Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
Specific features of
scientific discourse
Use of impersonal/objective
language
Use of passive constructions
Scientific /formal vocabulary
Direct style
Precision
Logical organization
Use
of language
Passive
Active
Passive
Water must not be allowed to come into contact with
sodium
Scientific/formal
vocabulary
Example
Direct language
Scientific language is concerned
with the description, narration,
explanation and analysis of facts.
For this it uses direct language in
order to avoid confusion.
There is no scope for artificial
eloquence, ornamentation,
exaggeration or any other literary
devices.
Passage A
Passage B
Observation
Passage A
Matter of fact description giving an account
of different components of a computer.
Present tense and passive voice is used.
Direct in style and no ornamental language is
used.
Passage B
Different style altogether.
Charged with emotion
Aim is not to give information but to appeal to
the emotions of the audience.
Has repetition of words and parts of
sentences.
Techniques of precision
Organization
Unity of theme
Unity in a paragraph
Sense of direction
Every scientific composition should
have a sense of direction.
There should be no digression.
The main idea should be not
sidelined or forgotten.
Clarity
There should be clarity of thought
Clarity of expression.
Completeness
Coherence
Connectives
Subordinators
Coordinators
Sentence Connectors
Example:
The atmosphere is an insulating blanket, which
protects the earth; it softens the intense light and heat
of the sun. Its ozone layer absorbs most of the very
deleterious ultraviolet rays from the sun and thus
protects living organisms from extinction.
The atmosphere is bound to the earth by gravity.
Satellites like the moon, which have low gravitational
power, cannot or do not hold an atmosphere.
The atmosphere is composed of various gases and
water vapour, and in its uppermost reaches, it is
charged with subatomic particles. Water vapour is
present in the lower atmosphere; say up to 12 km, in
the concentration ranging from 0.01% to 1 %.
Although, the amount of water vapour in the
atmosphere is very small, its importance is very great,
for without vapour in the atmosphere, there would be
no water on earth.
The connectives used in the above passage
connect the phrases and sentences together and
show a logical relation between them.
Thus ensuring order and continuity of thought.
Paragraph
Structure
Logical Organization
There are various ways of logically
organizing information in a passage.
General to specific general points are
followed by specific points or details.
Specific to general specific details
followed by general statement
More important to less important
information is organized according to
importance.
Less important to more important
Chronological events are organized in
the order in which they occur in time.
General to Specific
Specific to General
Chorological
The space age began on October4, 1957, when
Russia launched Sputnik1 into orbit. This was
followed a month later by Spurtnik2 which
carried the dog Laika. However, the first US
satellite. Explorer1 did not follow until January
31, 1958, but its instruments made the first
major discovery of the space age- the Van Allen
radiation belts around the earth, where
electrons and protons from the sun are trapped
by the earths magnetic field. Soon after, probes
were sent to explore the moon and the planets,
and on the way, they detected their solar wind of
sub-atomic particles streaming from the sun.