Exploring professional writings through its argumentative dimension: the user record in French addiction treatment centers (CSAPA)

This paper aims at examining the definitional borders of the notion of ``argumentative dimension'', and the issues it raises, through a professional writing: the user's file in French addiction treatment centers (CSAPA). On the one hand, we will examine how the argumentative dimension can contribute to illuminate this practice in the field of professional communication. On the other hand, the specificity of professional writings and especially of users' files, will allow us to put to the test some theoretical and methodological frameworks of the theory of argumentation in discourse. These professional writings - which are not presented as argumentative - are characterized by a strong indexation to the context and to the action's purpose. When exploring such a genre of discourse, to what extent and under which conditions can we observe its argumentativity and spot the latter's discursive manifestations?