96 / Methods of Development
ANALYSIS of THE SAMPLE foR SCIENCE
The descriptive paragraph prepared for a science class includes notable differences
from other descriptive paragraphs. Note the following peculiarities:
- Scientific description requires a distinctive terminology. As a result, such terms
as Juniperus virginiana, ridged, lobed, buttressed, opposite in pairs, oppressed,
glandular, and bridging host may not be completely familiar to lay readers but
are appropriate for the scientific description. - In spite of the scientific emphasis, words that appeal to the senses do appear:
- Sight: conical, wider, round-topped, distorted, ridged, lobed, buttressed,
reddish-brown, shreddy, fringed, four-sided, green, 2 mm long, scale-like,
pairs, overlap, rounded, glandular, dark blue - Smell: aromatic odor, perfume
- Taste: sweetish with resinous flavor
- Touch: shreddy strips, fringed, fleshy
- Sight: conical, wider, round-topped, distorted, ridged, lobed, buttressed,
- Figures of speech are limited, but some words suggest comparison: conical,
buttressed, shreddy, scale-like, fleshy, and about the size of a small pea. Scientific
descriptions rely on precise, often technical, wording and seldom include
specific use of figures of speech. - Details support the areas of useful scientific description: habitat, overall
appearance, bark, twigs, leaves, berries, and enemies. - The organization is in order of importance, from general to specific, from
overall to minute. [See order of importance in the Glossary.] - The single attitude, that of objective viewer, helps maintain unity.
- Sentence structure and vocabulary meet the needs of the subject and the
audience, including technical terms and some rather compact, complicated
sentences. - The clincher sentence, which offers a final statement, takes the reader back to
the general.