oa De strategische functie van varianten van pragmatische argumentatie in gezondheidsbrochures

In this paper the choices for particular variants of pragmatic argumentation in advisory health brochures are explained by using the pragma-dialectical theory of argumentation. On the basis of the type of dispute that the brochure writer presupposes and the kind of advice that is at issue, four variants of pragmatic argumentation are distinguished. The choice for each of these variants is regarded as a strategic maneuver with which the writer attempts to reach his dialectical and rhetorical goals. It is argued that each of these variants has a strategic function in the resolution of the presupposed difference of opinion, because with each of them the writer anticipates on specific doubt or criticism with respect to the correctness conditions of the speech act of advising, which is the central speech act in health brochures.