REFERENTIAL PROCESSES IN THE GAZETA DE ALAGOAS NEWSPAPER:

AN ANALYSIS OF THE EDITORIAL OPINION GENRE

Abstract

This study analyzed, in editorials, the argumentative-referential movements that contributed to a better understanding and clarity in the writing of the editorialist from the Gazeta de Alagoas newspaper. To achieve this, the research drew on the works of Koch (2015, 2010), Marcuschi (2008), Santos (2023), Costa (2008), Melo (2003), and Santos (2018, 2013), particularly regarding text studies and textual/discursive genres. Concerning the discussions on argumentative processes and their intersections with Text Linguistics, the theoretical contributions of Cavalcante (2012), Cavalcante et al. (2020, 2022), Ferreira (2025), Koch and Elias (2010, 2021), and Santos and Ferreira (2025), among others, were fundamental. The methodology adopted in this study followed a qualitative interpretative approach, that is, without the use of numerical or quantitative data, based on the considerations of Flick (2009). The results of the analysis highlighted how argumentative processes are essential for the construction of textual meaning, especially through the linguistic-textual skills of the editorialist in employing referential strategies in their writing. Thus, the study demonstrated the possibility of dynamically interpreting discourse objects and their various forms of use, which ensured a fluid argumentative dynamic within the text.