DON HONORIO VENTURA STATE UNIVERSITY
Cabambangan, Villa de Bacolor 2001, Pampanga, Philippines
Tel. No. (6345) 458 0021; Fax (6345) 458 0021 Local 211
URL: http://dhvsu.edu.ph
GENRE ANALYSIS OF SCIENCE JOURNALISM OF
SELECTED PHILIPPINE NATIONAL DAILIES
A Concept Paper
In partial fulfilment for the requirements in the subject Seminar in Thesis Writing
Submitted by:
MANOLITO S. DAVID
Student
March 19, 2022
ISSUES
Journalistic writings in the 21st century have become disaster and pandemic-driven. When
different and calamities and unprecedented maladies began to wreak havoc in the contemporary
world, journalists have fine-tuned their writing skills by gaining scientific literacy to cover disaster
and pandemic only explained by science and fill the information gap. To date, science-based
journalism has given so much attention to framing different natural calamities and disasters such
as typhoons, volcanic eruption, and earthquake because of their dreadful impacts on life such as
enormous deaths and human suffering (Lim, Ngoi, & Tan, 2015). Likewise, news reports on
infectious diseases such as COVID-19, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), and Ebola
virus disease have also gained substantial audiences. COVID-19 news, for example, has received
extensive media attention during the first quarter of 2020 and covered topics which many
individuals closely follow to take precautions and protect themselves against the disease
(Konstantinidou, 2020). With the continuous emergence of diseases, uncontrolled forces of nature,
and the world-changing scientific breakthroughs, science information has continued to be widely
available to the public in the modern times.
The Science and Media Group (2010) opines that getting science directly to the public is
necessary as mass media and the mainstream news can immensely influence our decision making
in many issues. Hence, the quality of reporting science-based news and articles has turned into an
area of interest for researchers, policy makers, journalism and/or language teachers, students, and
budding journalists. However, writing science for lay audiences is still challenging for journalists.
The challenge lies on the scientists’ specialized knowledge or the audience’s limited knowledge
or perspective on the subject (Bromme, Jucks, Wenn, & Laien, 2003, as cited in Salita, 2015).
Radford (2011), for example, states that scientists are trained in academic publishing of scientific
paper characterized by language, form, and convention that are commonplace in science but
uncommon to ordinary people. In general sense, scientists use jargons or technical terms which
are difficult to understand and differently interpreted by the lay audience. These jargons pose
inherent problems not only to the lay public but also to the journalists who are tasked to report
about the latest developments in science. Adeniran, Arowolo, and Oso (2019) support this and
claim that journalists covering science issues also face challenges brought about by the scientific
technicalities that need to be simplified so as to make the whole report appealing to the reading
public.
Uncritical and less creative reporting also hounds science journalism. Joshi (2018)
describes in his research article the reason of India’s less engagement in science articles. According
to Joshi, reporting science-based issues are dry and boring and do not attract the mass audience.
He has also added articles on science do not appear as lead news because of the journalists’
inability to add impact and powerful visuals in the stories. Moreover, Nguyen and Tran (2019)
explain that the public has a short-lived interest in science-based articles due to the dominance of
straight news and dearth in thematic, issue- based coverage and in- depth journalistic forms such
as commentaries and features. Given the poor quality of science articles produced, consequences
like failure to inform and engage laypeople of and with science and its many implications and to
produce good models for beginning science writers may arise.
Despite the claim that giving science articles the entertainment elements by emotionalizing
them is expected to bring in many readers, it is met with scepticism. König and Jucks (2019) opine
that emotive language in science journalism may harm the scientists’ trustworthiness and the
credibility of their arguments. Janich (2020) also confirms this by indicating that both science and
lay audiences expect the scientific experts to be objective in reporting the scientific issues.
Moreover, Reif and Taddicken (2020) mention that science articles of high complexity in content
must not be dominated by emotions which can consequently affect the readers’ reasoning. The
foregoing, therefore, suggest that most science writers are walking a fine line between hard science
news and articles that tug at the readers’ heartstrings.
Underrepresentation of the marginalized group in society has also become an issue in
science journalism. In his research article, Lukanda (2021) reveals that women, either as journalists
or as writers, are less active in writing articles and do not serve as sources of information for
science news. Other studies on gender bias in science reporting include the ones conducted by
Davidson and Greene (2021); Holman, Stuart-Fox, and Hauser (2018); and the Global Media
Monitoring Project or GMMP (2020). Davidson and Greene found out that 22 thousand journalistwritten news and feature articles published in Nature from 2005 to 2020 had a slight male bias and
were unable to include a non-binary gender assignment. Holman et al speculated that it would be
about 16 years for female researchers and writers to catch up with men to produce the same number
of publications. The GMMP, likewise, reported that women were less quoted in science in the past.
