The task of discourse generation is to produce multisentential text in natural language which (when heard or read) produces effects (informing, motivating, etc.) and impressions (conciseness, correctness, ease of reading, etc.) which are appropriate to a need or goal held by the creator of the text. Because even little children can produce multieententiaJ text, the task of discourse generation appears deceptively easy. It is actually extremely complex, in part because it usually involves many different kinds of knowledge. The skilled writer must know the subiect matter, the beliefs of the reader and his own reasons for writing. He must.
