Cover not available
Part of
Corpora and Rhetorically Informed Text Analysis: The diverse applications of DocuScope
Edited by David West Brown and Danielle Zawodny Wetzel
[Studies in Corpus Linguistics 109] 2023
► pp. 119–145

Understanding social justice features in statistics writing

A corpus-based case study of two undergraduate statistics courses

| University of Nebraska
| University of Michigan
| University of Nebraska
| Northeastern University
In this chapter, we present a DocuScope case study of undergraduate writing in two statistics courses, with special attention to language use viewed through a social justice lens. Our analysis reveals how language clusters can help us understand the presence of academic terms, metadiscourse, and reasoning patterns, across both courses and how these can be used to leverage critical analysis. Based on our case study, we propose that a social justice framework for language analysis holds the potential to reformulate the rhetorical approach offered by DocuScope in ways that can encourage fair and equitable language use.
Keywords: corpus analysis, DocuScope, social justice, statistics instruction
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
    • 2.1Social justice and writing across the curriculum
    • 2.2Communicating across organizational settings
  • 3.Method
    • 3.1Introductory statistics course and dataset
    • 3.2Social-justice statistics course and dataset
    • 3.3Data cleaning and analysis
  • 4.Analysis
    • 4.1Comparative descriptive statistics
  • 5.Discussion
    • 5.1Course differences
    • 5.2Course similarities
  • 6.Challenges and opportunities
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
  • Appendix
Published online: 29 June 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.109.06oli
References (48)
References
Agboka, G. Y., & Dorpenyo, I. K. (2022). The role of technical communicators in confronting injustice – Everywhere. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 65(1), 5–10. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ali, Z. M., Harris, V. H., & LaLonde, R. L. (2020). Beyond green chemistry: Teaching social justice in organic chemistry. Journal of Chemical Education, 97, 3984–3991. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Alsop, S., & Gardner, S. (2019). Understanding attainment disparity: The case for a corpus-driven analysis of the language used in written feedback information to students with different backgrounds. The Journal of Writing Analytics, 3, 38–68. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Association for Writing Across the Curriculum. (2020). Executive committee statement on antiracism and social justice. Retrieved on 23 January 2023 from [URL]
Aull, L. L. (2020). How students write: A linguistic analysis. Modern Language Association.Google Scholar
Aull, L. L., & Ross, V. (2020). From cow paths to conversation: Rethinking the argumentative essay. Pedagogy: Critical Approaches to Teaching Literature, Language, Composition, and Culture, 20(1), 21–34. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Baca, D., Garcia, R., & Cushman, E. (Eds.). (in press). Literacies of/from the pluriversal: Tools for perseverance and livable futures. University of Pittsburgh Press.
Bargiela-Chiappini, F., Nickerson, C., & Planken, B. (Eds.). (2007). Business discourse. Palgrave Macmillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Condon, F., & Young, V. A. (2017). Performing antiracist pedagogy in rhetoric, writing, and communication. The WAC Clearinghouse/University Press of Colorado.Google Scholar
Conference on College Composition and Communication. (2020). Black technical and professional communication position statement with resource guide. Retrieved on 23 January 2023 from [URL]
Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory, and antiracist politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 1, 139–167.Google Scholar
Cronbach, L. J. (1970). Mental tests and the creation of opportunity. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 114(6), 480–48. [URL]
Dryer, D. B. (2013). Scaling writing ability: A corpus-driven inquiry. Written Communication, 30(1), 3–35. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gonzales, L. (2017, November). Improving digital translation: Research findings from multilingual communicators. User Experience. Retrieved on 23 January 2023 from [URL]
(2018a). Sites of translation: What multilinguals can teach us about digital writing and rhetoric. University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
(2018b). Designing for intersectional, interdependent accessibility: A case study of multilingual technical content creation. Communication Design Quarterly, 6(4), 35–45. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Harmon, J. E. (1989). The structure of scientific and engineering papers: A historical perspective. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 32(3), 132–138. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Helberg, A., Poznahovska, M., Ishizaki, S., Kaufer, D., Werner, N., & Wetzel, D. (2018). Teaching textual awareness with DocuScope: Using corpus-driven tools and reflection to support students’ written decision-making. Assessing Writing, 38, 40–45. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hood, S., & Hopson, R. K. (2008). Evaluation roots reconsidered: Asa Hilliard, a fallen hero in the ‘Nobody Knows My Name’ project, and African educational excellence. Review of Educational Research, 78, 410–426. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hope, J., & Witmore, M. (2004). The very large textual object: A prosthetic reading of Shakespear. Early Modern Literary Studies, 9(3), 1–36.Google Scholar
