Forever Uncertainty Poem by Daryl Posey

Abstract: Contrastive rhetoric can help English teachers of native Japanese speaking students to better understand cultural and first language influences which affect the acquisition of English expository writing skills. An awareness of the Japanese expository writing style called 'delayed introduction of purpose, ' which can cause problems in coherence for English-speaking readers who expect either a general to specific or a specific to general style, can enable English as a Second Language writing teachers to create or adapt lessons that will be appropriate for their Japanese students. This study follows the work of the late John Hinds, whose contrastive rhetoric research showed that Japanese writing uses a delayed introduction of purpose pattern that does not match any English rhetorical pattern. The study examines essays written by Japanese English students in Japan and in the United States for evidence of a Japanese writing style.