This accessible guide to discourse employs an innovative, inductive approach, with a clear focus on genre that allows students to examine language in context. Using real texts, students are shown how each dimension of discourse links together and are offered practical guidance on how to carry out a discourse analysis project.

This text provides students with the basic descriptive knowledge they are required to master before moving on to more advanced study. The book is organized under thematic headings, which are thoroughly cross-referenced, enabling students and teachers to use the book as required--either as a course text or to help with individual aspects of language. Each section includes an introduction, worked examples, "in context" sections relating the topic to real text examples, suggestions for further reading and analysis and a summary.