Technical Languages in Biology - Assignment Example

Title: Text Analysis Name: Registration No: Name of professor: Institution: Date: Text 1 The genre of this article is information. This is because it informs the reader about how glucose is regulated in the body by illustrating the role played by pancreas and liver. It also informs the reader about various methods used to store food in plants. Finally, it informs the reader about a procedure that can be followed when performing an experiment to determine the amount of energy stored in a food substance. There are a number of technical languages used in this article. These include words such as insulin which shows the reader that the topic being discussed is scientific. Insulin is a substance which is secreted by the pancreas to regulate the amount of glucose in blood. Another technical language used is glycogen which is the form of carbohydrate in which excess glucose in the body is stored. Another technical language used is diabetes which is a condition where there is excess glucose in the body. Sucrose is also another technical language used in the article which is the form in which food is stored in sugar cane. Lexical density has been achieved by use clauses which contain content words that provide more information about the text. Consequently, it has been possible to explain the contents of the text by use of a limited number of words. For instance, in the clause, ‘Your pancreas contains special cells that sense when there is too much glucose in the blood and then it releases insulin into the bloodstream’. In this clause, lexical density has been increased so that we can know that the pancreas produces insulin which regulates the amount of glucose in blood. Nominal groups and nominalization have been used to explain the functions of various organs in the body. For instance, nominal groups are observed in describing the functions of the liver by combining elements associated with it such as the role it plays in converting excess glucose into glycogen. This is illustrated by the phrase, ‘It is then carried to the liver, which converts it into the main animal storage carbohydrate, glycogen. Nominalization has mainly been used in the experiment section of this text by use of words which reduces the information to be within a short space. For instance, the phrase, ‘The energy content of food is measured by burning a sample and measuring the amount of heat energy released’, provides an explanation of what the experiment was about by use of a few words. Information organization is observed by the manner in which the text explains the main ideas being put across. This involves explaining the methods of glucose regulation in body of animals, followed by explaining how plants store excess food and finally an experimental section which explains the method that can be used to determine the amount of energy in a food sample. Relationship between writer and readers has been achieved by use of words which shows the writer’s stance about the information being explained. For instance, during the process of determining the amount of energy produced by burning the food substance, the writer provides a value that has been identified so that the results can be compared with this theoretical value. Use of visuals have been used by providing an illustration of the setup of experiment aimed at determining the amount of energy stored in the peanut when it is burned. This enables the reader understand the experiment by looking at the diagram. Text 2 The genre of this text is description. It describes the principle through which osmosis takes place as well as describing its application in daily life such as during exchange of gases in the alveoli or during the movement of waste products from the cells of the body through the cell membrane. Various technical languages have been used in order to enable a science reader understand the context of discussion involved in the text. For instance, diffusion has been explained as the movement of substances from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration. In addition, osmosis is explained as the process through which water moves from an area of high concentration to low concentration through a semi-permeable membrane. Lexical density has been achieved by use of clauses which ensure the content of a particular passage are combined together. For instance, the phrase, ‘Diffusion is the spreading out of substances from where there is a high concentration to where there is a low concentration.’ informs the reader about the meaning of diffusion in general. In addition, the phrase, ‘Carbon dioxide diffuses from our blood into the air, and then we breathe it out,’ has a high lexical density because it provides a brief explanation of the diffusion mechanism of carbon dioxide in the body. Nominal groups have been used to provide various forms of information related to diffusion such as osmosis as a special case of diffusion which involves mainly water movements. In addition, nominalization involved the use of words which ensure the ideas explained are concentrated on the main topic of diffusion and osmosis. For instance, in the phrase, ‘The oxygen diffuses from the air into our blood’, enables the reader understand the role of diffusion in exchange of gases in our lungs by simply reading this single sentence. There is an adequate information organization which involves introduction of the concept of diffusion followed by explaining osmosis as a special case of diffusion after which the text explains areas where osmosis is experienced in our daily lives such as during exchange of gases in the lungs. Lastly, it provides an experiment that illustrates the concept of osmosis. Relationship between the writer and reader has been created by use of words which create attention to the reader such as ‘Notice that we do not breathe out blood cells or other parts of the blood’. Lastly, the text involves the use of visual as a method of communication to the reader such as through the use of a diagram illustrating osmosis process through the semi-permeable membrane as well as a diagram showing the experiment which was set up to illustrate osmosis process. This facilitates understanding of the concepts being studied without the need to read the text itself. Text 3 The language genre used in this text is information. It informs the reader about the characteristics of the cell membrane and its detailed structure. In addition, it informs that reader about the conditions under which organs should be placed during transportation so that cells do not die as a result of inadequate supply of nutrients and removal of wastes. The article used a number of technical languages in order to illustrate the intended