The Writer, the Reader, and the Scientific Text

Abstract

Using examples from journal articles in the natural sciences, the author argues that scientific writing has conventions of personality which are rhetorically constrained. Writers represent themselves and their readers at specific junctures in the text through the use of pronominals, verbs entailing reasoning, modals expressing possibility or obligation, and adjectives or adverbs which qualify assertions. Seven rhetorical acts are identified which are likely to bring the writer and/or the reader to the surface of the text: 1) acknowledging assistance; 2) referring to one's own research; 3) justifying hypothesis selection; 4) justifying methods chosen or departures from established methods; 5) explaining adjustments to results or inability to interpret results; 6) stating conclusions and comparing conclusions to those of other studies; and 7) discussing implications for reader behavior.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
1985-04-01
DOI
10.2190/x9d9-v33e-ren0-pdqm
Topics

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (4)

  1. Written Communication
  2. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. Written Communication
  4. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

Cites in this index (1)

  1. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Also cites 3 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.4159/harvard.9780674731394.c1
  2. 10.2307/815623
  3. 10.2307/377065
CrossRef global citation count: 17 View in citation network →