Reference no: EM131353962 , Length: 6

Write the given paper assignment.

Below are the instructions for the paper and an example.

What does it mean to write like a ...?

For this paper, your job will to be to research one of the main genres of your major or career field. You will need to read several examples of the genre you choose, and then write a How-to guide for people attempting to learn to write that genre. For example, if you are a biology major, you might choose scientific research reports. If you are a business major, you might look at budget plans. Your goal then will be to examine in depth the conventions of writing in that genre, and specifically, how that genre function within your discourse community. Your job is to explain the strategies and tactics of writing in your chosen genre: what its characteristics are, what its purpose is, how it works, why it works, to whom and in what context it works. The purpose of this analysis is to investigating what it means to write like a member of the discourse community you are intending to join, and specifically how to write your chosen genre. You will be writing for a novice audience, but should write in a professional/academic style and tone.

You should collect at least 3 examples of the genre, and should quote them as evidence for points you make about writing in the genre. You should have a minimum of 3 sources, all of which will be primary sources (the actual genre itself).

Helpful tip:
• Pick a genre that you have access to. For example, a business memo may be difficult to get real examples of, but business plans are easy to find online. Academic genres like academic research articles are also easy to find. You might also have easy access to genres you use in your work.

• Make sure that the examples you find are all the same genre. For example, if you are doing business plans, make sure all three of your examples are actually business plans rather than one business plan, one budget report, and one assessment report, etc. You are looking at one genre and making claims about what you see all three of the examples doing.

The paper should be 5-6 pages long, typed, double-spaced, with one inch margins and 12 point Times New Roman font. Cite the sources and have a works cited page.  

Below is an example:-

Example 1: Medical Journal Articles in Radiology
Genres among discoursed communities have been studied extensively by composition scholars seeking to highlight the differences in writing from one community to the next. However, more research is needed to fully understand how these communities use genre to effectively communicate within their specific discourse community. In this paper I will research and discuss how the healthcare community uses the genre of medical articles for the purpose of ensuring up to date, cutting edge medical information is disseminated and thoroughly documented for consistency and progression among the healthcare community.

Healthcare providers are dependent upon new and current research in their every day practices. Medical articles are one genre of writing which is used as a primary source for sharing research results, clinical trial outcomes and exposing medical breakthroughs to physicians throughout the global activity system. This vital information affects the care and treatment of patients as it allows providers to stay abreast with the most current healthcare trends. Among the healthcare community, the primary goal is to provide care to every person that needs it, improve quality of care and to reduce the variations of care. Dr. P.F. Kotur echoes this in his article "How to write a scientific article for a medical journal?", that the overall goal is to share what has been discovered to keep the field from becoming stagnant, document to ensure reproducibility, and to educate other members of the community.

It is important that all members are up to date with the latest information (Result Filters). Articles such as, "Implementation of a competency check-off in diagnostic fluoroscopy for radiology trainees: impact on reducing radiation for three common fluoroscopic exams in children", (Shah, Desouches, Lowe, Kasraie, and Reading, 228-233), and "Changes in the healthcare system. Goals, forces, solutions". (Result Filters) are formulated to widely disseminate findings throughout the community. The information written in these articles is then published by a medical journal which provides an opportunity for all healthcare professionals to have access to same information to ensure the care they are providing is consistent with the goals of the community.

Articles in the healthcare genre are most often found in medical journals which can be located online or in print. University libraries and other scholarly databases make a good starting point for locating such articles. In this genre, writings will predominately address healthcare issues and new or improved ways of approaching them. Topics may include drug side effects, treatments and their effectiveness against a particular disease, discrepancies in healthcare, reduction of errors, etc., the list goes on. These articles are primarily composed by experienced physicians, research scientists and even medical students in order to educate and disseminate results and outcomes; this can be a single writer/reporter or a compilation of several giving input on the findings.

Writers of medical articles are well educated in their specialty and highly knowledgeable in the subject matter they are reporting on. They must speak clearly and to the point as well as use the lexis that the healthcare reading audience is requires and is accustomed to. Novices to the community are welcome to write but must adhere closely to the guidelines in place for this genre. Those with higher authority will be most respected and will be granted more freedom to push the boundaries. The physicians and scientist that publish medical articles are doing so to ensure the findings of their studies are shared with the rest of the medical community as well as promote new ideas and advances in technology. A physician in a rural area without the funds or resources to conduct trials and research experiments will gain exceptional knowledge from the information that is disseminated through the articles and thus be able to pass that on to his or her patients in the form of modern healthcare. The article read by the rural physician allows him/her to practice medicine in accordance with the goals and values of the healthcare community.

