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Historical discourse is a valuable contribution to the field of educational discourse analysis from a functional approach. Drawing heavily on systemic functional linguistics (SFL), in particular the work of Michael Halliday and Jim Martin, Coffin elucidates how to analyze, interpret, and evaluate historical discourse and compose good historical prose. Based on quantitative research, Coffin argues for the vital role of language in disciplinary teaching and learning.
Historical discourse is composed of 8 chapters, plus an appendix, glossary, and index. Coffin starts with ten questions addressing the aim, approach, scope, and structure of the book. Chapter 2 presents SFL theories that understand language as a "meaning potential" which realizes particular social functions. Following the discussion of genre (the structuring of texts), Coffin concentrates on...