As in the case of generating extended descriptions, narrative, arguments, etc., using RST, a natural perspective here is one centered around goal-directed planning. In fact, the application of this perspective to dialogue historically preceded its application to extended discourses. In particular, Cohen and Perreault (1979) proposed a reasoning, planning, and plan recognition framework that represents speech acts in terms of their preconditions and effects. For example, a simple INFORM speech act might have the following preconditions (formulated for understandability from a first-person speaker perspective):