paper three: language of professional health advice

Question 1

features associated with the language of health advice
e.g. “to what extent is text D representative of the language of professional health advice?”

Answer 1

• conditional clauses, “if you dont feel well, contact your GP”
• imperatives
• deontic modality, according to rules, “you must not”
• epistemic modality, according to beliefs, “you could try”
• mitigation to avoid a face threatening act
• rhetorical interrogatives

Question 2

theories associated with the language of health advice
e.g. “to what extent is text D representative of the language of professional health advice?”

Answer 2

• power theory, instrumental and influential (fairclough)
• power behind discourse, institutional (fairclough)
• bases of power, expert and legitimate (french and raven)
• politeness theory, positive and negative face (brown and levinson)

Question 3

health research

Answer 3

• cox and fritz: the use of outdated medical language suggests it jeopardises the “therapeutic relationship” between patients and healthcare providers
• strivastava: studies show correlations between effective communication and improved patient health outcomes

Question 4

section B: introduction

Answer 4

• “i took a diachronic approach to the language of professional health advice, specifically regarding the language of women’s reproductive health”
• preparation for motherhood (scovil), 1896
• it’s time you knew… all about menstruation (tampax), 1966
• article on abortion (NHS), 2024

Question 5

section B, P1: starter

Answer 5

• preparation for motherhood (1896) by scovil
• fairclough’s influential power theory, a published author and woman gains her respect with other women

Question 6

section B, P1: analyse “the best and wisest physician”

Answer 6

• “best,” and “wisest,” superlative adjectives to the stress importance of the quality of care
• “physician,” noun and job title that reflects a position of power gained through education

Question 7

section B, P1: analyse “advice should be implicitly followed”

Answer 7

• “should,” modal auxiliary verb to show that contacting a physician is desirable
• epistemic modality, it is based on scovil’s belief and experience as a mother
• expert power, bases of power (french and raven)

Question 8

section B, P2: analyse “the lining of the uterus, called the endometrium”

Answer 8

• “endometrium,” and “uterus,” low frequency, scientific jargon explained for the reader’s benefit

Question 9

section B, P2: analyse “regular, recurring cycle” and “your”

Answer 9

• noun phrase to describe how menstruation transitions from irregular to regular overtime
• “your,” second person possessive pronoun used to reassure the reader that this is how a woman’s body almost always works
• fairclough’s institutional power theory, tampax is a transnational corporation and the main provider of tampons since 1934. text does not follow the theory as it is a text meant to educate and inform

Question 10

section B, P3: analyse “abortions can only be carried out under the care of an NHS hospital or a licensed clinic”

Answer 10

• “only,” modal adverb of obligation to stress of getting an abortion at a licensed clinic
• “NHS,” pronoun, the name of a institution to prove their capabilities and experience
• brown and levinson, preventing a face threatening act (e.g. abortion gone wrong) by establishing who is able to administer abortions

Question 11

section B, P3: analyse “any signs of infection (including a temperature, flu-like feelings or unusual vaginal discharge)”

Answer 11

• “flu-like symptoms,” noun phrase, simplifies common signs of infection into a short, concise point
• “any,” determiner that does not specify the amount, all signs of infection people know to be considered