Aljawharah Aljunaydil

Dr. P.J. Moore

EAP 506
November 26TH, 2018

Language Analysis

This paper analyzes article language by using Swales and Feak (2012) to demonstrate

language style in “College Faculty and Inclusive Instruction: Self-Reported Attitudes and

Actions Pertaining to Universal Design” (Lombardi, Murray, & Gerdes, 2011).

In the beginning of the article, the authors emphasize the evidence which is information,

rather than emphasize the first person (Swales & Feak, 2012). An example of this is, “recent

evidence suggests that 88% of postsecondary” (Lombardi, Murray, & Gerdes, 2011, p. 250). In

contrast, on this sentence, “In this study, we examine the self-perceived attitudes and actions of

university faculty” (Lombardi, Murray, & Gerdes, 2011, p. 251), the authors focus on themselves

by using the first person (Swales & Feak, 2012). Also, they try to attract the reader’s attention to

know them.

According to Lombardi, Murray, & Gerdes (2011), “In the equations involving actions,

prior disability-related experiences did not add unique variance to any of the equations” (p. 257),

and “Each construct has at least three but no more than eight items” (p. 253), the authors utilize

two different types of negative forms to avoid repetition (Swales & Feak, 2012).

Based on Swales and Feak (2012), they state that indirect question is more common in

academic writing. In this article, the authors use indirect question in numerous positions for

example, “how they view inclusive teaching practices based on UD”, and “why it is important

for college faculty to consider integrating inclusive practices in planning, delivering, and
evaluating instruction” (Lombardi, Murray, & Gerdes, 2011, p. 251). Using this way of question

would be easier for the reader to follow and understand.

Swales and Feak (2012) state that, the adverb placement is essential and might affect in

the meaning of sentences. As we see, in this article the authors place adverb in various positions

depending on the author’s focus. For instance, “Assessment items closely resembled minor”

(Lombardi, Murray, & Gerdes, 2011, p. 259), in this sentence, the authors focus on resembling of

the assessment.

In the point of the split infinitive, the authors put the adverb between the verb and to in

some sentences such as “non-tenure-line faculty were most likely to positively endorse Multiple

Means of Presentation.” (Lombardi, Murray, & Gerdes, 2011, p. 257). In this sentence, the

authors want to highlight the adverb, so they split the infinitive.

This article uses the passive voice in several positions such as “Reliability was examined

with Cronbach’s”, and “Several recent efforts have extended UD” (Lombardi, Murray, &

Gerdes, 2011, p. 255). That means the authors highlight the object rather than the subject by

using passive voice. Also, it might demonstrate the high academic writing level (Swales & Feak,

2012). On the other hand, they utilize the active voice in some positions to attract the reader to

the importance of subject. An example of this is, “we compared the two extremes on the attitude

response scale” (Lombardi, Murray, & Gerdes, 2011, p. 256).

Regarding the verb tense, the authors use various tenses depending on the sentences.

They often utilize past simple tense in an integrated citation for example, “Lombardi and Murray

(2011) identified three reliable constructs specific to the UDI framework in their study of faculty

attitudes at one university” (Lombardi, Murray, & Gerdes, 2011, p. 252). On the other hand, they

use the present simple, present perfect, and past simple in non- integrated citation such as
“Recent efforts have extended this line of inquiry to incorporate issues pertaining to UD

principles (Cook, Rumrill, & Tankersley, 2009; Lombardi & Murray, 2011)” (Lombardi,

Murray, & Gerdes, 2011, p. 252).

In this article, the authors use some vocabulary which has specific meaning in my

discipline, and they provide the vocabulary’s definition. That assists the reader to follow the

information. An example of this is, “inclusive instruction, which, in the context of the current

study, refers to specific practices based on the tenets of Universal Design (UD)” (Lombardi,

Murray, & Gerdes, 2011, p. 251).

According to language analysis features in this article, we could identify the language

style that often uses in Special Education. Also, we could say that academic writers on our field

often use various language style and grammar choices. Moreover, the researchers usually choose

the appropriate language style depending on the aim of the sentences, and the information they

want to send to audiences. For these reasons, we as graduate students need to improve our

writing skills to reach this high academic writing level and to make their research more

interesting.

References:

Lombardi, A. R., Murray, C., & Gerdes, H. (2011). College faculty and inclusive instruction:

Self-reported attitudes and actions pertaining to Universal Design. ournal of Diversity in

Higher Education, 4(4), 250-261.

Swales, J., & Feak , C. (2012). Academic writing for graduate students. Ann Arbor: The

University of Michigan Press.