1. Cape Communication Studies (McDermott) pg 46-52; 74-83
2. Writing in English (Section 3) Chps 8-11
In your reading you are to look for:
a. The Definition of 'Discourse'
b. The Definition of 'Main Idea'
c. The motives for choosing a particular type of discourse
d. The differences between the different types of discourse: description, narration, exposition, persuasion, and argumentation.
Technical/Scientific Writing vs Artistic Writing
There are two (2) major Prose discourse types - Technical/Scientific Writing and Artistic Writing. Below is how the two differ:
Technical Writing Artistic Writing
1. Objective Subjective
2. Scientific data, figures & statistics Opinions, Biases
3. Precise language Figurative Language
4. Denotative/Concrete words Connotative Words
5. Neutral Tone Affective Tone
There are at least five (5) modes of rhetoric that may utilize either one or a combination of technical and artistic writing depending on the topic, purpose for writing, and audience. Rhetoric is simply defined as the art of influencing the thought and conduct of an audience.It also refers to the specialized literary uses of language and the ability to use language effectively in communication.
Types of Discourse/Rhetoric
Description
The main purpose of this type of discourse is to explain or describe some concept, person or setting, thought to be unfamiliar, to the audience. Descriptive writing uses various organizational/spatial strategies. For example in describing a house on a hill, a writer may start describing what it looks like starting from the base of the hill upwards (ground view). Another writer may start by describing how it looks from the skies going downwards to the base of the hill (aerial view).
Narration
The main purpose and distinguishing factor of this writing is to explain some concept according to a given time sequence. For example, The first thing Tory did when she arrived in the beautiful island of Jamaica was to take a dip in the beautiful azure ocean of the North Coast. Afterwards, she went to the infamous jerk restaurant, 'Scotchies', for some delicious jerk chicken, festival and roast corn. She then ordered two glasses of refreshing red stripe beer, which she savored as she rocked to the irie music floting in the island breeze. As the sun was about to set, she contacted a reliable tour company and went for a relaxing drive along the sea coast culminating in a tour of the alluring fern gully which covered with miles of the most gorgeous indegenious ferns.
Exposition
The main purpose of exposition is to define, inform, teach or explain some concept. As such, the expectation of expository writing is for it to be objective, precise and neutral (free from bias and prejudice). In otherwords, it mostly uses technical/scientific writing. Writers also employ a combination of varied organizational strategies in expostion, depending on their topic, audience and purpose for writing. These may include, cause and effect, comparison/contrast, definition, description/illustration, etc.
Persuasion
The main purpose of this type of writing is to convince or influence readers to accept a particular point of view. Persuasive writing does this by mainly appealing to readers' emotions. In this type of writing you may find the use of emotive words, repitition, figurative language, opinions, biases etc. In otherwords, this type of writing relies heavily on artistic writing.
Argumentation
The main purpose of this type of writing is to convince or influence readers to accept a particular point of view. Argumentative writing does this by appealing to readers' logic. Readers expect a strong piece of argumentative writing to be as objective and neutral as possible, and to convince them by presenting them with statistcal/scientific data, quotes, facts and other information that can be tested/substantiated. In otherwords, this type of writing relies heavily on technical/scientific writing.
Technical/Scientific Writing vs Artistic Writing
There are two (2) major Prose discourse types - Technical/Scientific Writing and Artistic Writing. Below is how the two differ:
Technical Writing Artistic Writing
1. Objective Subjective
2. Scientific data, figures & statistics Opinions, Biases
3. Precise language Figurative Language
4. Denotative/Concrete words Connotative Words
5. Neutral Tone Affective Tone
There are at least five (5) modes of rhetoric that may utilize either one or a combination of technical and artistic writing depending on the topic, purpose for writing, and audience. Rhetoric is simply defined as the art of influencing the thought and conduct of an audience.It also refers to the specialized literary uses of language and the ability to use language effectively in communication.
Types of Discourse/Rhetoric
Description
The main purpose of this type of discourse is to explain or describe some concept, person or setting, thought to be unfamiliar, to the audience. Descriptive writing uses various organizational/spatial strategies. For example in describing a house on a hill, a writer may start describing what it looks like starting from the base of the hill upwards (ground view). Another writer may start by describing how it looks from the skies going downwards to the base of the hill (aerial view).
Narration
The main purpose and distinguishing factor of this writing is to explain some concept according to a given time sequence. For example, The first thing Tory did when she arrived in the beautiful island of Jamaica was to take a dip in the beautiful azure ocean of the North Coast. Afterwards, she went to the infamous jerk restaurant, 'Scotchies', for some delicious jerk chicken, festival and roast corn. She then ordered two glasses of refreshing red stripe beer, which she savored as she rocked to the irie music floting in the island breeze. As the sun was about to set, she contacted a reliable tour company and went for a relaxing drive along the sea coast culminating in a tour of the alluring fern gully which covered with miles of the most gorgeous indegenious ferns.
Exposition
The main purpose of exposition is to define, inform, teach or explain some concept. As such, the expectation of expository writing is for it to be objective, precise and neutral (free from bias and prejudice). In otherwords, it mostly uses technical/scientific writing. Writers also employ a combination of varied organizational strategies in expostion, depending on their topic, audience and purpose for writing. These may include, cause and effect, comparison/contrast, definition, description/illustration, etc.
Persuasion
The main purpose of this type of writing is to convince or influence readers to accept a particular point of view. Persuasive writing does this by mainly appealing to readers' emotions. In this type of writing you may find the use of emotive words, repitition, figurative language, opinions, biases etc. In otherwords, this type of writing relies heavily on artistic writing.
Argumentation
The main purpose of this type of writing is to convince or influence readers to accept a particular point of view. Argumentative writing does this by appealing to readers' logic. Readers expect a strong piece of argumentative writing to be as objective and neutral as possible, and to convince them by presenting them with statistcal/scientific data, quotes, facts and other information that can be tested/substantiated. In otherwords, this type of writing relies heavily on technical/scientific writing.
do i have to use the books to find the meaning or can i just look for the meanings :)
ReplyDeleteHey there 'zzzz'! I would suggest that you go with the texts. Where as wiki and other sources give some helpful information...the texts are CAPE recommended and have what CAPE is looking for. I think that especially the 'Writing in English' does a beautiful job of pointing out the differences and strategies between the discourse types. The McDermott also has a nice little table that gives you the differences in point form, making it easy to remember.
ReplyDeletethank you so much
ReplyDeleteHello, i will be teaching communication Studies for the first time and i must say that this makes me very excited! I would love it if you could recommend some materials to me, thank you!
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