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Language Analysis
Language Analysis

Yuju Lee

This paper was prepared for the language analysis of “Learning disabilities and

anxiety: a meta-analysis” by Jason et al (2011) published in the Journal of learning

disabilities. The language analysis includes the features of this article, the use of discipline

specific vocabulary, tenses used, and citation forms and patterns analyzed based on research

by Swales and Feak (2012).

Language Features of the Article Analyzed Based on a study by Swales and Feak (2012)

The features characteristically identified in the study of Jason et al (2011) are the use

of the word “we”, the non-use of verb abbreviations, more formal infinitive forms, and non-

use of vague expressions.

First, the characteristics of the use of the first-person pronoun “we” to refer to the

authors themselves in the study are striking. Examples include “we pursued two research

goals (p 4)”, “we combined the studies with clinic/hospital–identified samples (p 8)”. This

feature is confirmed throughout the article as well as the examples presented. Swales and

Feak (2012) stated that the use of the single pronoun “I” is usually avoided in research

articles. The single pronoun was not used because there were many authors in the study, but

even if there was only one author, “I” was not used in several research articles in this field, so

it is assumed that it was not used.

Then there is the non-use of the verb abbreviation. Swales and Feak (2012) explained

that while contractions may be common in some areas, it is not the case in most cases. Here is

a portion of the study that exemplifies it; “he is currently interested in ~ (p 17),” “The
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Language Analysis
intuitive appeal of secondary reaction theory is apparent (p. 3).” As can be seen from the

examples, it can be confirmed that verbs are not abbreviated in this study.

The third characteristic is the more formal use of infinitives. According to Swales

and Feak (2012), “some authors negative forms over others, believing that those on the right

are more academic.” It means that it is considered more formal in research articles to avoid

using the negative form in the main verb. Examples from the study are as follows; “The

authors declared no potential conflicts of interests with respect to the authorship and/or

publication of this article (p. 12),” “The authors received no financial support for the research

and/or authorship of this article (p. 12).”

Finally, there is the non-use of vague expressions. Swales and Feak (2012) point out

that some readers oppose the use of vague expressions such as etc. This is important for

research articles that deliver professionalism and accurate information. Looking at the

following example, it can be seen that all elements corresponding to it are specified rather

than expressions such as and so forth and etc; “Moderator effects were examined for

informant type, gender, grade, publication status, and identification source (p 3),” “A variety

of theories have been developed to explain the possible relationship between LD and anxiety,

including secondary reaction, primary disorder, and cerebral dysfunction theories (Spreen,

1989) (p 3).”

The use of discipline specific vocabulary: Learning Disability

The terminology specified in that article is “learning disability”. A definition of this

term was not explained in the study. The reason is that since this term is a basic term in this

field, there is no need to specify it for experts in the field, the readership of the paper. Instead,

it can be found describing the characteristics and relevance of this to students with learning

disabilities in relation to the subject of the article, anxiety. For example, “Anxiety is a

particular form of emotional distress thought to be frequently experienced by students with

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Language Analysis
LD (Huntington & Bender, 1993) (p 3).” This also suggests a focus on the characteristics of a

learning disability rather than a definition of learning disability.

The Use of Tense

In the study, various tenses such as present perfect, present, and past are used. It takes the

form of an IMRD, and differences in the tense used for each section can be found. First, the

present perfect and present tense were used in Introduction except for the research purpose

where the past tense was used. And the past tense was used in the Method section, and the

past tense was mostly used in Results as well. Finally, it can be seen that the present tense is

used in Discussion. In introduction, the present tense or present perfect tense is used because

the description of the current state or situation of the field is mainly specified, such as current

understanding and background information about the topic (Research Guides, n.d.). The

reason the past tense is used in Method is that its main content is a description of the method

used in the study. It is clear that the past tense should be used when describing methods of

research conducted in the past. Also, in the results, the past tense is used as it is about the

results of previous studies. The discussion section is where you explore the underlying

meaning of your research, its possible implications in other areas of study, and the possible

improvements that can be made in order to further develop the concerns of your research

(Research Guides, n.d.). Therefore, it is appropriate to use the present tense in that part. The

use of these different tenses confirms the importance of each section being used for its

intended purpose.

Citation Format and Patterns; Non-integrated e.g

The Journal of Learning Disabilities Author Guidelines (n.d.) clearly states that they

follow the format of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th

ed., 2020). In addition, the article pursues a pattern of non-integrated e.g rather than

integrated e.g throughout the study. An example of it is as follows; “When anxious symptoms
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Language Analysis

are not addressed early, they tend to become more severe and to lead to other forms of

psychopathology such as depression (Cicchetti & Toth, 1998) (p. 12),” “An easy answer to

this important diagnostic question is unlikely because a gold standard does not exist for

determining internalizing psychopathology (Safford et al., 2005) (p. 10).” Non-integral

reference appears at the end of the authors’ viewpoint (BAESP Learning Hub, n.d.). It

relatively does not interrupt the information flow of the sentence (BAESP Learning Hub,

n.d). The use of the non-integrated e.g pattern is very useful to seamlessly connect the flow

between sentences in a research article with many citations to previous studies related to a

particular topic.
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Language Analysis

Reference

Journal of Learning Disabilities. SAGE Publications Inc. (2021, November 12). Retrieved
November 2021, from https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/journal-of-learning-
disabilities/journal201879?
gclid=CjwKCAiAvriMBhAuEiwA8Cs5lRiHKO5opbd2Az0GFw6obtWwBHb7p-
Phw2dJ8NtbHltKxqip_u1YuRoCEFIQAvD_BwE. 

Journal of Learning Disabilities Author Guidelines - Amazon S3. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/clarivate-scholarone-prod-us-west-2-s1m-
public/wwwRoot/prod1/societyimages/jld/AuthorGuidelines_JLD_web_10-20.pdf. 

Organizing academic research papers: 4. the introduction. Research Guides. (n.d.).

Retrieved from https://library.sacredheart.edu/c.php?g=29803&p=185916. 

Organizing academic research papers: 8. the discussion. Research Guides. (n.d.). Retrieved
from https://library.sacredheart.edu/c.php?g=29803&p=185933. 

Reference. BAESP Learning Hub. (n.d.). Retrieved November 16, 2021, from
http://www.engl.polyu.edu.hk/baesp/BAlearninghub/ref.html.