Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jan 1986

Co-Associative Lexical Cohesion in Promotional Literature

Michael P. Jordan Queen's University

Abstract

Extracts from technical advertising and new-product announcements are used as the basis for analysis of the structures and linguistic signaling of many forms of comparison. Based initially on descriptive texts, the analysis also explains problem-solving texts with and without comparison; and comparative texts are seen to include implicit differences or overt comparison as “knocking” copy. Comparative cohesion by co-hyponyms is shown to be the central feature of co-associative cohesion between separate features of competing products, and clause-relating matching relations are explained in these terms. The concept of improvement is discussed in terms of problem-solving, difference and the matching relations of comparative denial. Final notes are provided regarding the significance of this work to the developing paradigm of technical writing.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
1986-01-01
DOI
10.2190/b2t3-9p7j-td84-7x7d
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
technical communication editorial matter
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

  1. Palmer-Silveira et al. (2014)
    Examining U.S. and Spanish Annual Reports: Crisis Communication
    Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
  2. Connor (1994)
    Research on Technical and Scientific Communication in Canada: A Bibliographical…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

References (56) · 1 in this index

  1. Hayakawa S. I. (1949)
    Language in Thought and Action
  2. Dunn S. W. (1956)
    Advertising and Selling
  3. Leech G. N. (1966)
    English in Advertising
  4. Winter E. O. (1964)
    The Language of Contemporary Newspaper Advertisements in English
  5. 10.1017/CBO9781139165570
     ↗
Show all 56 →
  1. Hudson R. A. (1968)
    Sentence and Clause in Scientific English
  2. Winter E. O. (1974)
    “Replacement as a Function of Repetition,”
  3. Halliday M. A. K. (1976)
    Cohesion in English
  4. Jordan M. P. (1984)
    Fundamentals of Technical Description
  5. Jordan (1981)
    Some Associated Nominals in Technical Writing
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  6. Jordan M. P. (1985)
    Systemic Perspectives in Discourse
  7. Jordan M. P. (1983)
    Technostyle
  8. 10.1177/002194368201900401
     ↗
  9. Jordan M. P. (1983)
    LACUS Forum
  10. Winter E. O. (1976)
    Fundamentals of Information Structure
  11. Hoey M. P. (1979)
    Signalling in Discourse
  12. 10.1007/BF00177328
     ↗
  13. Jordan M. P., Structured Information in Functional Writing, Teaching English in the Two-Year College, Fall, 1982.
  14. Hoey M. P. (1981)
    LACUS Forum
  15. Jordan M. P. (1981)
    LACUS Forum
  16. Hoey M. P. (1983)
    On the Surface of Discourse
  17. Jordan M. P. (1984)
    Rhetoric of Everyday English Texts
  18. Jordan M. P. (1984)
    TESL Talk
  19. Jordan M. P. (1986)
    Solving Problems in Technical Writing
  20. Beekman J. (1984)
    Translating the Word of God
  21. Longacre R. E. (1972)
    Hierarchy and Universality of Discourse Constituents in New Guinea Languages
  22. Mann W. C. (1983)
    Relational Propositions in Discourse
  23. 10.1515/9783110886474
     ↗
  24. Jordan M. P. (1978)
    “The Principal Semantics of the Nominals This and That in Contemporary English Writing,”
  25. 10.1007/BF00125597
     ↗
  26. Jordan M. P. (1985)
    Technostyle
  27. Jordan M. P. (1985)
    Technostyle
  28. Jordan M. P. (1986)
    Functional Approaches to Writing: Research Perspectives
  29. Jordan M. P. (1982)
    Proceedings, 29th International Technical Communications Conference
  30. 10.1017/S0022226700012949
     ↗
  31. Quirk R. (1972)
    A Grammar of Contemporary English
  32. Scheurwegs G. (1959)
    Present-Day English Syntax
  33. Jordan M. P. (1986)
    The Technical Writing Teacher
  34. Jordan M. P. (1985)
    Conference on Writing Centers
  35. Crystal D. (1959)
    Investigating English Style
  36. Klima E. S. (1964)
    The Structure of Language: Readings in the Philosophy of Language
  37. Jordan M. P. (1984)
    LACUS Forum
  38. Quirk R. (1954)
    The Concessive Relation in Old English Poetry
  39. Winter E. O., Connection in Science Material: A Proposition about the Semantics of Clause Relations, CILT Pap…
  40. Harper K. E. (1965)
    Studies in Inter-Sentence Connection, Memorandum R.M. 4828-PR
  41. 10.1177/002194367801500201
     ↗
  42. Winkler V. M. (1983)
    The Technical Writing Teacher
  43. Winter E. O. (1983)
    Towards a Contextual Grammar of English
  44. Lonergan J. (1984)
    Book Review of Rhetoric in Everyday English Texts
  45. Masterman M., A New Approach to Finding Large-Scale Information Structures, Language Monthly, pp. 23–24, Febr…
  46. (1980)
    Instructional Science
  47. Gutwinski W. (1981)
    LACUS Forum
  48. (1982)
    Journal of Business Communication
  49. Greaves W. S. (1985)
    Systemic Perspectives on Discourse
  50. Co-Associative CohesioApplied Linguistics Research Working Group, York University, Toronto, Canada, 1983; als…
  51. (1984)
    TESL Talk
CrossRef global citation count: 5 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Pedagogy Oct 2025
    Contributors ↗
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory cultural rhetorics first-year composition writing pedagogy advanced composition creative writing writing across the curriculum graduate education two-year college service learning teacher development technical communication professional writing labor and working conditions archival research multimodality artificial intelligence literacy studies race and writing gender and writing disability studies literary studies editorial matter
  2. Pedagogy Apr 2025
    Contributors ↗
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism african american rhetorics cultural rhetorics first-year composition writing pedagogy basic writing graduate education two-year college teacher development writing centers technical communication professional writing labor and working conditions digital rhetoric multimodality social media literacy studies race and writing gender and writing community literacy literary studies editorial matter
  3. Technical Communication Quarterly Oct 2024
    ’F---- Shark Tank:’ Rethinking the Centrality of the Business Pitch in Microenterprise Entrepreneurship ↗
    Mason T. Pellegrini
    rhetorical criticism genre theory graduate education technical communication professional writing qualitative research race and writing affect and writing editorial matter
  4. Technical Communication Quarterly Oct 2024
    Social Justice and “Harmful Tech”: Dis-Orienting Militarized Research ↗
    Calvin Pollak; Sanvi Bhardwaj
    rhetorical criticism discourse analysis writing pedagogy teacher development technical communication scientific writing race and writing disability studies editorial matter
  5. Technical Communication Quarterly Oct 2024
    Editors’ Use of Comprehensive Style Guides: The Case of Singular They ↗
    Jo Mackiewicz; Shaya Kraut; Allison Durazzi
    rhetorical criticism discourse analysis first-year composition writing pedagogy graduate education teacher development writing centers technical communication professional writing digital rhetoric multilingual writers grammar and mechanics literacy studies race and writing public rhetoric editorial matter