
subject formally.
PURPOSE OF DISCOURSE

1. To inform
  A discourse may aim to inform; such discourse provides a descriptive
and comprehensive discussion on the topic. It points out what one should
know about a topic or subject.   
2. To persuade 
A discourse that aims to persuade tries to convince the readers that
the proposed claim or solution is better than any other proposal.   
3. To entertain 
A discourse that aims to amuse provides a source of entertainment for
its readers. 
TYPES OF DISCOURSE

To identify a Discourse Type, you must pay attention to:


o The writer`s purpose
o The main idea of the speech/passage
o The type of language used
o The way the information is organised
TYPES OF DISCOURSE

Argumentation
o Appeals to the reader`s intellect.
o Presents its contentions through facts, statistics, and
quotes.
o Supported by logical reasoning and pieces of evidence.
o In an argumentative discourse, the writer aims ​to
persuade the audience or readers​.
TYPES OF DISCOURSE

Description
o Usually used to help the audience visualise people
and places, but it can also put the audience in a
particular mood or create a certain type of
atmosphere.
TYPES OF DISCOURSE

Description
o Writers use description to:
create the setting for a story
to illustrate ideas
to help clarify a definition or a comparison
to make the complexities of a process more
understandable
TYPES OF DISCOURSE

Exposition
o Writing to explain, clarify or inform.
o This group constitutes the majority of writing people
encounter.
o Exposition depends on clear presentation and the
verifiability of data.
o E.g., laboratory report, book summary, stock report,
encyclopedia, instructions
TYPES OF DISCOURSE

Narration
o The general purpose of narration is ​to relate a series of
events​.
o To narrate is to tell a story or to recount a series of
events. Whenever you relate an incident or use an
anecdote (a very brief story) to make a point, you use
narration.
TYPES OF DISCOURSE

Narration
o The general purpose of narration is ​to relate a series of
events​.
o To narrate is to tell a story or to recount a series of
events. Whenever you relate an incident or use an
anecdote (a very brief story) to make a point, you use
narration.
FEATURES AND TYPES OF LITERARY
DISCOURSES

Poetic
Poetic discourse is a type of literary conversation which focuses on
the expression of feelings, ideas, imaginations, events, and places
through specific rhymes and rhythms. It makes use of common
words in appealing ways to present feelings and emotions. The
mechanism of poetic discourse involves certain steps starting from
different sources, then entering the mental process, mental
realization, and then finally into a finished product as poetry.
FEATURES AND TYPES OF LITERARY
DISCOURSES

Poetic Example
A Character 
(By William Wordsworth)
“I marvel how Nature could ever find space
For so many strange contrasts in one human face:
There’s thought and no thought, and there’s paleness and bloom
And bustle and sluggishness, pleasure and gloom.”
FEATURES AND TYPES OF LITERARY
DISCOURSES

Expressive
Expressive discourse does not involve the presentation of facts, or
the motivating of others, but is rather a reflection of our emotions
that form the foundation of our expressions. This is a form of
basic or entry-level discourse, and is beneficial for beginners in
the field of literature. It primarily deals with generating ideas with
no concrete source. Examples include academic essays and
diaries.
FEATURES AND TYPES OF LITERARY
DISCOURSES

Expressive Example
• The Diary of Samuel Pepys 
• (By Samuel Pepys, 1660)
• “We met very early at our office this morning to pick out the twenty-five
ships which are to be first paid off. After that to Westminster and dined
with Mr. Dalton at his office, where we had one great court dish, but our
papers not being done we could [not] make an end of our business till
Monday next. Mr. Dalton and I over the water to our landlord Vanly, with
whom we agree as to Dalton …”
FEATURES AND TYPES OF LITERARY
DISCOURSES

Transactional
The basic aim in this kind of discourse is to convey the message in
such a way that it is clearly understood without any confusion.
Whatever is said has no ambiguity – everything is clear for the
reader. Usually, this type of discourse is in active voice. Examples
include instructions, guidelines, manuals, privacy policies, and
patient instructions as written by doctors.
ACADEMIC DISCOURSES

o An ​academic discourse is expository or argumentative in nature.


o Forms of oral and written language and communication (genres, registers,
graphics, linguistic structures, interactional patterns) that are privileged,
expected, cultivated, conventionalized, or ritualized. It is usually evaluated
by instructors, editors, and others in educational and professional contexts.
o Academic discourse encompasses the idea of dialogue, language used, and
a format that facilities a high level of communication in the classroom.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ACADEMIC
AND LITERARY DISCOURSES

Aspect Literary Discourse Academic Discourse


Tone reflective and personal serious and a bit impersonal
Style symbolic and imaginative formal and authoritative
Choice of words simple, but may be figurative uses specialized language of
disciplines
Organization of ideas flows freely and spontaneously follows a pattern of presenting ideas
Purpose to show/tell unfolding of details/events to inform, to explain, to argue/assert
Intended audience varies, depending on complexity of text discipline-specific
• https://evolution-institute.org/the-nature-of-discourse/
• https://literarydevices.net/discourse/
• https://slideplayer.com/amp/9944898/
• https://slideplayer.com/amp/7875674/
• https://literarydevices.net/discourse/
• Function of Discourse
• The role of discourse is hard to ignore in our daily intellectual pursuits, for it provides a basis
to conduct a comparative analysis and frame our perceptions about different things. For
instance, two competing discourses about the civil war in Syria today can be used to qualify
the war as either “war against dictatorship,” or “war against imperialism.” On the other hand,
it could be deemed as “war against Islam,” or “war for humanity.” Thus, both discourses
provide a distinct style, vocabulary, and presentation, which are required to convey the
respective ideas to a specific audience.
• According to Jacques Lucan and Ferdinand de Saussure, language (discourse) is the main
force which works behind all kinds of human activities and changes in social fabric; whereas
Modernists attribute discourse to development and progress. Another important function of
discourse is to generate and preserve truth as argued by the Postmodernist theories.

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