information. Languages such as plasma membrane, lipid layer, fluid mosaic theory and phospholipid. This is aimed at emphasizing the main areas of discussion that the paper focuses on so that the reader can focus his or her attention towards these areas. Lexical density has changed in this case by use of clauses which are organized in such a way that the main message that the writer of the text wants to convey is effectively understood. This has been achieved by use of words which elaborate particular points being discussed by the writer of the text. For instance, the statement, ‘But cells in tissues that are separated from their blood supply cannot carry out their normal metabolic functions if they are unable to exchange materials’. From this phrase, it is possible to understand that blood supply is important in exchange of materials in cells. In this text, nominal groups have been used to explain the composition of cell membrane by use of words such as phospholipid molecules and proteins. This makes the reader make an association of these words to cell membrane, thus understanding the topic. Nominalization has been achieved by using few words in a single sentence to describe the composition of the cell membrane. The text has described the cell membrane to be composed of a double layer of phospholipid molecules. This is followed by a phrase which explains that the lipid layer is studded with proteins and other molecules. Thus, the reader is able to understand the components of the cell membrane by simply reading the two sentences. Information organization has been achieved by first explaining the importance of ensuring organs are supplied with means of removal of waste materials during transport to locations of transplant. This is followed by explaining the composition of the cell membrane. Thus the reader is able to distinguish between the two sections of the text. Relationship between the writer and reader has been enhanced by use of theories that have been researched by Singer and Nicholson to support the claims of the writer such as the use of fluid mosaic model to explain the composition of cell membrane. This makes the reader have confidence about the truth of information provided by the text. There are a number of evidences which show that visual methods of illustrating the text have been used. For instance, in order to understand the first topic, a diagram is displayed showing organ transplant process involving kidney transplant. In addition, a magnified cell is provided showing various organelles and another image of a magnified cell membrane is provided to enable understanding of the composition of the cell membrane. Text 4 The language genre of the text is mainly information. This is because, it informs the reader about the evolution of the study of plant cells such as theories that have been formulated to understand the concept of plant cells as well as the modern methods and insight that exist I relation to the composition of a plant cell and how it can be distinguished from animal cells. The use of technical language has been used so that the reader is able to understand that the text is about the study of plant cells. For instance, cytoplasm is a cell organelle that is mainly found in plant cells and acts as a site of chemical reactions in the cell. Another technical language that creates a better understanding of the text is prokaryotes and eukaryotes. It is understood that prokaryotes are plants whose nucleus do not have membranes while eukaryotes are organisms whose nuclei are surrounded by a membrane. When the reader reads these technical terms, it is possible to determine areas where more emphasis should be put in the reading process. There are nominal groups and nominalization cases in the text. Nominal groups involve words such as, ‘The DNA occurs in the form of a large, circular molecule, with which a variety of proteins are loosely associated’. From this statement, it is possible to understand a variety of characteristics of the DNA by simply reading the sentence. This is because the sentence is organized in a manner that enables understanding of a number of characteristics of the DNA of a plant cell. Nominalization is observed in the manner in which some sentences are compressed to provide a better understanding of the topic by use of few words. For instance, the sentence, ‘The DNA in eukaryotic cells is linear and tightly bound to special proteins known as histones, forming a number of chromosomes that are structurally more complex than bacterial chromosomes’. From this statement, a number of ideas can be understood such as linearity of the eukaryotic cells, its complexity and its binding mechanism by simply reading a single sentence. Information has been organized in a manner that the reader is able to understand the evolution of the study of plant cells. This is achieved by first explaining the historical background of the study of cells such as by use of Hooke’s microscope, followed by the investigation of theories associated with the study of cells and finally an explanation of current methods being used to understand plant cell composition and its organelles. The relationship between writer and readers has been enhanced by use of studies that were conducted by other researchers to explain the point being explained. For instance, the writer has used researches that were conducted by Julius Von Sach to explain the organismal theory of plant evolution. The uses of words such as ‘moreover’, ‘indeed’, indicate the emphasis that the researcher placed on the points being illustrated so that the concentration of the reader is attained. There are various forms of visual displays used to illustrate the information that the researcher tries to explain. For instance, a diagram has been provided showing Hooke’s microscope and the corresponding images observed by Robert Hooke who discovered that plants are composed of tiny components packed together. Another visual illustration is the diagram showing photosynthetic eukaryotic which illustrates the internal structure of a plant cell under high magnification. This ensures the reader is able to get a better understanding of the information being illustrated. References Boyle, M. & Senior, K. (2002). Biology (2nd ed.), London: Collins pp68 – 70. Eggins, S. (2004). An introduction to systemic functional linguistics. New York [u.a.: Continuum. Evert, R. & Eichhorn, S. (2013). Biology of Plants. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company pp38 -41. Haire, M., Kennedy, E., Lofts, G. & Evergreen, M. (2004). Core Science 2. (2nd ed.), Milton, Qld: Jacaranda Press pp128 – 129. Laidler, G. & Sartor, A. (2001). Science Search Book 4. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press. Read More