Hyland, K. (2004). Disciplinary discourses: Social interactions in academic writing. University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Johns, A. M., & Swales, J. M. (2002). Literacy and disciplinary practices: Opening and closing perspectives. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 1(1), 13–28. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kaufer, D., Geisler, C., Ishizaki, S., & Vlachos, P. (2005). Textual genre analysis and identification. In Y. Cai (Ed.), Ambient intelligence for scientific discovery: Foundations, theories, and systems (pp. 129–151). Springer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kaufer, D. S., Ishizaki, S., Butler, B. S., & Collins, J. (2004). The Power of words: Unveiling the speaker and writer’s hidden craft. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kokka, K. (2018). Radical STEM teacher activism: Collaborative organizing to sustain social justice pedagogy in STEM fields. The Journal of Educational Foundations, 31(1/2), 86–113.Google Scholar
Marcellino, W. M. (2014). Talk like a marine: USMC linguistic acculturation and civil-military argument. Discourse Studies, 16(3), 385–405. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mckoy, T., Shelton, C. D., Sackey, D. J., & Jones, N. N. (2022). Introduction to special issues: Black technical and professional communication. Technical Communication Quarterly, 31, 221–228. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mckoy, T., Shelton, C. D., Sackey, D., Jones, N. N., Haywood, C., Wourman, J., & Harper, K. C. (2020). CCCC black technical and professional communication position statement with resource guide. Retrieved on 23 January 2023 from [URL]
Merriam, S. B. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Messick, S. (1989). Validity. In R. L. Linn (Ed.), Educational measurement (3rd ed., pp. 13–103). American Council on Education and MacmillanGoogle Scholar
Messina, C. M. (2019). Tracing fan uptakes: Tagging, language, and ideological practices in The Legend of Korra fanfictions. Journal of Writing Analytics, 3, 151–182. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
National Center for O*NET Development. O*NET OnLine. Retrieved 19 January 2022 from [URL]
National Council of Teachers of English. (1974). Students’ right to their own language [Special issue]. College Composition and Communication, 25.Google Scholar
Oliveri, M. E., Lawless, R., & Molloy, H. (2017). A literature review on collaborative problem solving for college and workforce readiness. ETS Research Report Series, 2017(2), 1–27. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Parry-Giles, S. J., & Kaufer, D. S. (2017). Memories of Lincoln and the splintering of American political thought. The Pennsylvania State University Press.Google Scholar
Randall, J. (2021a). Commentary: From construct to consequences: Extending the notion of social responsibility. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 40(4), 32–34. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2021b). “Color-neutral” is not a thing: Redefining construct definition and representation though a social-justice oriented critical antiracist lens. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 40(4), 82–90. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Randall, J., Slomp, D., Poe, M., & Oliveri, M. E. (2022). Disrupting white supremacy in assessment: Towards a justice-oriented, antiracist validity framework. Educational Assessment, 27(2), 170–178. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rawls, J. (1999). A theory of justice (Rev. ed.). Cambridge University Press. (Original work published 1971). DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rose, M. (1989). Lives on the boundary: The struggles and achievements of America’s underprepared. Free Press.Google Scholar
Schell, C. J., Guy, C., Shelton, D. S., Campbell-Staton, S. C., Sealey, B. A., Lee, D. N., & Harris, N. C. (2020). Recreating Wakanda by promoting black excellence in ecology and evolution. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 4, 1285–1287. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sireci, S. G., Longe, B., Suarez, J., & Oliveri, M. E. (2022, July). Assessing the dimensionality of O*NET cognitive ability ratings across job zones. Poster presented at the International Meeting of the Psychometric Society, Bologna, Italy.
Taguchi, N., Kaufer, D., Gomez-Laich, P., & Zhao, H. (2017). A corpus linguistics analysis of on-line peer commentary. Pragmatics and Language Learning, 14, 357–170.Google Scholar
Tootalian, J. (2017). “To corrupt a man in the midst of a verse”: Ben Jonson and the prose of the world. Ben Jonson Journal, 24(1), 46–72. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2021). Community health and economic prosperity: Engaging businesses as stewards and stakeholders – A report of the Surgeon General. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office of the Associate Director for Policy and Strategy. Retrieved on 23 January 2023 from [URL]
Walton, R., & Agboka, G. Y. (Eds.). (2021). Equipping technical communicators for social justice work: Theories, methodologies, and pedagogies. Utah State University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Walton, R., Moore, K., & Jones, N. (2019). Technical communication after the social justice turn. Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Zhao, H., & Kaufer, D. (2013). DocuScope for genre analysis: Potential for assessing pragmatic functions. In N. Taguchi & J. M. Sykes (Eds.), Technology in interlanguage pragmatics research and teaching. John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar