Foucault presents possibly the best definition of discourse. He defines discourse as, “Systems of thoughts composed of ideas, attitudes , and courses of action, beliefs and practices that systematically construct the subjects and the worlds of which they speak.”
Originally, it has roots in the Latin language. The term assumes slightly different meanings in different contexts . In literature, discourse means speech or writing, normally longer than sentences , which deals with a certain subject formally. In other words, discourse is the presentation of language in its entirety, while performing an intellectual inquiry in a particular area or field, such as theological discourse or cultural discourse.
General Classifications of Discourse
Discourse can be classified into four main categories , namely:
The main focus of this type of discourse is to make the audience aware about the topic of the discussion. Definitions and comparative analysis of different ideas and beliefs are examples of discourse exposition .
Narration is a type of discourse that relies on stories, folklore or a drama as a medium of communication. Stage play , story , and folklore are narrative discourse examples.
Description
This type involves describing something in relation to the senses. Descriptive discourse enables the audience to develop a mental picture of what is being discussed. Descriptive parts of novel or essay are descriptive discourse examples.
This type of discourse is based on valid logic and, through correct reasoning, tries to motivate the audience. Examples of argumentative discourse include lectures, essays, and prose .
Examples of Discourse in Literature
Poetic discourse.
Poetic discourse is a type of literary conversation which focuses on the expression of feelings, ideas, imaginations, events, and places through specific rhymes and rhythms . Poetic discourse makes use of common words in appealing ways to present feelings and emotions. The mechanism of poetic discourse involves certain steps starting from different sources, then entering the mental process, mental realization, and then finally into a finished product as poetry.
Example #1: A Character (By William Wordsworth)
“I marvel how Nature could ever find space For so many strange contrasts in one human face: There’s thought and no thought, and there’s paleness and bloom And bustle and sluggishness, pleasure and gloom.”
Expressive Discourse
Expressive discourse does not involve the presentation of facts, or the motivating of others, but is rather a reflection of our emotions that form the foundation of our expressions. This is a form of basic or entry-level discourse, and is beneficial for beginners in the field of literature. It primarily deals with generating ideas with no concrete source. Examples include academic essays and diaries.
Example #2: The Diary of Samuel Pepys (By Samuel Pepys, 1660)
“We met very early at our office this morning to pick out the twenty-five ships which are to be first paid off. After that to Westminster and dined with Mr. Dalton at his office, where we had one great court dish, but our papers not being done we could [not] make an end of our business till Monday next. Mr. Dalton and I over the water to our landlord Vanly, with whom we agree as to Dalton …”
Transactional Discourse
The basic aim in this kind of discourse is to convey the message in such a way that it is clearly understood without any confusion. Whatever is said has no ambiguity – everything is clear for the reader. Usually, this type of discourse is in active voice . Examples include instructions, guidelines, manuals, privacy policies , and patient instructions as written by doctors.
Function of Discourse
The role of discourse is hard to ignore in our daily intellectual pursuits, for it provides a basis to conduct a comparative analysis and frame our perceptions about different things. For instance, two competing discourses about the civil war in Syria today can be used to qualify the war as either “war against dictatorship,” or “war against imperialism.” On the other hand, it could be deemed as “war against Islam,” or “war for humanity.” Thus, both discourses provide a distinct style , vocabulary, and presentation, which are required to convey the respective ideas to a specific audience.
According to Jacques Lucan and Ferdinand de Saussure, language (discourse) is the main force which works behind all kinds of human activities and changes in social fabric; whereas Modernists attribute discourse to development and progress. Another important function of discourse is to generate and preserve truth as argued by the Postmodernist theories.
Post navigation
Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts
Essay Writing
Welcome to the Purdue OWL
This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.
Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.
This resource begins with a general description of essay writing and moves to a discussion of common essay genres students may encounter across the curriculum. The four genres of essays (description, narration, exposition, and argumentation) are common paper assignments you may encounter in your writing classes. Although these genres, also known as the modes of discourse, have been criticized by some composition scholars, the Purdue OWL recognizes the wide spread use of these genres and students’ need to understand and produce these types of essays. We hope these resources will help.
The essay is a commonly assigned form of writing that every student will encounter while in academia. Therefore, it is wise for the student to become capable and comfortable with this type of writing early on in her training.
Essays can be a rewarding and challenging type of writing and are often assigned either to be done in class, which requires previous planning and practice (and a bit of creativity) on the part of the student, or as homework, which likewise demands a certain amount of preparation. Many poorly crafted essays have been produced on account of a lack of preparation and confidence. However, students can avoid the discomfort often associated with essay writing by understanding some common genres.
Before delving into its various genres, let’s begin with a basic definition of the essay.
What is an essay?
Though the word essay has come to be understood as a type of writing in Modern English, its origins provide us with some useful insights. The word comes into the English language through the French influence on Middle English; tracing it back further, we find that the French form of the word comes from the Latin verb exigere , which means "to examine, test, or (literally) to drive out." Through the excavation of this ancient word, we are able to unearth the essence of the academic essay: to encourage students to test or examine their ideas concerning a particular topic.
Essays are shorter pieces of writing that often require the student to hone a number of skills such as close reading, analysis, comparison and contrast, persuasion, conciseness, clarity, and exposition. As is evidenced by this list of attributes, there is much to be gained by the student who strives to succeed at essay writing.
The purpose of an essay is to encourage students to develop ideas and concepts in their writing with the direction of little more than their own thoughts (it may be helpful to view the essay as the converse of a research paper). Therefore, essays are (by nature) concise and require clarity in purpose and direction. This means that there is no room for the student’s thoughts to wander or stray from his or her purpose; the writing must be deliberate and interesting.
This handout should help students become familiar and comfortable with the process of essay composition through the introduction of some common essay genres.
This handout includes a brief introduction to the following genres of essay writing:
- Expository essays
- Descriptive essays
- Narrative essays
- Argumentative (Persuasive) essays
IMAGES
VIDEO