Characteristics
of Extended Prose ArgumentsWhile the details vary considerably, a common structural model for the extended essay is taught in schools and colleges and is subsequently used by writers and expected by readers. The complete text comprises a limited number of arguments (chapters/sections). Each of these is composed of various sub-elements (paragraphs) which may correspond to individual ideas/assertions or pieces of supporting evidence. The text will often have an introduction which summarises the arguments, the material to be covered and may also indicate the significance of the argument and its relation to other texts. This is followed by a presentation of the main arguments in detail - the proof in classical rhetoric. Finally, there will probably be a conclusion which reiterates the main points of the analysis and possibly suggests some solution to the 'problem' being addressed.
Two features of the model are of particular relevance
to hypertext.
- This model appears to employ a distinctly linear structure, with each section developing the argument created by those preceding, albeit with internal references and repetition.
- This model assumes that the evidence presented will be strictly selected and interpreted according to the needs of the argument.
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If this model underlies the creation and
subsequent usage of 'scholarly' texts, what are the implications of writing
in hypertext for this document type? The question occurs to most hypertext
researchers: 'Is this conventional model a limitation that hypertext
can help overcome by allowing an increased amount of supportive evidence
and, more importantly, multiple interpretations?'
It is frequently argued that print technology is too rigid in the way that it enables information to be presented since a book presents the same facts in the same order to every reader irrespective of their current understanding or task requirements. This claim is patently true but only in a very limited sense since, as we saw in Chapter 2 and contrary to conventional wisdom, the physical linearity of printed texts is rarely a determinant of the way in which they are used. Access mechanisms (word spacing, typographical design, layout, indices, etc.) and their associated reading skills have evolved to overcome the constraints imposed by the fixed format of printed texts. In addition, the characteristics of individual readers - their interests, motivations and reading abilities - interact in such a fashion that although they may all read the same document, every reader will derive different information from it.
Nevertheless, it is argued that with a hypertext network, readers are empowered to choose from a variety of different ways of viewing the information and the author is 'freed' from the convention (or requirement) of presenting only a single interpretation of the facts.
[Top][ Introduction ] [ Conversion of Text to Hypertext ] [ Creation of Original Hypertext ] CHARACTERISTICS OF EXTENDED PROSE ARGUMENTS [ Hypertext Network or 'Web of Facts' ] [ Fallacy of Simple Networks as 'Ideal' Representations of Knowledge ] [ From Chaos to Order, From Order to Understanding ] [ Conclusion ] [References ] [Glossary ]