universidade federal de santa catarina pós-graduação em letras ...

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSI would like to thank Professor José Luiz Meurer, my supervisor, for his encouragement,friendship, and steady supervision throughout the whole doctoral program at theUniversidade Federal de Santa Catarina.Professor John M. Swales, for having accepted me as a visiting scholar at the Universityof Michigan, at Ann Arbor, and for supervising the research developed in the US.The staff and faculty of the English Graduate Program at the Universidade Federal deSanta Catarina and at the English Language Institute at the University of Michigan, atAnn Arbor, for providing a stimulating and friendly academic atmosphere.Viviane Heberle and Maria Lúcia Vasconcelos, my friends and colleagues at the EnglishGraduate Program at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, for letting me share intheir enthusiasm and bright minds.The Departamento de Letras Estrangeiras Modernas, at the Universidade Federal deSanta Maria, for releasing me from my classes so that I could obtain this degree.To the CNPq, for the financial support in Brazil and abroad.December/1995