Professor Farzana Akhter
Composition 2: Essay 3
25 October 2015
Rhetorical Analysis of Writing
In today’s society there are multiple variations of writing that an individual could choose to read. However, knowing what type of writing to read when is a crucial aspect to truly gaining knowledge. As society becomes more technologically based, there becomes a greater discretion between writing styles. A person who is interested in news could purchase a publication like Time or Newsweek which publish information on current events taking place in the world. However, these publications are not the original reports of the scientific research. Scientists publish their research findings in scientific journals. These articles are not …show more content…
Most scientific articles contain scholarly vocabulary which can be an obstacle to readers trying to comprehend the primary literature. The sections in scientific writing that are typically highly technical in nature are the materials and methods sections. They can be confusing to readers who are not intimately familiar with the specific type of research that is being conducted. The reason for the explicit vocabulary in scientific articles compared to mass media stories is that it provides a means for other scientists to evaluate the quality of the data presented. It also allows insight to other scientists on how to replicate or extend the research described. The specialized vocabulary and tone of today’s scientific articles can make it hard to read for students. However, understanding the purpose and requirements in each section of an academic article can help the reader decipher the primary literature. Being able to read scientific articles is a skill that requires a lot of practice and experience to master. With that being said, it is not an impossible task to achieve. Generally speaking, mass media articles tend to gear their writing towards the general public not the scientific community so their articles are more often than not a simpler form of the scientific article. Their main purpose is to educate the population in a quick and effective manner …show more content…
These articles are very different from one another and can be separated into their degrees of specialization. Journals like the New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of Geophysical Research publish explicit research focused solely on their specific discipline. Since these journal articles are more specialized they tend to appeal to a more limited audience. According to Grant Davie, “Audience as a rhetorical concept has transcended the idea of a homogenous body of people who have stable characteristics and are assembled in the rhetor’s presence” (Davie 270). Even though some details about the format of journal articles may vary slightly, there are some characteristics that stay the same throughout all scientific journals. First and foremost, the journal must include a clear and concise title that directly explains the topic of research. The journal must also contain an abstract portion towards the beginning of their article that briefly explains the research question and the general methods and findings of the work. A section over the materials and methods used must also be included. By providing detailed information in this section, it allows other scientists to replicate the experiment performed and evaluate the quality of the results collected by the first scientist. On the contrary, mass media articles do not have to go nearly as deep in depth as scholarly articles do with