Describing discourse: a practical guide to discourse analysis

What is it about?

This book review presents a chapter-by-chapter overview and a critical thumbnail sketch of a book written by Woods (2006) entitled "Describing discourse: A practical guide to discourse analysis". The reviewer attempts to assess the book's overall practicality and functionality to the audience. it is intended for and to comment on its particular characteristics and pertinence to linguists and students in the field.

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Why is it important?

This enthralling book written by Woods is a practical guideline for all researchers involved in investigating any types of discourses in terms of Discourse Analysis, Critical Discourse Analysis, Pragmatics, Systemic Functional Linguistics, etc. It accommodates a wealth of devices and strategies in five discourses to scrutinize any texts and talks from different angles and to evaluate how these tools in political or other discourses are disposed tactically for certain reasons and specific addressees. It concentrates particularly on five professional fields including the discourses of advertising, politics, law, medicine and education and it equips researchers with different lenses with which they can sift through any sorts of texts in terms of grammatical, lexical and rhetorical devices and tropes in order to unmask hierarchically and ideologically infused creeds and notions as well as power connections in any texts and talks.

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