The production and recognition of typological argumentative text markers

The characteristics of argumentative discourse are reviewed, as is argumentation's typology of language operations. It is contended that communicative goals are influenced by age & speaker-listener context. Students (N = 207, aged 10-17) were asked in experiment 1 to support an opinion on a given issue under two age/status conditions & two argumentative conditions, & the frequency of justification & negation markers was recorded. The dependency of the justification process on contextual factors is noted, as is the tendency for children's argumentation skills to improve with age. In experiment 2, Ss (N = 147, aged 7+) wrote argumentative essays. A debate was held & each S was required to write his or her opinion on various themes relating to subjective beliefs rather than scientific fact. It is contended that the minimal argumentative skill level of each S could be determined in this way, & findings that support the view that there are stages of an argument structure's development are reported. Additional Ss (N = 115, aged 10-16) were asked in experiment 3 to assess whether characteristic markers of elaborate argumentative discourse were present in certain texts. It was found that justification & negotiation skills & the recognition of argumentation continue to develop throughout childhood. 30 References. Adapted from the source document