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This article, based on a study of a prototypical case (the works on textual linguistics written by Jean-Michel Adam), analyzes the tensions prevailing in scientific discourse which must respond to two partially different objectives, the production of high level knowledge addressed to peers, on the one hand, and their popularization, on the other. These tensions are examined on the basis of reformulation between texts and diagrams, quotations and comments. Reformulation aims not only to explain but also legitimize a scientific paradigm, in this case textual linguistics, as well as justify the evolution of its relationship with discourse analysis, while showing the advantages of a model capable of accounting for a large amount of data in an orderly way. As a result, according to the strategies adopted, diagrams and comments are either a means of popularizing or of developing a scientific approach.