READING ARGUMENTATIVE TEXTS: IDENTIFYING THE THESIS AND ARGUMENTS

Abstract

This study aims to reflect upon the argumentation present in opinion articles, in the light of Bakhtin's concept of speech genres. It is intended to investigate how an opinion article - a speech genre that must be observed through its particular characteristics - is organized aiming to convince and/or persuade its interlocutors. As the object of study, we selected two articles that deal with the Brazilian Education Ministry´s adoption of a textbook that was, supposedly, "teaching the wrong form". It is a textbook that reproduces structures that, despite its common use colloquially, such as "two book", deviate from the standard language and for this reason they are condemned by common sense and the press, in general. One of the articles analyzed was written by the journalist Clovis Rossi and published in the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo and the other, written by the linguist Marcos Bagno, was published online at Observatório da Imprensa, two days later. These articles present opposing views and they establish a dialogue, even though that is not explicit. Through the analysis performed, it is possible to state that, in order to understand an opinion article as a speech genre, it is essential to view it not only as a formal structure, but, especially, focusing on how it works in the social sphere where it circulates.