In the Philippines, Navarro and McKinnon (2020) also examine the challenges in writing
science reports for print media. The researchers mentioned the diversity of languages in the country
and the difficulty to communicate the content to different ethno-linguistic communities.
Furthermore, they also revealed that science was dull and trivial, resulting in disinterest among the
audience. Liwag (2020) also seconds the problems in communicating scientific information to the
public, citing the problems caused by translating the messages due to the differences in languages
and the literacy level of the audience in a particular community. In the light of Philippine coverage
of COVID-19, Abano (2020), on one hand, suggests how journalists as science reporters cover
public health crisis, making reference to the need to use clear language and facts to avoid
generating fear, humanize stories, and be accurate by finding reliable experts. In summary, local
science journalists seem to bout with producing quality articles that provide not only informative
but also fascinating or entertaining coverage of science in the Philippines.
Given the fact that the casualties are inevitable in pandemic and other destructive forces of
nature, science journalists are holding people’s lives in their hands. As Hansen quoted (1994, as
cited in Ekblad, 2013), “Science becomes newsworthy when it becomes part of wider social and
political problems, or when it is linked to major accidents and disasters (p. 116). In other words,
science journalism allows people to decide how to act within the circumstances; therefore, how it
is produced can spell the difference between life and death.
As noted previously, science journalism is very important to help the public better
understand science. However, researches have shown that there are barriers that both science
writers and the reading public encounter. Most studies carried out have focused on the challenges
of science journalism while others have dedicated their time to equity and representation. Despite
a lot of literature being written in the area, there remain gaps and unanswered questions that can
guide both professional and student journalists in writing interesting and informative science
articles.
With these premises in mind, the researcher conceptualizes this paper to introduce genre
analysis to examine science journalism to better understand the written conventions, the purpose,
and the target audience of the said genre.
Literature Review
Swales (2001) defines genre as “a distinctive category of discourse of any type, spoken or
written (p. 33).” According to Cao and Guo (2015), a genre is a staged goal-oriented social process
which involves a series of meaning-making activities in order to carry out a task through a
meaningful interaction. Miranda and Moritz (2021) support this definition, commenting that
genres are social actions playing important roles in our social and discursive practices in society.
In other words, genres are linguistic activity types which aid in getting things done with the help
of language. Therefore, it only goes without saying that it is necessary to study genres and see its
potentials for spreading quality information to benefit many readers.
There have been many attempts to define genre analysis. For Dudley- Evans (1987), genre
analysis is a pedagogical approach that prescribes the layout, the ordering, and language fitted to
a particular language task. Likewise, Hopkins and Dudley- Evans (1988) state that the basic
premise of genre analysis is to describe explicitly how a text should be organized. Hyland (1992),
on one hand, describes genre analysis as the study of language and its use within a particular
context and adds that this approach is important to determine the rhetorical text structure which is
helpful in achieving the distinct goal of the genre. Bhatia (1991), on the other hand, sees genre
analysis as a framework that provides an understanding of the rationale behind the construction of
a particular discourse and helps ESP practitioners to craft appropriate activities that result in the
achievement of the desired communicative outcomes. Furthermore, Bhatia (1993) says that genre
analysis aims to explain the connection of linguistic forms to the socio-cognitive and cultural
backgrounds of the audience.
The first genre-based study was done by John Swales in 1981.
He conducted an
investigation in the work “Aspects of Article Introduction” offering three-move model, also known
as the Creating a Research Space (CARS) Model. This model tries to explain and describe the
organizational patter of writing the introduction to scholarly research studies. According to Swales,
the model captures the ways in which academic writers justify and highlight their own contribution
to the ongoing research profile of the field by first establishing a topic for the research and
summarising the key features of the previous research, then establishing a gap or possible
extension of that work that will form the basis of the writers' claims. The table below present the
Swales’ CARS model with Moves for the introduction and several Steps intended to express each
move:
Table 1. Swales’ CARS Model
Move 1: Establishing a Territory
Step 1: Claiming centrality
Step 2: Making Topic Generalizations
Step 3: Reviewing Items of Previous Research
Move 2: Establishing a Niche
Step 1A: Counter-claiming
Step 1B: Indicating a gap
Step 1C: Question Raising
Step 1D: Continuing a Tradition
Move 3: Occupying a Niche
Step 1A: Outlining Purposes
Step 1B: Announcing the Present Research
Step 2: Announcing Principal Findings
Step 3: Indicating Research Article Structure
In summary, the genre analysis consists of the investigation of the rhetorical structure of a
genre in an established context. Swales’ Move Analysis describes moves that realize the writer’s
communicative purposes, and steps which are optional textual elements.
Since genre analysis focuses on the study of the regularities of structure that distinguish
one type of text from another, it is particularly helpful in teaching writing for expanding the
teaching of science journalism. In fact, Cao and Guo (2015) assert that genre analysis is helpful
in teaching students how to determine patterns and various styles and their roles in the texts. Sri
(n.d.) explains also how genre analysis helps writing teachers of across disciplines in teaching any
form of writing by analysing how writers conventionally sequence materials to achieve particular
purpose and by using this information to develop their students’ skills.
