line from one side of the brook to the other. Moreover, each stepping stone
should be close enough to the next so that a person can step from one to the
other without any trouble.
One obvious use of this structure is an argument that starts with a question or
premise and proceeds to a conclusion. The structure starts with the question,
finishes with an answer and provides a link between them
in the middle. To
return to our comparison of crossing a brook, the question is located on one
side of the brook, and the writer wishes to guide the reader across the brook
to the answer that is on the far side. The journey from question to answer is a
series of steps, where each step is a proposition. Each proposition should
flow from the one before and lead into the one after. If this is done properly
the writing is structured. When it is, the text will be constituted by a set of
propositions that lead from the question to the conclusion.
Another use of this structure is to describe how to do something. Indeed a
“how-to-do-it” text is typically structured on a step-by-step basis. An obvious
example in law is a text that explains how to perform a transaction. To do this
a lawyer needs to carry out a series of processes. These create facts, which in
turn satisfy each element of the law regulating the transaction.
Structure
As the introduction has indicated, the basic structure consists of a step-by-
step account of the subject. However, these steps may have components so
that the full structure of the text is hierarchical in shape.
This can be illustrated by reference to a text that presents an argument. At this
most basic level the structure is constituted by a handful of propositions that
join to make a line of argument. However, each of these propositions
potentially has components, which must also be structured. Thus a
proposition may involve, say, five
sub-propositions. Each of these sub-
propositions must form part of a structure –
they must follow from the one
before and lead to the one after. Then these sub-propositions can be further
divided, and so on.
This structure can be represented in symbolic form. Assume that there are four
basic propositions. These can be designated as Proposition 1, Proposition 2,
Proposition 3, and Proposition 4 (and “Proposition” can be designated “P”.)
Each of these will contain sub points or propositions. For example
Proposition 2 may have P2.1, P2.2, P2.3, P2.4, P2.5. These sub-propositions
in turn divide into sub-sub-propositions (and the process continues until all of
the argument
is covered). For example, P2.2 may divide into P2.2.1, P2.2.2,
P2.2.3, P2.2.4. This can be set out in a diagram in the following way:
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