Rhetorical Relations In Instructional Text Generation

The IMAGENE project has studied the expression of actions in the context of instructional text generation. The approach employs a rather traditional interpretation of Rhetorical Structure Theory (RST) (Mann and Thompson, 1989), using it both as a descriptive tool and as a constructive tool (Mann and Thompson, 1987). No explicit representation of and reasoning about intentions was employed. In this light, the project can serve as a data point in the broader discussion of the use of rhetorical relations and of their interaction with intentions. This contribution will begin with a brief overview of the IMAGENE project 1, focusing on the nature of the use of RST in the project and, in particular, on the procedural basis of the inventory of rhetorical relations employed. It will conclude with a discussion of the precise characteristics of the project that appear to have warranted the lack of specific concern with Intentions.