Upon understanding the general knowledge and the importance of genre analysis, the
attention of this concept paper is focused on answering how genre analysis of science journalism
can explain what types of rhetorical structures, moves employed to realize the writers’ intent for
writing, and steps used to express each move are evident to deliver scientific message and transfer
ideas properly.
OBJECTIVES
The general research aim of the proposed study is to analyse science journalism of selected
Philippine national dailies as genre.
Specifically, this study will seek to answer the following specific questions:
1. What are the rhetorical strategies used in the science articles?
2. What moves are employed to realize the science writers’ communicative purposes?
3. What textual elements are used to express the steps in each move?
4. What are the pedagogical implications of the move structures of science journalism of the
selected Philippine national dailies?
In order to realize the research objectives and answer the specific questions, the researcher
will use 10 science articles of different genres such as science news, science features, and
science commentaries as data sources to subject to genre analysis. Different themes will be
considered such as natural disasters, pandemic or health issues, and scientific breakthroughs.
TIMETABLE
The project is expected to be completed in 15 weeks with the following indicated as the
activity’s durations for every section of the research project
Working Area
A Fifteen-Month TIMETABLE
1
Writing a Concept Paper (Extensive
and Intensive Reding)
Title Presentation (TIOC - Trends,
issues, Objectives, Contributions)
Thesis Proposal (Historization,
Problematization, Research Design,
Instrumentation, Statistical Treatment,
Research Instrument)
Chapter 1. The Problem and Its
Background
(determining the Niche of the Study,
Conceptual Framework, SOP,
Hypothesis, Significance, Delimitation,
Definition of Terms, Acronyms)
Chapter2. Method (Research Design,
Respondents/Participants, Informants,
Instruments, Data Collection, Ethical
Considerations)
Chapter 3. Results and Discussion
(Data Analysis, Tables, Figures
according to SOP)
Chapter 4. Conclusions and
Recommendations (Based on Results
and Discussions)
References (APA 6th ed.)
Final Presentation/Defense
Plagiarism Checking
Final Revision (See: Panel Evaluation)
Submission of the Hardcopy
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
REFERENCES
Abano, I. (2020). Reporting the unknown: How reporters in the Philippines cover COVID-19.
Retrieved from https://earthjournalism.net/stories/reporting-the-unknown-howreporters-in-the-philippines-cover-covid-19.Earth Journalism network
Bhatia, V. (1991). A genre-based approach to ESP materials. World Englishes 10(2), 153-166.
Retrieved from DOI : 10.1111/j.1467-971X.1991.tb00148.x
Bhatia, V. (1993). Analysing Genre: Language Use in Professional Settings. London:
Longman.
Cao, C. & Guo, S. (2015). Genre Analysis and Advanced English Teaching. Theory and
Practice in Language Studies 5, (1), 2613-2618. DOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0512.24
Davidson, N. & Greene, C. (2021). Analysis of science journalism reveals gender and regional
disparities in coverage. Biorxiv. Retrieved from
https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.06.21.449261
Dudley Evans, A. (1987). Introduction to genre analysis and ESP. ELR Journal.
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sections in articles and dissertation. English for Specific Purposes 7(2), 113-122.
Retrieved from DOI : 10.1016/0889-4906(88)90029-4
Ekblad, N. (2013). A Content Analysis of Science News in Swedish Prime Time television
2009-2011. MA Thesis : Stockholm University
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https://whomakesthenews.org/wpcontent/uploads/2021/07/GMMP2020.ENG_.FINAL
20210713.pdf
Holman, L., Stuart-Fox, D., & Hauser, C. (2018). The gender gap in science: How long until
women are equally represented? Plos Biology. Retrieved from
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2004956
Hyland, K. (1992). Genre analysis: just another fad?. Forum 30 (2), 1-17.
Liwag, J. (2020,November 27). The challenges of communicating scientific information to the
public. CNN Philippines. Retrieved from
https://www.cnnphilippines.com/life/culture/2020/11/27/science-communicationphilippines.html
Lukanda, I. N. (2021). ‘Female voices marginalised in media coverage of science in Uganda,
both as authors and sources’. JCOM 20 (02), A11.
https://doi.org/10.22323/2.20020211.
Miranda, J. & Moritz,M. (2021). TED Talks: A genre analysis. Revista X 16(6):1552.
DOI:10.5380/rvx.v16i6.82070
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from the Philippines’. JCOM 19 (01), A03. https://doi.org/10.22323/2.19010203.
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DOI: 10.17645/mac.v8i1.2934
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literature,1,323-341. Retrieved on
https://www.academia.edu/25710184/GENRE_ANALYSIS_APPROACH_IN_LITE
RATURE_REVIEW_WRITING
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