Fundamental Considerations on Text Production and Consumption PDF

ASSH2005 Fundamental Considerations on Text Production other hand, a professional paper in the form of a and Consumption technical report is written for colleagues in your field....

ASSH2005 Fundamental Considerations on Text Production other hand, a professional paper in the form of a and Consumption technical report is written for colleagues in your field. Thinking about your audience affects what you write and how you write your article. These are the questions to I. Factors that Affect Writing and Speaking consider when you are aiming to write for a specific 1. Topic audience: There are a lot of topics that you can consider in writing Who will read the paper? academic and professional texts. Still, the key here is How much do they already know about the topic? customizing your material for your audience and What are the needs of the audience? considering your level of expertise in choosing your How can you make them want to keep reading? topic. Writing about “Essentials of Job Interview” could How are they likely to react to the ideas that you will be relevant to graduating students as they are looking present? toward employment. But how much is your knowledge in this area? Can you consider yourself as a credible II. Aspects of Professional and Academic Language source of information in this field? 1. Formality 2. Role of the Writer According to Purdue University (n.d.), the level of The role of the writer in academic and professional formality in “should be determined by the audience’s writing intersects at some point but differs at many expectations and the writer’s purpose.” The levels of levels. This is affected by the purpose of the writer, formality are formal, semi-formal, and informal. It is his/her knowledge of the topic, and the type of audience advised that one should use the formal tone when writing he/she will have. Have you felt the difference between or speaking to an unknown audience. In contrast, a reporting to your classmates and a panel of professors? person is allowed to use a semi-formal tone when writing What are the adjustments that you have made to make to speaking with an individual that is well-known to your material suitable to the said audience? him/her. Lastly, one should take note that the informal 3. Purpose of the Material tone has no place in academic or professional writing. The purpose of writing whether it is for the academe or a specific field of expertise falls under two categories: Table 1 (1) to help other learn about a subject, carry out a task, or make a decision; and (2) to reinforce or change the Different levels of formality as used in a letter of application. attitude and motivate readers to take action (Markel & Formal I am applying for the Administrative Selber, 2018). Assistant position advertised in the newspaper. I am an excellent candidate for 4. Target Audience the job because of my significant secretarial According to Nilep (n.d.), an academic paper could be experience, excellent language skills, and written for an instructor or a group of professors. On the sense of organization. 01 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 1 of 4  ASSH2005 Semi- I am applying for the Administrative x I interviewed a total of 100 respondents from formal Assistant position that is currently open in October to December 2019 the company. As you are aware, I have  A total of 100 respondents were interviewed worked as an intern with your company in from October to December 2019 this position before. As such, I not only have experience and knowledge of this position b. Emotive language but also already understand the company’s needs and requirements for this job. This type of language appeals to the emotions or values of the audience. Emotive language attempts to Informal Hi! I read in the paper that y’all were looking stir the emotion of the readers/listeners through for an Administrative Assistant. I think that I superlatives and exaggeration. am good for that job because I’ve done stuff Example: like it in the past, am good with words, and x These really lucky people may be advantaged am incredibly well organized. by healthcare services that… Lifted and modified from https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/using_  These people may be advantaged by healthcare appropriate_language/levels_of_formality.html. services that… 2. Objectivity c. Judgmental language Academic and professional language should be objective This language shows the personal judgment of the and unbiased. According to Markel & Selber, 2018), if writer or speaker. It sounds as though the readers suspect that you are trying to manipulate speaker/writer has come to a conclusion based on peoples’ opinions about an issue, by overstating or his/her previously-held beliefs rather than through a omitting facts, they will doubt the validity of the entire review of the relevant literature. document/statement. Listed below are the things you Example: should avoid to ensure objectivity in your language: x International schools are always elitist… a. Personal language  International schools are often viewed as Using this would depend on the writing context, elitist… purpose, and audience. This would help the writer or speaker establish a connection and convey his/her 3. Explicitness passion and involvement in the topic. However, in Use clear and direct language. Stay away from figurative academic and professional writing and speaking, language such as metaphor, simile, and