Those reading these medical articles are generally advanced readers with an extensive vocabulary and of similar education. The audience generally consists of other like-minded healthcare professionals who will include other physicians and scientist, healthcare educators and students as well as nurses, technologists and other allied health professionals, all of whom speak the same lexis, have something to gain from the information being presented, and who all have an important role in the function of the global activity system. Readers most often seek medical journals to gain some type of knowledge whether personal or professional, while others seek to fulfil a requirement. This promotes education among the audience, allows readers to expand their opinions, provides facts and even serves as a model for a novice writer learning the guidelines of this genre which have been adopted throughout the entire discourse community for many years.

Every year over 6 million medical articles are published and these writings must follow a set of strict guidelines in order to be considered quality among this community (Kotur, 21). The information must be presented in a formal, professional manner with a direct and to-the- point tone. Writers must use correct grammar, advanced speech, a well-educated vocabulary and use the lexis that this community is accustomed to. Information presented will primarily be quantative in nature as healthcare operates with figures and outcomes. An example comes from an article which is discussing the discrepancy rate between preliminary and official radiology reports for emergency type studies. "Plain radiographs constituted the majority of examinations requested from ED (emergency department) with a total of 17,744 studies out of 25,404 and 51.7% of these were non-musculoskeletal radiography. Total discrepancy rate was 1.29% (229 discrepant cases)" (Issa, Taskakian, Itani, Hitti, Batley, Saliba and El-Merhi, 600). Evidence presented will be facts based on the writers findings and may include documents, graphs and charts to clearly present the information. A specific format is also required when writing in this genre.

In 1989 Georges B presented some 40 factors which he classified under nine headings which follow the usual order of presentations in any journal article and this is the structure that is followed today (Kotur, 23). First is the title which is where the reader will decide if the article will be of interest and therefor it must be clearly descriptive of the content and use key words that tell what the article is about. "Measurements in radiology: the need for high reproducibility" is one example of a clearly stated title that leaves no guessing as to what the article is about (Di Leo, 32). Author information will include type of degree, designation, affiliation as well as phone numbers and email addresses of all authors. The abstract and key word portion should cover each part of the study with no abbreviations and clearly outline the "purpose of the study or investigation, basic procedures, the principal conclusion and implications" (Kotur, 24). The introduction and review of literature heading is where the writer will clearly explain the purpose of the study being performed and will include 4-5 pieces of literature corresponding to the topic in which they will argue (Kotur, 23). Materials and method will explain every material used, in what amount, for how long, and what was done to eliminate errors in findings.

In the results section, all outcomes will be reported even if they are negative or unexpected and may be presented through tables and graphs in the correct order. Under discussion and conclusion, the writer must not use any opinion and will agree or argue based on the evidence, state areas where further research may be warranted and even state a new hypothesis if necessary (Kotur, 24). References must be carefully utilized and presented in accordance with the standard of a particular journal. Writers must remember that an overabundance of references does not enhance the validity of their study. Lastly, general considerations provide the writer an opportunity to ensure uniform language, voice and format has been used and that credit has been given where due (Kotur, 25).

The format of medical journal articles can vary slightly between journals and types or article such as a report detailing a new drug interaction versus a report on a diagnostic finding. According to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (Preparing for Submission), it is necessary for "authors to follow these guidelines because they help authors describe the study in enough detail for it to be evaluated by editors, reviewers, readers, and other researchers evaluating the medical literature". Adherence to the approved format ensures global consistency throughout the discourse community.

Healthcare is an ever evolving field that relies heavily on research and its documentation to stay modern and evolving. The functionality of the entire activity system depends on the information gained through the processes documented in medical articles. This genre is very important, not only to the writers and scholars that work on them but also to patients that benefit from the care they receive based on research findings. In order to satisfy the needs and demands of the healthcare community, genre guidelines must be adhered too so that information is presented in a cut and dry yet professional manner. The genre associated with medical articles allows researchers to share findings with other healthcare

Length : 5-6 pages.