The Significance behind Credibility: Context or Style?

 

By Tiffany Yang

This blog post analyzes a scientific article and compares and contrasts the significance behind the rhetorical context and the physical texts used, to answer which one plays a bigger role in determining credibility and the human sphere of activity.

An article was chosen to analyze Official Style strategies used, to determine if the prose style or the context have a significance or play a role within the sphere of human activity. The article in question is “Natural anti-aging skincare: role and potential,” written by Idris Adewale Ahmed, and co-written by Maryam Abimbola Mikail, Norhisam Zamakshshari, and Al-Shwyeh Hussah Abdullah. These writers have graduated with Ph.D.’s in various fields of sciences. This article was published by Biogerontology Journal. To briefly elaborate on the specifics of this journal, here is a description from their website:

The journal Biogerontology offers a platform for research which aims primarily at unravelling the biological mechanisms of ageing with an aim of achieving healthy old age. The focus is on efforts to understand, prevent, cure or minimize age-related impairments. Biogerontology provides a peer-reviewed forum for publishing reviews and original research data, new ideas and discussions on modulating the ageing process...

The article was found on the Murphy Library page located on the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse’s website. The article contains information about what the skin is, how the skin works and ages, and what steps or preventions could be taken to alleviate the signs of age within one’s skin. It is obvious that this article is scientifically informative, with the goal of educating and informing an audience to whom it may concern. The audience this text may have relevance to but not limited to: scientists, researchers, educators, professors, students, organizational businesses, entrepreneurs, etc. This article circulates within the libraries of colleges and universities, meaning it carries reliable and credible information. In my opinion, the use of Official Style is most fitting and appropriate for a genre such as this piece. Although the contextual factors of this article show its purpose of being credible, looking at the physical text and strategies being used can help determine how this article successfully portrays itself as a trustworthy piece.

To prove why the physical text is a greater indicator of how a piece is portrayed, specific examples of strategies used and related evidence will be provided, and a reflection of the significance behind each one. To simplify this breakdown, only the abstract of the article was analyzed, which is essentially a compressed version of this article. The first obvious piece of evidence is the data we get when putting this abstract into a readability calculator. The Gunning Fog Index indicates the number of formal educations that a person requires to understand the text calculated. This abstract has a Gunning Fog Index of 24.70, which is high compared to most accessible texts. This means a person would need 24 years of formal education to fully comprehend the text. We should consider the Flesch Reading Ease as well, which determines the reading complexity of this text. The higher the number, the easier it is to read, the lower the number, the harder it is to read. This text had a Flesch Reading Ease of 4.07, which is very low, meaning this text is considered overly complex to read. Having a high Gunning Fog Index and a low Flesch Reading Ease are indicators this text may be using Official Style strategies.

The next piece of evidence we will discuss is the physical and textual strategies seen within the abstract. The first strategy I identified was the continuous use of passive voice. Passive voice is often used in scientific papers like this one and is a distinctive indicator that Official Style is being used. Some examples from the text are: “Therefore, the aims of this review...,” “Recent investigations have shown that...,” “These trending narratives have....” The use of passive makes the article appear credible through the means of presenting and stating thoughts, facts, or evidence in a formal tone.

Secondly, there was an abundance of complex sentences used. Complex sentences usually involve many other Official Style strategies such as verbose language that uses excessive jargon and euphemisms. Verbose is often used to describe “hard to understand,” jargon is the use of specific terminology, and euphemism is substituting words or phrases to sound more pleasant. When you put all three of these strategies together, it can create complex sentences. Here is an example from the article: “The deterioration of the skin morphology and physiology is the first and earliest obvious harbinger of the aging process which is progressively manifested with increasing age.” This could be described as verbose writing because there are simpler ways to state the ideas presented in this sentence, such as: skin deterioration is the first sign of aging. The special terms here are morphology and physiology, which showcase high levels of expertise and knowledge within the science field. Euphemism can be seen in the phrase “...earliest obvious harbinger of the aging process...” which simply means: first obvious sign of aging. Another phrase is “...progressively manifested with increasing age.” which could be interpreted as: increases/grows as we grow old. These strategies serve a purpose which also happens to be more general ideas of Official Style and contribute to the author of this article and their goal to provide credible information.

The first one we have briefly mentioned was the showcasing of knowledge and expertise within the science field. This article shows that they are knowledgeable when it comes to skin, aging, and the science behind it when they use scientific jargon terms. Secondly, by advertising one's expertise, you are invoking authority. This is another strategy of Official Style that can be used. In doing so, this makes the reader feel insufficient when it comes to knowledge about the skin and views the writers as higher than themselves, in turn making the article and the writers seem trustworthy and creditable. This same concept can be applied to anything, for example when one has little to no knowledge about a topic, it is a common initial reaction to believe what you first hear/read from someone who appears to know more.

Before we draw any conclusions, let us now discuss arguments/counterarguments, other possibilities, and questions. After carefully analyzing and taking into consideration the context of this article and the physical text, I argue that although the physical text and strategies used may seem to have more significance (in terms of appearing credible) than the context, context of a piece plays a bigger role in how it is perceived and used within the human spheres of activity. Let us consider hypothetical instances, the first one being the writers are Ph.D. graduates in science fields but wrote the article exactly the opposite of Official Style and did not incorporate any strategies. Would the article still be considered credible and reliable? I can argue that the answer is yes because their status of education still shows they are knowledgeable, reliable, and certified in their area of expertise. When one goes to the hospital and the doctor gives you recommendations, do they say it in an obscure way for one to believe it and take their advice? I would say no, many would agree the doctor's status alone is credible enough and a simple worded recommendation still serves its purpose. Now consider the opposite instance, if the writers were not Ph.D. graduates and had no experience in the science field but wrote their article in Official Style, would it be credible? I argue that it would no longer be credible. That is not to say they are not educated, but when it comes to the contents of this article (science and skin), they could be educated enough to write in Official Style but educated in the specific contents of science and skin, to provide accurate, reliable information the reader needs. Others could argue that Official Style is needed to grant credibility. A hypothetical situation we could consider for the counterargument would be if a doctor who does not know or understand medical terminology, plans to give you medical advice, without understanding what your medical condition means, would the doctor feel credible? Most would say no and find it concerning that a doctor, who is an educated and trained professional, is clueless about terms they should know.

Other contexts to consider that could change are the purpose, genre, and the audience. If these contextual factors were to change it would then affect my opinion on whether Official Style is the appropriate prose style to use. If the purpose is to entertain, this would fail at entertaining readers because of the formal tone and lack of creative and artistic writing. If the targeted audience were children, this article would be too complex for them to understand, and Official Style would no longer be appropriate. This discussion then leads me to my conclusion.

To conclude, this article successfully used the Official Style strategies to prove credibility, but the context of this article is what makes it credible and affects the way this article will be and would be used in the spheres of human activity. The context appropriately fits the use of Official Style, which is why I was able to locate it on a college university library website, where only trusted sources are allowed. If the context of this article were not considered credible, this would entirely affect how readers view and use the article. They may question the accuracy of the information provided, the reliability, and as a result it could deter them from utilizing this article as a source. In addition, the level of writing may not have been as advanced to what college universities, professors, or researchers desire, also affecting the purpose this article is meant to serve. Context determines the audience, accessibility, and the sphere of human activity. Therefore, Official Style may have a significance, but not as determining as the context of a writing piece.