Academic Work in Any Discipline

61d Disciplinary style

Another important way to learn about a discipline is to identify its stylistic features. Study pieces of writing in the field with the following in mind:

Overall tone. How would you describe it? (See 5f.)
Title. Are titles generally descriptive (“Findings from a Double-Blind Study of the Effect of Antioxidants”), persuasive (“Antioxidants Proven Effective”), or something else? How does the title shape your expectations?
Stance. To what extent do writers in the field strive for distance and objectivity? What strategies help them to achieve this stance? (See 5d.)
Sentence length. Are sentences long and complex? Simple and direct?
Voice. Are verbs generally active or passive? Why? (See 32g.)
Person. Do writers use the first-person I or third-person terms such as the investigator? What is the effect of this choice? (See the box below.)
Visuals. Do writers typically use elements such as graphs, tables, maps, or photographs? How are visuals integrated into the text? What role, if any, do headings and other formatting elements play in the writing? (See Chapter 9.)
Documentation style. Do writers use MLA, APA, Chicago, or CSE style? (See Chapters 49–55.)

Of course, writings within a single discipline may have different purposes and different styles. A chemist may write a grant proposal, a lab notebook, a literature review, a research report, and a lab report, each with a different purpose and style.

The First Person

TALKING THE TALK

“Is it true that I should never use I in college writing?” In much writing in college, using the first-person I is perfectly acceptable to most instructors. As always, think about the context—if your own experience is relevant to the topic, you are better off saying I than trying too hard not to. But don’t overdo it, especially if the writing isn’t just autobiographical. And check with your instructor if you aren’t sure: in certain academic disciplines, using I may be seen as inappropriate.