The Language of Attitude, Arguability and Interpersonal Positioning

The Appraisal Website: Homepage

Welcome

This site is devoted to the Appraisal framework, an approach to exploring, describing and explaining the way language is used to evaluate, to adopt stances, to construct textual personas and to manage interpersonal positionings and relationships.

The Appraisal framework is an extension of the linguistic theories of M.A.K Halliday and his colleagues (Systemic Functional Linguistics) and has emerged over a period of almost 15 years as a result of work conducted by a group of researchers led by Professor James Martin of the Linguistics Department of the University of Sydney.

Materials on the Site

The materials currently available here represent the second stage of the development of the site. We plan to continue to extend the site by including contributions from many of the people who have been involved in the development of the Appraisal framework or who have applied it in some way to their research. We will be including further references, additional articles and papers, and a database of analysed texts to demonstrate how Appraisal has been applied to the analysis of a wide range of text and genre types. If you require further information about Appraisal, please e-mail me at prrwhite06@yahoo.com.au (Peter R.R. White, School of English, Media, and Performing Arts, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, and Visiting Lecturer, Department of Linguistics, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia)

An Introductory Course in Appraisal Analysis

These materials provide a step-by-step guide to using Appraisal in critical text analysis. The materials include many worked text examples and opportunities for gaining practice in text analysis. The materials assume only a minimal background in linguistic theory. They are based on materials used in a course for English Language undergraduates and Applied Linguistics M.A. students.

The course material are available in several versions.

1. An easy to navigate Web version using frames: Framed Version

2. A Web version designed for easy downloading and printing. Each unit is in a single page so may take a little time to display: Printout Version

3. A non-Web Microsoft Word version - for downloading and displaying using your wordprocessor: Word processor Version.

An Outline of Appraisal

These materials provide a relatively broad but not particularly detailed or in-depth account of Appraisal as it was formulated in 1998/99. Most of the framework has remained relatively stable since then except for the way Engagement (resources for adopting and negotiating interpersonal positioning) is modeled. These material have been on the Website now for a couple of years and assume some knowledge of Systemic Functional Theory.

The outline is available several versions.

1. An easy to navigate Web version using frames: Framed Version

2. A Web version designed for easy downloading and printing. Just one big page so may take a little time to display: Printout Version

3. A non-Web Microsoft Word version - for downloading and displaying using your word processor: Word processor Version.

Some Key Appraisal References and Downloads

Appraisal and Media Discourse

Following a number of requests, I've now posted to the site some extracts from the Right It Write, Media Literacy report (Iedema, Feez and White, 1994). At the moment they are only available as Word files for direct download. I'll try to get Web page versions up as soon as possible. To download the files, right click (or otherwise, depending on your operating system etc) on the following links.

Section 1: The Media Commentary (Adobe PDF version - may be preferable to the MS Word Version since some people seem to have trouble displaying the graphics and tables in the Microsoft Word file.)

Section 1: The Media Commentary (MS Word version - some people have trouble displaying the graphics and tables in this format)

Section 2: Appraisal and Journalistic Voice - PDF version (exploring notions of 'subjectivity' and 'objectivity' in journalistic discourse)

Section 2: Appraisal and Journalistic Voice - MS Word format (exploring notions of 'subjectivity' and 'objectivity' in journalistic discourse) - some people have trouble displaying the graphics and tables in this file

Group members' texts, excerpts, analyses for discussion

Links to texts etc under discussion on the appraisalanalysis e-mail list.

If you would like to have any material uploaded so that it can be referred to in this way, please attach files to an e-mail and send it to pwhite2nd-appraisal@yahoo.co.uk

Update on Engagement

For the latest version of the Engagement framework, please download the following files (available in either Microsoft Word or RTF format - right click your mouse or use appropriate Macintosh key combination) This replaces the Engagement section in the materials current available in the 'Outline' and the 'Introductory Course on Engagement'. These other materials will be updated as soon as possible.

MS Word Format

Rich Text Format (rtf)

New (Sept 04): Spanish translation of Overview of Appraisal

This is a Spanish translation of the Overview of Appraisal (as the framework was formulated back in 2000). We are hoping to have Portuguese and Chinese versions available in the not-too-distant future of a more up-to-date version. The translation (by Elsa Ghio) is available for download in either Microsoft Word format, or in Adobe Acrobat format. (Right click, or the Macintosh equivalent, to download the file to your hard drive.)

Spanish translation of Appraisal Outline - Word Format

Spanish translation of Appraisal Outline - Adobe Acrobat Format

The Appraisal Analysis email list

The Appraisal Analysis email list provides an electronic forum for the discussion of all and any questions, issues and problems associated with evaluative language in general and the Appraisal framework specifically. (For those not familiar with this type of beast, here people can send email for automatic delivery to others who have joined the group and receive mail from them in turn. An archive of past posts is also maintained should anyone want to look back at previous discussions.) There are currently some 80 members from around the world registered and there are usually one or two questions/issues raised each week.

In order to join the group you can either e-mail me directly at pwhite2nd-appraisal@yahoo.co.uk

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Appraisal Website Homepage

Date for reference (last update): 01/05/2005

Website developed by P.R.R. White and eldon, Verbosity Enterprises