While researching this field, I began to realize
there is a big difference between reading an article from a magazine or
newspaper, a blog, and a scholarly article written by a professional in my
field. They both have incredibly different styles to delivering their messages.
They also have very different people reading their articles; therefore, they
also have different purposes for writing.
For example, I located a blog that is very similar to mine in order to compare the differences between the blog posts, the newspaper article, and the scholarly article on physical therapy. The blog is titled, "Alison's Physical Therapy Blog". In this blog, Alison explains and gives advice as an experienced physical therapist to those who are having back problems. She also talks about her typical days at work and and gives advice to better health. For instance, she explains, "Prevent back pain by using a lumbar roll – this will support the lumbar lordosis and maintain the alignment of your entire spine in the normal anatomical position. Lumbar rolls are cheap (don’t pay more than $10) and easy to find" (Par. 8). The blog contains a lot of very interesting information about what a life of a physical therapist is like. Her posts are very informal and are written for anyone who is interested in learning more about physical therapy. She posts in order to entertain and inform. This is very different from a newspaper article written by the New York Times.
I found an article from the New York Times titled, "Physical Therapists Turn to Wii Golf." The article explains how physical therapists are beginning to use Wii games to help cure people's physical problems (Mickey 1). It explains how they are more likely to do their recovery exercises because it is enjoyable and fun. The article does not state any specific statistics or facts on proving if the exercises are actually solving the problem. This is how I can tell a scholar in the profession did not write it. It was merely written with a purpose of entertaining its audience. The audience in this case is the general public and the interested non-specialists who are reading it because it sounds interesting. This article is also shorter and is written at an easier reading level. The style can considered informational, yet casual.
For example, I located a blog that is very similar to mine in order to compare the differences between the blog posts, the newspaper article, and the scholarly article on physical therapy. The blog is titled, "Alison's Physical Therapy Blog". In this blog, Alison explains and gives advice as an experienced physical therapist to those who are having back problems. She also talks about her typical days at work and and gives advice to better health. For instance, she explains, "Prevent back pain by using a lumbar roll – this will support the lumbar lordosis and maintain the alignment of your entire spine in the normal anatomical position. Lumbar rolls are cheap (don’t pay more than $10) and easy to find" (Par. 8). The blog contains a lot of very interesting information about what a life of a physical therapist is like. Her posts are very informal and are written for anyone who is interested in learning more about physical therapy. She posts in order to entertain and inform. This is very different from a newspaper article written by the New York Times.
I found an article from the New York Times titled, "Physical Therapists Turn to Wii Golf." The article explains how physical therapists are beginning to use Wii games to help cure people's physical problems (Mickey 1). It explains how they are more likely to do their recovery exercises because it is enjoyable and fun. The article does not state any specific statistics or facts on proving if the exercises are actually solving the problem. This is how I can tell a scholar in the profession did not write it. It was merely written with a purpose of entertaining its audience. The audience in this case is the general public and the interested non-specialists who are reading it because it sounds interesting. This article is also shorter and is written at an easier reading level. The style can considered informational, yet casual.
On the other hand, I also found an article called, "Assessing the Influence of Sensory Interaction on Balance". This article describes how sensory interaction effects balance by distinguishing that, "Sensory processes in balance control involve interaction among orientation inputs from somatosensory (proprioceptive, cutaneous, and joint), visual, and vestibular systems" (Cook and Horak 1). A person can clearly tell that a scholar in the field of physical therapy wrote this article. Not only that, but the article was also written to inform others and contribute to the knowledge of others by providing insightful information. This is very different than the New York Times article because it is written with very specialized terminology that deals with the Physical Therapy field. The article is aimed towards scholars, researchers, and students rather than the general public. The style is much more formal and serious than the article written by New York Times.
Works Cited:
"Back Pain Tip of the Day." Alison's Physical Therapy Blog. N.p., Sept. 2006. Web. 10 Sept. 2012 <http://physicaltherapyblog.wordpress.com/>.
"Back Pain Tip of the Day." Alison's Physical Therapy Blog. N.p., Sept. 2006. Web. 10 Sept. 2012 <http://physicaltherapyblog.wordpress.com/>.
Cook, Anne S., and Fay B. Horak. "Assessing
the Influence of Sensory Interaction on Balance." Physical Therapy.
Journal of American Physical Therapy Association, 24 Jan. 2002. Web. 10 Sept.
2012 <http://www.physther.org/
content/66/10/1548.short>.
content/66/10/1548.short>.
Micky, Lisa D. "Physical Therapists Turn to
Wii Golf." Health. New York Times, 8 Sept. 2012. Web. 10 Sept.
2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/09/health/physical-therapists-use-wii-golf-to-treat-patients.html?_r=1&ref=physicaltherapy>.
I think it is very interesting how one can decipher a professional writing with correct grammar and terminology for a more advanced audience as opposed to one that is not at the professional level so is targeting a completely different audience, maybe the recreational audience for this topic. The style of writing, as you mentioned, is incredibly different which I found not too surprising since the topic of interest was different. Finally, something that also interested me was that you, as a reader, could see those different styles of writing even though each author was writing about a separate topic. Even though the broader topic may be the same, the more detailed topics are different which seem to cause the various styles of writing, audience and purpose
ReplyDelete