irony as these personal experience is only a support for the can obscure the meaning of your statement. Instead of development of the main idea. It should not be the saying, “This night is colder compared to last night,” be main idea itself. explicit by saying, “This night is colder as the thermostat Example: reads 25°C. Whereas, last night, we had 30°C for the whole night”. The second statement clearly showed the 01 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 2 of 4  ASSH2005 reason behind the conclusion made by stating figures. definite place of origin and According to Gillet (2020), explicitness is needed (1) to more relatives than he knows what to do with, and make it clear to the readers how the various parts of the he receives a rudimentary text are related and (2) to acknowledge the sources of the education at the Canadian ideas in the text. Mission School. To explicitly tell the readers This has sometimes led to Why do we need to use signaling words? that you are giving disputes between religious To signal the readers that The Bristol 167 was to be examples and secular clergy, the line of argument is Britain’s great new advance between orders and going to change on American types such as bishops. For example, in the Lockheed Constellation the Northern context, the and Douglas DC-6, which previous bishop of Down did not have the range to fly and Connor, Dr. Philbin, the Atlantic non-stop. It was refused for most of his also to be the largest period of leadership in aircraft ever built in Britain. Belfast to have Jesuits However, even by the end visiting or residing in his of the war, the design had diocese. run into serious difficulties. To acknowledge the McGreil (1977: 363-408) To indicate that the While an earlier generation sources of the ideas that has shown that though sentence gives reasons for of writers had noted this were used Dubliners find the English something in another feature of the period, it was more acceptable than the sentence not until the recent work of Northern Irish, Dubliners Cairncross that the still seek a solution to the significance of this outflow Northern problem within an was realized. Partly this all-Ireland state. was because the current Source: http://www.uefap.com/writing/feature/explicit.htm account deficit appears much smaller in current 4. Hedging (1980s) data than it was Hedging refers to the use of linguistic devices to express thought to be by hesitation or uncertainty as well as to demonstrate contemporaries. To signal that you are He is born into a family, he politeness and indirectness (enago,com., 2020). Hedging giving extra information marries into a family, and is used to soften one’s words and to avoid making a he becomes the husband direct statement, or committing to a particular action or and father of his own decision. For example, journalists use the term family. “allegedly” (e.g., We have received a report that a well- In addition, he has a known business tycoon was allegedly involved in money 01 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 3 of 4  ASSH2005 laundering.) when reporting partly because the It can be concluded that… statements that they made are not yet proven and to protect themselves from criticism and potential legal action. These are few of the several reasons why people One should use hedging sparingly as readers/listeners use hedged language: might be confused as to where the writer or speaker stand minimize the possibility of another academic on regarding a specific issue. Hedging is often used in opposing the claims that are being made academic writing, legal documents, and news reports. to conform to the currently accepted style of So, you should learn how to balance between academic writing explicitness and caution in the said field so that the to enable the author to devise a politeness strategy statements would not sound as if they were made by a where they can acknowledge that there may be flaws person who does not have confidence in his/her thoughts, in their claims ideas, and opinions. References: Table 2 Bailey, S. (2018). Academic writing: A handbook for international students (5th ed.). Routledge. Different types of hedged language and examples Features of academic writing. (n.d.). http://www.uefap.com/writing/feature/hedge.htm. Gillet, A. (2020). Using English for academic purposes. Introductory seem, tend, look like, appear to be, http://www.uefap.com/writing/feature/explicit.htm. verbs think, believe, doubt, be sure, For Students in Higher Education indicate, suggest Levels of formality. (n.d.). In Purdue University. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/using_appropriate_languag e/levels_of_formality.html Nouns assumption, likelihood, possibility, Markel, M., & Selber, S. (2018). Technical communication (12th ed.). Macmillan Learning. probably Nilep, C. (n.d.). Audience, purpose, and tone. http://www.ilas.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~nilep/audience- purpose.html. Lexical believe, assume, suggest, seem, What is hedging in academic writing? (2020, April 7). In enago.com. https://www.enago.com/academy/hedging-in-academic-writing/#comments verbs interpret Modal verbs can, could, may, might, should, would Modal possibly, perhaps, conceivably, adverbs arguably, certainly, definitely, clearly, Modal possible, probable, certain, definite, adjectives clear, likely That clauses It could be the case that… It might be suggested that… There is every hope that… 01 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 4 of 4