WHAT IS A SCIENTIFIC TEXT? OUTSTANDING FEATURES - LITERATURE - 2024

A scientific text is a coherent set of statements related to science or scientific language. This type of text uses clear language and ordered sentences, with a fairly simple syntax.

The goal is for this information to be interpreted correctly by an audience, so these writings must communicate some true information.

In this type of literature, ambiguous terms should be avoided so that the meaning of the words is clear and there is no doubt about it.

Additionally, all kinds of subjectivity should be minimized. The text should be based on specific information and not on the author's opinions.

The objective of the scientific literature is to be understood by anyone who belongs to the target group to which the text is being addressed.

It uses specific terminology while allowing accurate translations into other languages ​​without any misinterpretation.

These texts must present statements that can be subjected to tests to prove that the information presented is credible and real.

Generally this type of literature is produced in the scientific community to communicate and demonstrate some process achieved in a research work.

Definition

Scientific literature refers to the writing of any scientific subject, often presented in a non-technical way so that it can be understood by an audience of non-scientific people.

This type of literature can also refer to the reports of scientific observations and results presented in a specific and conventional way to its branch.

Main features

The idea is that scientific texts make use of elements that can explain information clearly and easily to readers of the literature.

To achieve this understanding, explanation strategies such as active verbs, analogies and metaphors, and explanations should be used before reaching the conclusion.

Very detailed explanations should also be sacrificed so that the reader does not get lost in the text and can fully understand the information presented.

On many occasions, this type of text makes use of "no examples"; non-examples are examples of what something is not. Often times that kind of explanation helps clarify the item in question.

For example, if you wanted to explain the definition of groundwater you could say: “groundwater is not a body of water in the traditional sense; rather it is water moving slowly through the cracks in the ground. '

Categories

Commonly, this literature can be classified into four main categories: argumentative texts, referential texts, reports, and instructional texts.

1- argumentative text

In argumentative texts there are two positions, two opinions that are compared one against the other.

The author attacks the opponent's ideas by briefly reporting them and then providing evidence to the contrary. Its objective is to provide and support a thesis with scientific evidence.

2- Referential text

These texts simply describe some phenomenon, such as the creation of the Universe, and are usually based on logical cause.

Contrary to argumentative texts, the author does not participate ideologically or emotionally in what he is describing.

Its goal is to be as clear as possible since the purpose of this type of text is to explain a phenomenon in the most transparent way.

3- Reports

Reports are texts written to describe an event. Therefore they are developed with a time sequence structure, such as the phases of a laboratory experiment.

It seeks to describe in detail the time sequence of a procedure or the steps of an event.

4- Instructive texts

These texts tell the reader how to perform an action, such as how to connect a computer.

They are based on a series of imperative verb forms. Your goal is to instruct the reader to perform a relevant task. User manuals are instructional texts.

Structure

Scientific texts assume a different way of explaining events; this way can be very different from the usual one.

In general, a narrative text is associated with objective structures, while scientific literature is associated with logical structures.

Stated in a more basic way, it can be generalized and said that logical thinking informs experts about certain areas, while inexperienced ones focus on objective structures.

Scientific literature is easier to understand the more it resembles a narrative text, focusing on objectives and human agents.

Examples

1- Organ transplant surgeries

“Keeping a dead body until its organs can be donated is a difficult process that requires the latest advances in medical technology. But it is also an anachronism in an era when medicine has become less invasive.

Fixing blocked coronary arteries, which not long ago required a patient's chest to be fully opened with a saw, can now be accomplished by sending a tiny splint into the heart through the patient's leg.

Exploratory surgery has resulted in robotic cameras in high resolution images. Advances are already being made in gene therapy today, where diseases can be cured even before they do any harm.

Compared to such cures on a micro scale, transplants seem incredibly mechanical or invasive as they consist of saving entire organs from a corpse with a beating heart and placing them in a different body.

2- Description of the thermometer

“Many thermometers are thin glass tubes filled with some liquid. Mercury and alcohol are often used in thermometers because they help maintain the liquid form over a wide range of temperatures.

Thermometers can measure temperature due to a property called thermal expansion. Thermal expansion is the increase in volume of a substance due to an increase in temperature.

As the temperature of a substance increases, its particles move faster and spread out.

So there is more space between them and the substance expands. Mercury and alcohol expand in consistent amounts at any change in temperature. "

References

1. Sample scientific text. Recovered from readwritethink.org
2. Science writing (2016). Recovered from thoughtco.com
3. The features of scientific texts. Recovered from readytoteach.it
4. Understanding scientific text. Recovered from mempowered.com
5. What is the meaning of scientific text: concept and definition. Recovered from edukalife.blogspot.com