SILGLOBALGlossary of
Linguistic Terms

Glossary term E

Expository Discourse

Definition

Expository discourse is a discourse that explains or describes a topic.

It does not primarily present contingent events or focus on a performer of actions, but rather tends to present the following kinds of propositions:

  • Existential
  • Stative
  • Equative

 

Features
 
  • Information is logically oriented around a theme.
  • Third person pronoun forms are used.
  • Texts are not oriented around a specific agent.
Parts
 
  • Problem
  • Solution
  • Supporting argumentation
  • Evaluation of the solution

Examples

  • Explanations of cultural norms
  • Explanations of legal matters
  • Explanations of the teachings of the forefathers

See also

Proposition Existential Clause Equative Clause Third Person Deixis Agent As A Semantic Role

Sources 4

  1. Longacre 1983, 3, 5, 10, 39
  2. Longacre 1990, 2
  3. Peck 1981, 287
  4. Larson 1984, 366, 372
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