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In:Practising Stylistics: Essays in Honour of Paul Simpson
Edited by Clara Neary, Simon Statham and Peter Stockwell
[Linguistic Approaches to Literature 45] 2026
► pp. 86–96

Chapter 7: Vignette
A cross-cultural study of cohesion and narrative schema in a short story entitled ‘The Stranger’

 | Kingston University
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Abstract
Inspired by an article by Simpson (1992) in the inaugural issue of Language and Literature, in this chapter Marina Lambrou describes a cross-cultural, stylistic analysis of textual cohesion and narrative schema in a short story. Building on Simpson’s classic study, which asked students to reassemble a jumbled version of a Hemingway story into a well-formed and justifiable narrative, Lambrou extends the focus on cohesive devices and expectations of a coherent narrative to also consider cultural expectations of storytelling. Three distinct groups of English language learners are tasked with reassembling an originally commissioned short story, providing insights into models of narrative and signalling the importance of genre in influencing readers’ expectations when presented with an untitled story for the first time.
Article outline
  • What is textual cohesion?
  • Narrative schema
  • Methodology
    • The short story
    • Participants
  • Results of study: Patterns of response
  • Native Italian speakers
  • Native Japanese speakers
  • Native Polish speakers
  • Coda
  • References
References (15)
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