see also narrative time
Textual linearity is more than mere sequence.
It depends on devices which provide cohesion, such as deixis, anaphora
or reader instructions of the type "see above". These cohesive devices
construct larger syntactic entities which are hierarchically structured
and in sum lead to macrotextual structures like paragraphs, sections, and
chapters. These structures can be compared to landmarks which provide the
reader with information concerning his or her whereabouts. The text described
in topological terms, consists of units and
connections between them. Furthermore typographical
convention will help the reader to predict which object will follow next:
a new section, paragraph, or a new sentence. Connection by reader instructions
undermine partly the congruence and linearity of discourse.
see also narrative time