Session 10 - Business and Professional Interactions (30 October 2009)

Although there was no actual discussion of this topic, I feel obliged to say something as my project is based on the CARS model. In a nutshell, I found that literary article introductions could be shown to conform to the model, although they were generally 'looser' and more fluid than scientific RA introductions. While no doubt slightly biased, I feel that literary articles do strike a nice balance between linguistic flair and empirical structuring; in our excessively pragmatic education system, the latter is too often emphasised at the expense of the former. As students, we are constantly told to order our thoughts and present our arguments in a logical and structured fashion. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with that on its own (on the contrary, it is extremely important), all too often it results in a 'dead' writing style devoid of the vitality and expressiveness of a living language. I guess my point is: why can't we eat our cake and have it too? As my project (hopefully) shows, it is possible if only we don't lose sight of the essential quality of good writing, namely that it should not only inform, but entertain and delight. To that end, literary articles have much to offer, as do their subjects - the countless great writers who, while often writing for the most pragmatic purpose of all (i.e. $$$), have nevertheless entertained and delighted generations of readers, and will continue to do so.