Brief description
This module introduces students to the linguistic study of the characteristics of spoken and written texts. It examines in detail selected aspects of the major themes of coherence and cohesion in texts.

Aims of the module

• To introduce the principles and methods of discourse analysis in Linguistics;
• To develop practical skills through the analysis of texts;
• To conduct independent investigation and discussion of various issues in the subject.

Syllabus
The lectures will be based on the following topics:

• Introduction to the discourse setting: text and context
• Cohesion
• Sentence relationships
• Conversational exchange
• Information structure
• Topics
• Early stylistic analysis and sociolinguistics
• Inference and coherence

Tutorial / seminar work will be based:

• partly on additional themes which individual students will investigate and present to the rest of the class,
• and partly on pursuing in further detail selected themes form the lectures.

Learning outcomes
On the successful completion of this module, students should:

• be aware of the principles and methods of discourse analysis in Linguistics;
• have developed practical skills to analyse written and spoken texts;
• be able to conduct independent investigation and discussion of various issues in the subject.