PB 2A

Language of a Scholar

Every four years the United States holds presidential elections in which two candidates compete for the hearts, aka votes, of the American public. Before the final election on November 4th, the presidential candidates must make it through an extensive nomination process which begins years before the voting year. For example, rumors of Hilary Clinton’s campaign for the 2016 elections began after she lost the democratic nomination for the 2008 election. This election process is a huge event and catches the attention of the entire nation. It has been analyzed by political scientists as well as the topic for many Saturday Night Live skits becoming both an area of study and humor. 

Although the nomination and election process receives coverage worldwide, depending on the audience and the context, the style or tone of the piece can differ drastically. An article written during the 2008 elections by Jay Cost called “How Obama Won The Nomination” discusses the process through which Obama received the nomination for the democratic party over Hilary Clinton in the primaries. He begins by introducing the topic of the elections and giving background on the event. He then states his argument that “Obama won not simply because he had more sup- porters, but also because the "rules of the game" made those supporters better at generating delegates.”. This is directed to an audience that is interested in the elections and the process behind it not only the results. The language is very formal and informative with very few personal anecdotes. Cost breaks his article down into sections and also includes diagrams that correspond with the text. There are also graphs and equations to show data of the elections and real life results what Cost is discussing. Numbers, or figures, are also included to provide solid evidence and give the reader an idea of how large or small the amounts are. This paper also includes foot notes to provide further information or clarify something said in the text. Words that are theories or concepts are found in quotation marks to coin the term and emphasize that topic. Because that elections are number based there is a lot of numeric data swell as graphs. This is based on the context because if this was a piece on music, then there would be musical notes or lyrics as examples. 

A “SCIgen” paper looks fairly similar to this. The language features more technical jargon and smaller, less descriptive paragraphs, however, it is also separated into section and each featuring new information or idea. The language contains more jargon because the audience is not just people interested in the article, but are instructions for an audience with prior knowledge to this topic. There are also diagrams that are explained with the text that clarify or provide example for the text. There is a general thesis for this paper, but not like the argument in the political article. Because the context of this piece is scientific and not for someone without background like the first piece. This article is strictly information based with no other personal additions from the author. This very scientific language can confuse someone that does not have further information on the topic. It is confusing and cryptic while the other article is much more approachable for any reader. 

The most important aspect of the political article is the language that the piece is used. It makes that article sound intelligent without being confusing and discouraging a reader. The language influences the audience because it appears to be an educated argument which they can trust and learn from. Without this language the entire piece would be different and lose its ability to persuade an audience.