READERS' POSmONING IN RECHARD MANN'S PLOTS AND SCBEMES THAT BROUGHT DOWN SOEHARTO (PSBDS): A STUDY ON INTERPERSONAL MEANlINGS1 Sugeng Puwantol Abatract: The real cause of Soeharto~ fall from the Indonesian presidency remains a mystery. Richard Mann (1998) launched three significant rhetorical questions, i.e. (1) Was President Soehtzrto toppled by student demonstrators and people~ power? (2) Was he brought down by the withdrawal of supportfrom the United States? (3) Or, was his suddenfall brought about by all of the two plus large doses of OrIental plotting and scheming? This article tries to investigate the readers'positioninginMann's Plots and Schemes that Brought Down Soeharto (pSBDS) with a view to describing the Appraisal system used in the textbook to achieve the desired interpersonal meanings, employing the analytical framework of Appraisal Theory (Martin and Rose 2003,' White 1998), an extended mode of Halliday~ Functional Grammar (1994) and Systemic Functional Linguistics (Eggins 1994). The study yields some rhetorical strategies (Strayers 2004) with which to align the readers. As well, the study pedagogically implies thatreaders should be aware of the writer's strategies as to what direction the readers are positioned in text, resulting in the importance of critical nuuJing and cross-referencingtn order to folly understand a text. Key words:" readers' positioning, interpersonal meanings, appraisal, rhetoricalstrategies I This article is a part of the dissertation the writer writes for his Doctorate Degree in English pedagogy ofUNNES (2007). z Sugeng Purwanto at +628122895927 is a full- time lecturer of the English Department, Faculty of Language and Cultural Studies, Stikubank University. His Doctorate Degree was from UNNES (2007) majoring in English pedagogy, and his MA in Applied Linguistics was from Griffith University, Australia (1996) 136 Celt, Volume 8, Number 2, December 2008: 124-136 above facts negate Richard Mann's own rhetorical questions purposefully launched for marketing purposes. Richard Mann is a skiIlful author. CONCLUSION The writer has so far descnDed how Richard Mann used seven rhetorical strategies (in Strayer's terms, 2004) to align the readers into a negative attitude toward Presient Soeharto' regime, and positive attitude towards the reformists' movements to justify Mann's stance. However, whatever strategies have been employed, the textbook, Mann's PSBDS (1998), supported by other resources, finally concludes that the Five Star General Soeharto resigned from Presidency honorably and constitutionally. This study, therefore, supports the importance of critical reading (CR) in order for readers to be aware ofhowthey are positioned within a text. REFERENCES Eggins, Suzanne. An introduction to Systemic Functio1UJl linguistics. London: Pinter Publisher, 1994. Mann, Richard. Plots and Schemes tIult Brought down Soeharto. Jakarta, Singapore: Gateway Books, 1998. Martin, JR. and David Rose. Working with Discoune-Meaning beyond the Clause. Semarang : The State University of Semarang (Limited Edition), 2003. Strayer. Persuasion through Rhetoric. In bttp:/Iwww.ipfw.edulpbil/ faculty/.Strayer/persuasionthroughrhetoriclrc.ppt,2004. Rretrieved on 21 August 2005. White, P.R.R. Telling Media Tales: the News StOIy as Rhetoric. Unpublished Ph.D Thesis. Sydney: University of Sydney, 1998. Retrlevedon 5 January 2004. Purwanto, Sugeng. "A Critical Discomse Analysis of the Author's Rhetorical Strategies to Reveal the Struggle of Ideology in Richard Mann's Plots and Schemes that Brought down Soeharto". Unpublished Dissertation. Semarang: The State University ofSemarang, 2001. Suryakusuma, Julia I. Sex,powerandNation. Jakarta: MetaforPublishing,2004.