Discourse Ms. Kathryn Bacchus

Discourse There are three (3) main types of discourse: Written Verbal Non-verbal

Examples of Discourse Written Verbal Non-verbal Encyclopedia News reports Maps Newspaper and magazine articles Radio talk shows, sermon Tables and charts Novels and other books Radio advertisements Sign language Essays Conversations Body language Recipes Songs Comic strips Manuals Dramatic performances Posters Emails, letters, texts Documentaries Facial expressions Dramatic scripts Story-telling Eye contact Police report Debate, interviews Physical appearance Written speech Spoken speech, lecture Silence, time, space

Discourse Each type of discourse has a particular purpose which depends on the intended audience. e.g. 1: A recipe on ‘Barbequed Steak’ is intended to inform those who enjoy cooking and barbequing. e.g. 2: A map is meant to inform people who are looking for directions to a specific place/ area. e.g. 3: A documentary is meant to educate the public/ historians/ researchers/ students about important issues taking place in the world.

Argumentative/Persuasive Written Discourse Written discourse can further be broken down into four (4) categories: Narrative Expository Written Discourse Argumentative/Persuasive Descriptive

Expository Writing Expository writing is used to explain, Expository Writing is a term that refers to various styles of non-fiction (factual) writing, e.g. newspaper and magazine articles, extracts from Science texts, police reports. Expository writing is used to explain, describe or inform.

Expository Writing Expository Writing can take several forms but the six (6) we will be studying are: Cause and Effect Descriptive Classification Compare and Contrast Problem and Solution Process-based

Expository Writing – Cause and Effect A cause-effect essay serves one of the two purposes: to show the effects of an event to explain the causes of an event In other words, cause and effect writing aims at explaining why things happen (i.e. causes) and what happens as a result (i.e. effects). There are several possible relationships between causes and effects.

One Cause – One Effect Because I ate too much candy, I got a stomach ache. Here we have one cause – eating too much candy which leads to one effect – the stomach ache

Many Causes – One Effect One’s poor health may be attributed to malnutrition, overwork and a lack of sleep.

One Cause – Many Effects When a man loses his job, many undesirable things may happen as a result. The bank may take away his house since he can’t pay the mortgage; his children may have to transfer to a public school because there is no extra money for the high tuition fees for private schools, and he may have to sell his car for cash and to cut down on expenses.

Ripple Effect or Chain Reaction Let’s take the ripple effect of global warming for example. The increase of carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere leads to a rise in temperature, which causes the ice sheets in the two Polar Regions to melt, which poses a threat not only to animals there but also to people living along the coastlines. The rise of temperature also causes a breakdown in ecological balance. Fish swim northwards and trees blossom in the wrong season, which causes many species to lose food sources. In this example, one event leads to another, which may still lead to one or more other events.

Review Types of discourse: written, verbal, non-verbal Types of written discourse: expository, descriptive, narrative, argumentative/ persuasive Types of expository discourse: cause and effect, problem and solution, comparison and contrast, process-based, descriptive, classification Expository discourse: Cause and Effect One cause-one effect Many causes – one effect One cause – many effects Ripple Effect/ chain reaction