Introduction
Depending on the standards the work follows, writing is classified as either science, humanities, or social science. The conventions are founded on terminology, citations, and the organizational structure of the work as it is used to disseminate information. The writing of the social sciences and the arts differs, but there are also overlaps and similarities.
Comparison of Abstracts
Since the two articles contain abstracts, it is imperative to draw the conclusion that they are both social science articles at first look. However, a closer examination of the structure reveals that Lora E. Vess's category is in the arts, whereas John Streamas's "Narrative Politics in Historical Fictions for Children" is in the sciences. "Examining Race & Racism in the University: A Class Project" is a social science article. The abstracts were necessitated by the fact that the two are scholarly journals. The aim is to help the reader to get an overview of the full text. It is a brief disclosure of the topic of focus and what the reader should expect within the text.
Structure and Transition of Ideas
In terms of the structure, Streamas opens the article with an indication that it is a comparative analysis of narratives giving a thesis statement in the introductory paragraph a common structure in humanities. Streamas begins paragraphs with the use of a topic sentence which is then followed by the details that he intends to elaborate forming a basis for the transition of ideas. In humanities, the topic sentences guide the reader and act as a transition. On the other hand, Vess uses a hypothesis in the introductory paragraph as an indicator of what the article will elaborate on from the beginning to the conclusion. Furthermore, Vess uses subheadings or subtopics to provide the reader with an insight on what the details in the paragraph(s) will entail as well as the transition of ideas.
Conclusion and Goal
Streams transit from paragraph to another to lead to a general conclusion. This is a characteristic of the humanities where a writer comes into a conclusion giving specific details. This indicates that the intention of Streamas is to share his opinion and ideas. On the other hand, Vess uses an empirical methodology showing the goal of her study, what transpired that will ultimately lead to a certain conclusion. However, the conclusion is based on the findings from the previous findings. Similarly, Vess uses experiments such as conducting interviews with students and validating the experiences of the students. Where the need is she uses statistics and figures to enable a clear analysis that will lead to an empirical conclusion. Consequently, the intention of Vess is to arrive at a certain goal through the experiments and findings. This is convention of social sciences where the writer works throughout the article to prove the hypothesis
Language and Expression
In the aspect of language, Vess uses a plain language that is straightforward. It does not give the reader a window of thinking and discerning the author's meaning as it is clearly conveyed in the explanations. She uses experimental language and an explanation for the choice of each of her choices without wavering from the experiment and its goals. For example: "Considerable classroom time was dedicated to the ethical dimensions of interviewing members of a small group" (Vess 118). Other than leaving it at that, Vess goes ahead to link the claim with what followed as well as the findings which eventually indicate the intentions of the author. This is a convention in social science genres (Vess 115). On the other hand, Streamas does not confine his language to plain text that simply guides the reader through his ideas. He interactively involves the reader by involving them in the conversation and using figurative expressions. For example, when explaining the horrors of a Japanese story, Streamas writes: "More important, the overwhelming horror conveyed by both the pictures and the captions of all survivors is a narrative of communal - not just individual - suffering" (5). Streamas out rightly disagrees with other authors directly stating: "When we create stories for children that aim to tell truths about racism, we cannot afford to allow the social to disappear into the personal" (Streamas 5). The sentence which comes after an analysis of the works of various children narrative authors is an indicator that he is of a different opinion. This is a characteristic of humanities as the author openly disagrees with other group members and is not afraid to hedge. Contrary to this, Vess is careful not to project her own opinion and leaves the reader to make their own conclusion common. She strives to remain agreeable with the conventions of social sciences.
References and Citations
In terms of references, Streamas selects sources that are relevant to the study and uses them in the discussion extensively and cites them in MLA format in accordance with humanities writing. On the other hand, Vess uses several references within her text but does not dwell on the authors making an assumption that her article agrees with the work of the cited authors. Vess's article conforms to social science referencing in APA (Linton et al. 63).
Conclusion
Writing is categorized into different genres and adheres to the specific writing rules which distinguish it as a science, humanity or social science. The conventions differ in referencing style, structure, and language used to convey information. In the article by Streamas, there are several aspects that lead to the conclusion that the genre is humanity while that of Vess is a social science.
Works Cited
Linton, Patricia, Robert Madigan, and Susan Johnson. "Introducing Students to Disciplinary Genres: The Role of the General Composition Course Language and Learning across the Disciplines. Volume 1, Number 2: October 1994. 63-78." Language and Learning across the disciplines, 1.2, 1994, pp. 63-78.
Streamas, John. "Narrative Politics in Historical Fictions for Children." Comparative Literature and Culture, vol. 10, no. 2, June 2008, pp. 1-8. https://doi.org/10.7771/1481-4374.1348
Vess, Lora E. "Examining Race & Racism in the University: A Class Project." Radical Teacher, 106, 2016, pp. 115-122. http://dx.doi.org/10.5195/rt.2016.307
