Academic Disciplines
In the previous chapter, we discussed how a college degree is the first step towards mastering a discipline. What do we mean by “disciplines” or “academic disciplines”? When you decide your major, you are committing to learning an academic discipline, or branch of knowledge. Biology, history, chemistry, sociology, math, and English are all different disciplines. Why is this important? Because different disciplines create, refine, and discuss knowledge in different ways. More importantly, experts in disciplines write about this knowledge differently.
Writing instructors will often discuss these differences using two terms: genres and conventions. Genres are types of writing: reports, reviews, research articles, literature reviews, articles, chapters, grant requests are all separate writing genres. Writing in different disciplines uses different genres; for example, a biologist may write structured articles detailing experiments and grant proposals, while a historian will write researched articles making arguments or larger non-fiction books. Any genre of writing has different rules, or conventions, that writers will follow. In the “Research” chapter of this text, we discuss MLA citation which is a convention for citing sources in writing often used in composition classes and in the discipline of English. Conventions define a reader’s expectations for the writer; outside of classroom assignments, they guide writers beginning a project. A chemist writing a scholarly article describing her experiment and its results will know the conventions of scientific writing and the more specific requirements for the journals that publish such articles.
For your comp classes, think of each assignment as a genre, with the conventions described in the assignment sheet. The assignment sheet presents you with your instructor’s expectations, such as the paper’s length, the range of topics, research requirements (if any), and the due dates. Choose an appropriate topic and if you’re struggling discuss your topic choice with your instructor. As you work on your draft, be sure that your paper will be developed enough to meet the minimum length requirements. Meeting these expectations will be crucial to your success.
You should also remember that you’re learning basic writing techniques and rhetorical principles. As your studies progress, you will learn new genres and conventions. For example, you may never need to use MLA citation after you finish your composition class; instead, your discipline may use APA or Chicago style citation systems. The rules you learn in your composition classes are not necessarily absolute; we’re introducing you to rhetoric and writing, but you’ll also learn how to write in your chosen discipline.
Don’t forget to consider disciplines, genres, and conventions when you approach assigned reading. Students often complain that scholarly articles are boring; they’re right. However, scholarly articles aren’t written for college students; their authors write for an audience of other experts in their discipline. A knowledge of conventions will save your time: for many scholarly articles, you may only need to read a “results” or “discussion” section, where the authors discuss the impact of their research. If you’re reading a magazine article, consider the magazine’s audience: who is the author writing for? What do those people know? Why might they be interested in the topic? Recognizing that types of writing and the rules that govern them change depending on the discipline is one skill of a successful writer. If you know how to approach a writing project, what the readers will expect, you have a greater chance of being successful.
