Disciplinary Variation in the Academic Discourse of Biology and Law: A description based on coherence relations

Abstract

In this study, we compare the way in which coherence is articulated in the written academic discourse in Spanish of two disciplines (Biology and Law). To do so, we use a top down - bottom up framework of analysis from which a series of criteria for the identification and description of coherence relations aroused. Those criteria were applied to a corpus of 27 texts belonging to both disciplines (762.737 words). 38 coherence relations were identified (21 Relational and 17 Additive relations). Reliability of relations that emerged from the analysis was assessed through interjudge coefficient calculations. The frequency of occurrence of coherence relations and its distribution in the corpus constitute empirical evidence for the assumption that coherence is established in a different fashion depending on the disciplinary context. Besides, results prove the feasibility of the top down – bottom up framework of analysis for coherence relations.