This project will give you an opportunity to employ a discourse analysis method working with real data. You will be divided into groups to work on this project. You may state your preference for working with particular classmates in a group, but Profs. Goggin and Adams retain the right to move people around to create a balance of language, gender and disciplinary background.

Each group will choose to analyze the data in a different way. These approaches have been drawn from areas of research discussed in Johnstone and in Connor, and some have been supplemented by discussions from other sources. Here are the five areas:
 

 a) Cohesion
  Connor, pp. 83-84;  Johnstone, pp. 15, 101-3, 146

 b) Metadiscourse devices: Textual, interpersonal, contextualizing
  Connor, pp. 47-52; Johnstone, pp. 169, 204, 208, 221

 c) Given/New Information
  Connor, pp. 81-82; Johnstone, pp. 99-100
  Leech & Svartvik

 d) Coherence
  Connor, pp. 84-87; Johnstone, pp. 161-3, 189, 229

 e) Narrative Structure
  Connor, pp. 87-88; Johnstone, pp. 82-7, 189, 206, 229

For your 5-8 page paper, we want you to look for the patterns suggested by these prior studies. Tell us how consistent these patterns were in your data and if they were comprehensive enough to characterize what you found going on in the texts. If there were differences among the texts, do you think any of these differences can be accounted for by cultural identities of the authors?

A section of your 5-8 page paper should describe the methodology the group used to analyze the text, but how you choose to work as a group is up to the group. We would also like you to write a page of self evaluation as to how well the group process functioned. (This is in addition to the 5-8 page paper.)

The written part of this assignment is due on March 11 at the beginning of the class. It will be a single paper from the whole group. List all your names on the title page. The title should make clear which approach your group used. Your group members can decide how you want to handle writing this joint report on your findings.

Your oral presentations of your findings will also be on March 11.
 

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