Post on 12-Jul-2015
Academic Writing – Jargon, Complex
Writing, and “Difficult” Writing
ENGL 100 – Mr. Ganter
Everyday Language and Academic Language
“There are times when the more the authors explain
[about ape communication], the less we understand.
Apes certainly seem capable of using language to
communicate. Whether scientists are remains
doubtful.”
-- Douglas Chadwick, New York Times
Academic Writing and Reading
- defining and identifying “jargon”
- general audience vs. specific audience (disciplines)
- difficulty vs. complexity
Forms of “Difficulty”
- word selection/choice
- allusion and emphemism, not specific and concrete
language
- lack of transitions from point-to-point
- disorganization of thought/argument
- disconnect from audience
– William Shakespeare, Hamlet (1598)
– Linus Pauling, General Chemistry (1970)
– Judith Butler, Gender Trouble (1990)
Forms of “Complexity”
- appropriate terminology (discipline)
- explain/define terms and concepts –
then use for analysis
- awareness of history of terms/words/phrases
- taking the “unfamiliar” and relating it to the
“familiar”
- using abstract ideas to establish relationships