REa d i n g

Ac a d e m i c T e x t

EAPP
 02
Lesson 1: Reading
academic Text
academic Text
EXAMPLES ARE:
A written language
•Essay
that provides •Research Paper
information which •Report
contains ideas and •Project
that are related to •Articles
a particular •Thesis
discipline. •Dissertation
Characteristics of
academic texts

Language and
its structure
 ELEments of an
Characteristics of academic texts essay

Structure INTRODUCTion
• An academic writing, a clean
structure and a logical flow
are imperative to a cohesive body
text.
• An introduction, body and
conclusion
conclusion that is formed
and logical.
Characteristics of academic texts
• This refers to the attitude conveyed in a
tone piece of writing.
• The arguments of others are fairly
presented and with an appropriate
narrative tone.
EXAMPLES EXAMPLES

formal pessimistic
humurous sarcastic
inspirational curious
optimistic entertaining
Characteristics of academic texts

language
• Formal language and third person point of view should be used.
• Technical language appropriate to the area of study may also be used;
however it does not mean using “big words” just for the sake of doing so.

BIASED LANGUAGE ALTERNATIVE

Colored People People of color,

Elderly Indigenous
Older People
English native speaker Fluent in English
Girls/Guys/She/He People/Them/They
Handicapped Differently-abled Person
Characteristics of academic texts 07

Citation
• It is essential to always
acknowledge the source of any
ideas, research, findings, data, or
quoted text that have been used in
a paper as a defense against
allegations of plagiarism.
• In the body of a paper, the in-text
citation acknowledges the source
of information used. At the end of a
paper, the citations are compiled
on a References or Works Cited list.
Characteristics of academic texts 08

Evidence-based
Complexity arguments
An academic text addresses complex issues The purpose of an evidence-based argument is
that require higher order thinking skills to to use logic and evidence (text, data, facts,
comprehend. statistics, findings, expert opinion, anecdotes,
or examples) to convince the reader of the
validity of the writer's claim, opinion, or
viewpoint.

Thesis driven
The writing is “thesis-driven,” meaning that the starting point is a
particular perspective, idea, or “thesis” on the chosen research
problem, such as, establishing, proving, or disproving solutions to
the questions posed for the topic. In contrast, simply describing a
topic without the research questions does not qualify as
“academic writing.”
FEATURES OF
ACAD E M I C T E XT
 09

Complex
It convey a message in a shorter text, making
use of more complex words and phrases. The
overall academic writing gets complex
because it includes:
• More noun-based phrases
• More nominalizations
• More lexical variations
• More subordinate clause
• More “that/to” complement clauses
• More long sequences of prepositional
phrases
• More attributive adjectives
• More passives
 06

formal
Avoid the use of colloquial terms and
abbreviations like:
• Colloquial Words like “stuff”, “a lot of”,
“thing”, “sort of”, etc.
• Abbreviated forms like: “couldn’t”,
“shouldn’t”, “doesn’t”, etc.
• Two-word verbs like: “put off”, and “bring
up”
• Asking questions
• Avoiding the use of subheadings,
numbering, and bullets in formal essays only
 11

Precis
• Precision in writing implies choosing
the right words for intended purposes;
that is to be selective in an effort to
clearly convey the purpose and
meaning of the writing.

• Precision is important as it allows

readers to clearly and easily follow
your methodological procedures and
argument. It adds credibility,
perception of accuracy, and validity of
your claim to your writing.
OBJECTIVE
Written language is usually objective and
not personal. In other words, you would be
avoiding words like: “I”, “me”, and “myself”
because any idea or argument not
referenced will automatically be assumed
by the reader to be your own, and so
making unnecessary explicit with the use of
first-person pronouns is illegal in academic
writing.
 09

Explicit
• In the academic writing setting, it
is your responsibility as a writer to
make it clear to the reader about
how various parts of the text are
related.
• To do this, and show the
connection between statements,
you normally incorporate signaling
words like: however, because,
similarly, in addition, for example,
etc.
 HERE ARE SOME SITUATIONS WHEN YOU MAKE YOUR STATEMENTS
CLEAR/EXPLICIT WITH THE USE OF SIGNALING WORDS:

• Telling your reader that your line of argument is going to change;

the use of the term “However”
• Showing your readers how one sentence gives reasons for
something in another sentence; “Because” is used often
• Making it explicit to the readers when two ideas are the same; use
of the term “Similarly”
• When your sentence intends to give extra information, make it
explicit with the use of the term: “In addition”
• When examples, explicitly you use the term “for example” in your
writing
 08
accurate
Accuracy in language means showcasing the ability
to use the necessary vocabulary, grammar, and
punctuation correctly. And so the vocabulary and
grammar of your writing have a direct relation with
your used language accuracy.

In choosing the right vocabulary for your academic

writing, here are the six common issues you might
run into:
• Misused words
• Words with unwanted connotations or meanings
• Complex words where a shorter, simpler term
would do
• Awkward word choices
• Words that are similar to each other, but
convey the wrong meaning
• Words that convey finer shades of meaning
 HEDGING/
CONFINEMENT
Hedging language refers to the conveying of
certainty or uncertainty by the writer which is
usually required when either the writer is
unaware of the claims being made in his/her
subject area or perhaps the ideas are good
but the evidence is not strong enough. Note
that different subjects prefer using caution or
uncertain language in different ways.
 03
responsible
Every word you write in
academic writing is your
responsibility. This simply
implies that you must be able to
provide evidence and
justification for all the claims
you make therein.
• careful citation practices
• acknowledging biases
• fostering trust and credibility
 08
organize
Organization in writing is how ideas
are presented. Typically,
organization refers to the larger
parts of a piece of writing, although
it also refers to how paragraphs and
sentences are written. The flow of a
piece of writing affects how readers
interpret ideas.
 plan 09

• Planning is a foundational
feature of academic writing,
essential for crafting coherent
and compelling arguments. It
involves carefully outlining the
structure, organizing key
points, and establishing a
logical flow of your ideas.

• Effective planning ensures that

the writing process remains
focused, efficient, and
conducive to producing high-
quality work.
PURPOSE OF READING
ACADEMIC TEXT
to locate main idea
to scan for information
to identify gap in existing studies
to connect new ideas to existing ones
to gain more pieces of information
to support a particular assignment
to deeply understand an existing idea
 FACTORS TON CONSIDER IN
WRITING ACADEMIC TEXT
State critical Take an objective
questions and issues point of view

Provide facts and

evidence from List references
credible sources

Use precis and accurate Use cautious

words while avoiding
jargons language
LET’S WORK
TOGETHER
In your 1/2 sheet of paper answer the following questions.