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Unit 1: Types of academic English: Differences and key features
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Types of academic text
Screen challenge: Can you recognise different types of academic text? Can you identify their
structure, audience and purpose?
Learning objectives:
Academic objective: To understand the importance of genre
Reading sub-skill: To identify different genres of text
Reading sub-skill: To analyse genre, audience and purpose
Vocabulary: To understand words to describe reading texts.
1. Understanding the importance of genre
When you read English in your academic studies, you will do more than just understand the words in the text. You will
consider meaning, but you will also think about other aspects of the text. These include structure, audience and purpose.
First, however, you need to understand what genre a text belongs to – in other words, what kind of text it is. When you
begin to understand different genres, you will be able to use this knowledge as a tool to approach new or unfamiliar
academic texts.
2. Understanding text type
2.1 Six main text types
What types of text will you encounter during your academic studies? Click on the tabs on the left-hand side to find out
more about different academic texts.
Key terms
Structure: To refer to the way the text is organised.
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Textbooks
Shorter student texts: essays
Longer student texts: dissertations and theses
Research articles
Case studies
Reports
Textbooks are specifically designed to help the learner. For example, they might have summaries or review quizzes.
Textbooks vary in style, tone and level depending on their audience. They are a good place to start when learning about a
new topic.
2.2 Check your understanding
Match the text types on the left-hand side to the statements on the right by clicking on the boxes you wish to connect.
Video
In the following videos, students discuss the requirements of reading
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Portfolio activity
This activity will help you learn about common genres in your discipline. Take a look at all
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Textbooks
Shorter student texts: essays
Longer student texts: dissertations and theses
Research articles
Case studies
Reports
This is a good place to start your research.
These describe changes or developments, e.g. within a company or social group.
Access these to find out about writing in your discipline.
These are written for readers who have expert knowledge of a topic.
These show the importance of a piece of research.
These could be 80,000 words long for PhD students.
3. Analysing text: Genre, audience and purpose
The term 'genre' refers to the typical structure and organisational patterns of a text, its intended audience and its purpose.
All texts are written to communicate with a specific audience – this audience could be experts, or it could be newcomers
to the topic. The audience becomes part of a community when interacting with the genre, based partly on what they expect
from it and their understanding of its purpose.
The purpose of a particular genre might be to:
Present and explain information
Persuade the audience to accept a new argument
Describe a process.
At a greater level of detail, the purpose of a particular genre could be to:
Present a claim → offer citations to support the claim → provide explanation and examples to help understanding →
evaluate this material.
You will be able to manage your studies more effectively when you have developed a good understanding of the main
types of text you will read (and listen to), as well as those you need to write (and speak).
3.1 Check your understanding
Read the four text extracts. In the questions which follow, you will be asked to identify the genre, audience and main
purpose ('G – A – P') of each text. Choose one of the possible answers, then click 'Check answer'. Use 'Next' to move
through the questions. Remember that you do not have to understand every word of the texts – just focus on identifying
the G – A – P.
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Sustainable transport for a large
business: the case of Leeds
Metropolitan University
There were 2,287,540 students in UK higher
education in 2004/2005. A high percentage live
away from home, or come from abroad (some
318,395) and they are heavy consumers of
transport. There were 109,625 full-time
academic staff, and 51,030 part-time staff, plus
many administrative and support staff. Higher
education is a large foreign currency earner. It is
big business. But some universities are massive,
and equate with very large corporations both in
their financial turnover, and in the environmental
footprint generated by their transport activities.
Leeds Metropolitan University is a good example.
It is one of the largest universities in the UK, with
52,000 students and 3,500 staff. Its turnover is
about £135 million per annum. Of course, its
economic impact is far larger than this, as the
student body is not an insignificant proportion of
the total population of the city, and they are all
consumers and spenders. The university has
three major campuses. One of the campuses is on
the edge of the city, on a restricted site. A second
campus is five miles north from the city centre,
on an outstanding but inaccessible parkland site,
while a third campus is fifteen miles away in
Harrogate.
Source: Wetherly & Otter, 2008, p.221
What are the main effects of the global financial crisis of 2007-
8? Discuss with reference to at least two sectors of the global
economy.
The global financial crisis of 2007-8 has had a number of major
interrelated effects. These effects are important and wide-
ranging. This global financial crisis was arguably the most major
crises of its type since the great depression of the 1920s and
1930s (Crotty 2009), and was caused by various factors
including the US sub-prime lending phenomenon, high
consumer debt in many of the major advanced economies, and
banking practices. This essay examines the most serious effects
following the crisis and argues that their impact was not only
financial and economic but also social and environmental
(Peters, Marland, Le Quere, Boden, Canadell & Raupach 2012).
First and foremost the crisis was financial, but it was also social.
In other words, the impacts were felt by ordinary people in
serious ways. For instance, there was a significant tightening in
the lending behaviour of banks in western economies,
particularly the USA and the UK. Many people were no longer
able to get loans to buy houses, with access to credit made
more difficult.
The role of grazing
Many of the world's greatest grasslands have long been grazed by wild animals, such as the bison of North America or the
large game of East Africa, but the introduction of pastoral economies also affects their nature and productivity (Figure 2.7)
(Coupland, 1979).
Light grazing may increase the productivity of wild pastures (Warren and Maizels, 1976). Nibbling, for example, can
encourage the vigor and growth of plants, and in some species, such as the valuable African grass, Themeda triandra, the
removal of the coarse, dead stems permits succulent sprouts to shoot. Likewise the seeds of some plant species are spread
efficiently by being carried in cattle guts, and then placed in favorable seedbeds of dung or trampled into the soil surface.
