My professional perspective is law, and in this post I will be describing some of the characteristics of a document one my find in this field. These characteristics are just things I have personally noticed in my research. To start off with, law documents are generally very impersonal and objective. Subjectivity and opinions can be substantiated by evidence, so they are not included. There is no first or second person language, to aid in portraying a sense of professionalism.
These documents are always backed up by factual knowledge, using either laws or previously made legislation, or maybe even statistics. There is no feeling involved. Personal accounts may be included to prove a point, but it’s never from the perspective of the writer. The type of vocabulary that occurs within varies depending on how it has been used and its intended audience. For example, if it was meant to be used in a court setting, and scrutinized by other people of the legal profession you can expect legal jargon that will fly right over the head of someone such as myself.
Lastly, legal discourse is used to present an argument, and persuade its audience to agree with them or disagree with something else, giving all the more reason to stick with objective terminology and language. Opinions mean absolutely nothing in court, so any sort of subjectivity is left at the door.
These documents are always backed up by factual knowledge, using either laws or previously made legislation, or maybe even statistics. There is no feeling involved. Personal accounts may be included to prove a point, but it’s never from the perspective of the writer. The type of vocabulary that occurs within varies depending on how it has been used and its intended audience. For example, if it was meant to be used in a court setting, and scrutinized by other people of the legal profession you can expect legal jargon that will fly right over the head of someone such as myself.
Lastly, legal discourse is used to present an argument, and persuade its audience to agree with them or disagree with something else, giving all the more reason to stick with objective terminology and language. Opinions mean absolutely nothing in court, so any sort of subjectivity is left at the door.
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