Current developments in written discourse analysis

The primary purpose of this paper is to provide a current overview of trends in written discourse analysis. While this field of research is large and expanding rapidly, there are a number of recent approaches which are particularly useful in terms of their feasible methodology, replicability, and potential application to applied linguistic issues. In particular, approaches which stress linguistic analyses of the Surface text structure are emphasized. A second major theme addressed in this paper is the need to delimit the study of written discourse as a coherent discipline. One of the critical problems facing written discourse analysis has been its inability to define itself as a discipline rather tan as a set of techniques. One possible organizing framework is discussed which might be used to define the essential characteristics of such a discipline and to situate and integrate various research approaches to written discourse