Moreover, the passage of herbage through the gut and out as feces modifies the nitrogen cycle, so that grazed pastures tend
to be richer in nitrogen than ungrazed ones. Also, like fire, grazing can increase species diversity by opening out the
community and creating more niches.
Source: Goudie, 2006, p.30
Mutation analysis of the candidate genes SCN1B-4B, FHL1, and LMNA in patients
with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy
Introduction: Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is a genetically determined heart disease
characterized by fibrofatty infiltrations in the myocardium, right and/or left ventricular involvement, and ventricular
tachyarrhythmias. Although ten genes have been associated with ARVC, only about 40% of the patients have an
identifiable disease-causing mutation. In the present study we aimed at investigating the involvement of the genes SCN1B-
SCN4B, FHL1, and LMNA in the pathogenesis of ARVC. Methods: Sixty-five unrelated patients (55 fulfilling ARVC
criteria and 10 borderline cases) were screened for variants in SCN1B- 4B, FHL1, and LMNA by direct sequencing and
LightScanner melting curve analysis. Results: A total of 28 sequence variants were identified: seven in SCN1B, three in
SCN2B, two in SCN3B, two in SCN4B, four in FHL1, and ten in LMNA. Three of the variants were novel. One of the
variants was non-synonymous. No disease-causing mutations were identified. Conclusions: In our limited sized cohort the
six studied candidate genes were not associated with ARVC.
Source: Refsgaard et al, 2012, p.44
Peer-to-peer activity
This activity will help you to develop your approach to academic texts.
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Score: 0 / 1
Text 1: Sustainable transport for a large business: the case of Leeds Metropolitan University
What is the genre of this text?
A: Case study
B: Research article
C: Student essay
Check answer
Correct! Notice the focus on a specific case (in this text it's a university). There is sufficient description of the main
features of the case, such as background and statistical information.
Text 1: Sustainable transport for a large business: the case of Leeds Metropolitan University
Who is the audience of this text?
A: Researchers
B: People who live in Leeds
C: Students in the discipline of the topic
Check answer
This is the wrong answer. The audience of this text are students in the discipline of the topic.
Text 1: Sustainable transport for a large business: the case of Leeds Metropolitan University
What is the main purpose of this text?
A: To request a better transport system
B: To offer a detailed account of a particular organisation
C: To encourage students to attend Leeds Metropolitan University
Check answer
This is the wrong answer. The main purpose of this text is to offer a detailed account of a particular organisation.
Text 2: What are the main effects of the global financial crisis of 2007-8? Discuss with reference to at least two
sectors of the global economy.
What is the genre of this text?
A: Textbook
B: Case study
C: Student essay
Check answer
This is the wrong answer. This is an extract from a student essay. The style is appropriate for a student essay, with
initial background information to contextualise the topic, followed by a statement of aims/thesis statement. The student
integrates citations to add support to his/her argument.
Text 2: What are the main effects of the global financial crisis of 2007-8? Discuss with reference to at least two
sectors of the global economy.
Who is the audience of this text?
A: Experts in the area of finance
B: Undergraduate students
C: A lecturer and/or other examiner
Check answer
This is the wrong answer. The audience of this text is a lecturer and/or other examiner.
Text 2: What are the main effects of the global financial crisis of 2007-8? Discuss with reference to at least two
sectors of the global economy.
What is the main purpose of this text?
A: To demonstrate understanding for the purpose of assessment
B: To provide useful information for financial planners
C: To share the results of the writer's own research project
Check answer
Correct!
Text 3: The role of grazing
What is the genre of this text?
A: Dissertation or thesis
B: Textbook
C: Case study
Check answer
This is the wrong answer. This is an extract from a textbook. The extract clearly presents information on the topic
(grazing) with plenty of supporting examples and citations as necessary. The writers aim to make the information
understandable for the audience.
Text 3: The role of grazing
Who is the audience of this text?
A: People who raise animals in Africa
B: Experts in the field of agriculture
C: Students in the discipline of the topic
Check answer
This is the wrong answer. The audience of this text are students in the discipline of the topic.
Text 3: The role of grazing
What is the main purpose of this text?
A: To present and explain information on a topic, taken from multiple sources
B: To encourage farmers to practise grazing as a means to greater production
C: To share the results of an extensive research project with fellow experts
Check answer
Correct!
Text 4: Mutation analysis of the candidate genes SCN1B-4B, FHL1, and LMNA in patients with arrhythmogenic
right ventricular cardiomyopathy
What is the genre of this text?
A: Research article
B: Student essay
C: Textbook
Check answer
Correct! This abstract to a research article contains a large amount of information presented in a dense format. It
moves from the Introduction and background through Method and Results to the Conclusion. The style is technical.
Text 4: Mutation analysis of the candidate genes SCN1B-4B, FHL1, and LMNA in patients with arrhythmogenic
right ventricular cardiomyopathy
Who is the audience of this text?
A: Undergraduate students
B: Other researchers, academics and postgraduate students
C: People who have heart disease
Check answer
This is the wrong answer. The audience of this text are other researchers, academics and postgraduate students.
Text 4: Mutation analysis of the candidate genes SCN1B-4B, FHL1, and LMNA in patients with arrhythmogenic
right ventricular cardiomyopathy
What is the main purpose of this text?
A: To provide medical advice
B: To give an overview of the topic
C: To present a summary of a piece of research
Check answer
This is the wrong answer. The main purpose of this text is to present a summary of a piece of research.
Although there are many genres, you will probably have to read a limited number; the genres you have to write will be
different again. Thinking about the relationship between the writer and the intended reader of a text will help you
understand why the different genres that you readand write have different characteristics.
4. Understanding words to describe reading texts
4.1 Focusing on vocabulary
Choose one of the possible answers from the drop-down menu. Use 'Next' to move through the questions.
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The reason why an author wrote a text is the of the text.
