Disagreeing with Bernstein

In his essay, "Frame Lock," Charles Bernstein states that writing in an academic setting has become too rigid and cold. He argues for a more lenient and personally expressive style of writing to be used in scholarly contexts. He says in a rather long-winded statement, "I diagnose the problem as 'frame lock,' a kind of logorrheic lock jaw, or sandy mouth, or bullet-with-the-baby-not-just-quite-then-almost-out-of-reach, as a mood swinging under a noose of monomaniacal monotones, the converted preaching to the incontrovertible, the guard rail replacing the banisters, stairs, stories, elevation, detonation reverberation, indecision, concomitant intensification system." More or less, he is arguing that there is a block that typical academic-styled writing creates between the writer and sincerity, or at least clarity.

Personally, I would have to disagree, even though I can definitely see his point. Sure, I hate the academic style as much as the next student. I don't like to read it; surely in any other situation there would be far more effective and efficient ways to make and prove a point than with complicated jargon and words that no sane person should ever use in front of an audience. It is often trite, confusing, and boring. Even now, I am choosing to write in a more expressive, personal and conversational tone.

However, there is a time and place for everything. One must consider his or her audience. Unfortunately for innocent, layman bystanders, the target audience for academic writing is the elite. The tone suits the purpose in this situation. Jargon is often the most effective way to communicate among those who understand, and those are the only people who would really benefit from the information, anyway. Usually these articles are written in highly specialized and detailed areas that simply do not relate to the general populous, but instead to a similarly specialized and small group. Jargon is a good way to form shortcuts in such situations. Therefore, the academic would not be inappropriate in the given context, but rather prudent.