Written Communication Oct 1992

A Method for Analyzing Sentence-Level Differences in Disciplinary Knowledge Making

SUSAN PECK MacDONALD

Abstract

This article proposes a method for examining how disciplinary differences in knowledge making are created or reflected at the sentence level. The method focuses on the grammatical subjects of sentences as key indicators of disciplinary knowledge making. Grammatical subjects of all sentences in sample academic journal articles were classified by a system identifying (a) the kind of abstraction or particularism involved and (b) the ways in which the researcher may or may not have foregrounded research methods and warrants. Findings from the sample articles in subfields of psychology, history, and literature indicated that psychology articles were more likely to foreground research methods and warrants and least likely to be particularistic. History articles tended to be intermediate. Literature articles were most likely to be particularistic and least likely to focus on research methods and warrants.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
1992-10-01
DOI
10.1177/0741088392009004004
Open Access
Closed
Topics
empirical research multilingual writers voice and style

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (9)

  1. Harwood (2006)
    (In)appropriate Personal Pronoun Use in Political Science
    Written Communication
  2. Warren (2006)
    Literary Scholars Processing Poetry and Constructing Arguments
    Written Communication
  3. Wilder (2006)
    "Into the Laboratories of the University": A Rhetorical Analysis of the First P…
    Rhetoric Review
  4. MacDonald (2005)
    The Language of Journalism in Treatments of Hormone Replacement News
    Written Communication
  5. Wilder (2005)
    “The Rhetoric of Literary Criticism” Revisited
    Written Communication
Show all 9 →
  1. Wilder (2002)
    “Get Comfortable With Uncertainty”
    Written Communication
  2. KOPPLE (1994)
    Some Characteristics and Functions of Grammatical Subjects in Scientific Discourse
    Written Communication
  3. Rodman (1994)
    The Active Voice in Scientific Articles: Frequency and Discourse Functions
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. BERKENKOTTER et al. (1993)
    Rethinking Genre from a Sociocognitive Perspective
    Written Communication

Cites in this index (6)

  1. KOPPLE (1991)
    Themes, Thematic Progressions, and Some Implications for Understanding Discourse
    Written Communication
  2. Bazerman et al. (1991)
    The Second Stage in Writing across the Curriculum
    College English
  3. MacDONALD (1989)
    Data-Driven and Conceptually Driven Academic Discourse
    Written Communication
  4. HUCKIN et al. (1988)
    Existential there
    Written Communication
  5. Witte (1983)
    Topical Structure and Revision: An Exploratory Study
    College Composition and Communication
Show all 6 →
  1. Broadhead et al. (1982)
    Sentence Structure in Academic Prose and Its Implications for College Writing T…
    Research in the Teaching of English
Also cites 8 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.2307/1130397
     ↗
  2. 10.2307/2862449
     ↗
  3. 10.1111/j.1475-6757.1986.tb00896.x
     ↗
  4. 10.2307/462897
     ↗
  5. 10.1016/0898-5898(91)90013-9
     ↗
  6. 10.2307/377930
     ↗
  7. 10.1111/j.1475-6757.1988.tb00943.x
     ↗
  8. Porter, C. (1988)
    10.1215/00382876-87-4-743
    South Atlantic Quarterly  ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 37 View in citation network →

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