Introduction to Writing in the Disciplines

In the chapter “Introduction to Academic Writing,” you learned the concept of discourse community, a group of individuals working together towards a common goal. At the university, you will find many discourse communities organized into disciplines or fields of study. These different disciplines have their own ways of considering and evaluating academic writing. Scholars who examine and seek to understand the unique disciplinary nature of academic writing in various fields call this approach writing in the disciplines. Writing in the disciplines is also a way of teaching writing, in which students are taught to pay attention to how writing responds to each academic community’s needs. You may have noticed that this textbook takes this approach.

The university has many fields of study, and it would be impossible to explore them all in depth in one textbook. It is possible, however, to identify three broad disciplinary areas at the university: humanities, sciences, and social sciences. Below is a list identifying these disciplinary areas’ shared goals and genres.

Humanities

Disciplines in the humanities explore the human experience, often focusing on culture and society. Humanities disciplines include:

• Classics
• Comparative Literature
• English
• History
• Linguistics
• Modern Languages
• Performing and Fine Arts
• Philosophy
• Religious Studies
• Writing Studies

These disciplines are often very interested in interpreting language and texts, exploring unique and interesting moments of human expression. Humanities scholars typically use written genres like critical or interpretive analyses, research essays, and reflective essays to communicate with their peers.

The line between the humanities and social sciences can be blurry. For example, a scholar in a field like linguistics could be considered a humanities scholar if they study the etymology (history and origin) of words; however, they could also be considered a social scientist if they used an experimental approach to understand how language speakers interpret a particular spoken sound.

Sciences

Science disciplines use a systematic approach to examine and understand the universe. Scientists use a particular pattern of critical thinking called the scientific method. Researchers who use the scientific method develop hypotheses or testable predictions about phenomena in the natural world. They use experiments or particular types of analyses to test their hypotheses.

Science disciplines include formal sciences like mathematics and computer science and natural sciences like physics, chemistry, and biology.

Science researchers may also work in applied sciences, which aim to put into practice the discoveries of the formal and natural sciences.

Applied sciences include:

• Agriculture
• Dentistry
• Engineering
• Forestry
• Kinesiology
• Nursing
• Medicine

Scientists and applied scientists often use lab reports to share their findings. Scientists also publish their findings in research articles.

Social Sciences

Social scientists share the humanities scholars’ interest in the human experience and the scientists’ systematic approach to understanding our world. Social scientists often use statistical methods to understand human behaviour; they may also use methods like interviews or focus groups to better understand why humans do what they do.

Social science disciplines include:

• Anthropology
• Business
• Economics
• Geography
• Human Ecology
• Political Science
• Psychology
• Sociology

Social scientists write observations, research reports, and literature or research reviews.

Attributions

“Introduction to Writing in the Disciplines” by Nancy Bray, Introduction to Academic Writing, University of Alberta, is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0