This work, which represents an integrated linguistic-argumentative approach, deals with the linguistic, argumentative and rhetorical analysis of English for Science and Technology (EST). The importance of this field for international communication has meant increased interest in the analysis of EST and above all in the analysis of the structure of EST texts.
The work is divided into three parts. The first part analyses important cognitive and argumentative operations, especially with regard to their function in EST. It looks at the types, objectives, forms and structures of arguments and defines and explains central concepts such as common and specific topoi. Part Two deals with how these cognitive and argumentative operations are realised in language, in microstructures and macrostructures, and ends by analysing a complete EST text. The third part takes this article and shows how it could be used in university-level EST teaching.

Autorentext

The Author: Dermot McElholm was born in Omagh, Northern Ireland, in 1952. He holds a B.A. in English Language and Literature and an M.A. in Linguistics from the University of Ulster (previously the New University of Ulster) in Northern Ireland. He received his Ph.D. from the Universität Hannover, Germany, in 1999. He works at the Fachsprachenzentrum, the LAP/LSP Centre, of the Universität Hannover, as a lecturer in English for Science and Technology.

Inhalt
Contents: Argumentation theory English for Science and Technology Cognitive and argumentative operations Text analysis Levels of communication Grammar Syntax of complex sentences Connectors Text structure Macrostructures Applications in EST teaching.