JARGON in academic writing
by DARSHANIE PREMATILAKE
“You must learn to talk clearly. The jargon of scientific terminology which rolls off your tongue is mental garbage."
Martin H. Fischer (1879 – 1962)
Martin H. Fischer (1879 – 1962)
Jargon is the particular language concerning the vocabulary and grammar, used by people who belong to a specific group.
A doctor may speak Medical jargon which will confuse a layman but will be perfectly understood by another doctor.
Similarly, businessmen speak business jargon, military men speak military jargon, policemen speak police jargon and lawyers speak legal jargon.
Jargon of a specific group can be meaningless or gives an entirely different meaning to others. For instance, a ‘widow’ in the Social service department is NOT the ‘widow’ in a publishing house. Likewise, a ‘gutter’ for road construction services in NOT the ‘gutter’ in the printing department.
Hence, it is important to have a good knowledge about jargon if you intend to use it in your writing.
Can we use jargon in academic writing?
An academic writer should focus clearly on the subject with precise use of words and follow a formal writing style. Slangs, idioms and jargon have no place in academic writing.
If you are writing a college essay, a research paper for a scientific journal or a presentation for a conference, do not include jargon unless it is well-understood by all members of the audience. In fact, think clearly about your audience before using any term which you may consider as a jargon.
As a rule-of-thumb, avoid jargon during academic writing unless it is ‘Academic
jargon’ and is necessary for your script.
Some examples of Academic jargon:
analysis / assessment / concept / context / definition / data / research / formula / factors / function / hypothesis / interpretation / method / percent / principle / procedure / sector / source / structure / theory / variable …
Link: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/alzsh3/acvocab/
A doctor may speak Medical jargon which will confuse a layman but will be perfectly understood by another doctor.
Similarly, businessmen speak business jargon, military men speak military jargon, policemen speak police jargon and lawyers speak legal jargon.
Jargon of a specific group can be meaningless or gives an entirely different meaning to others. For instance, a ‘widow’ in the Social service department is NOT the ‘widow’ in a publishing house. Likewise, a ‘gutter’ for road construction services in NOT the ‘gutter’ in the printing department.
Hence, it is important to have a good knowledge about jargon if you intend to use it in your writing.
Can we use jargon in academic writing?
An academic writer should focus clearly on the subject with precise use of words and follow a formal writing style. Slangs, idioms and jargon have no place in academic writing.
If you are writing a college essay, a research paper for a scientific journal or a presentation for a conference, do not include jargon unless it is well-understood by all members of the audience. In fact, think clearly about your audience before using any term which you may consider as a jargon.
As a rule-of-thumb, avoid jargon during academic writing unless it is ‘Academic
jargon’ and is necessary for your script.
Some examples of Academic jargon:
analysis / assessment / concept / context / definition / data / research / formula / factors / function / hypothesis / interpretation / method / percent / principle / procedure / sector / source / structure / theory / variable …
Link: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/alzsh3/acvocab/
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