WEEK 3:

THE NATURE OF
TEXT
BY PAUL MICHAEL PEREZ, CRWT 111

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ACADEMIC OR NON-ACADEMIC?

CRWT 111
ACADEMIC OR NON-ACADEMIC?

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WHAT QUESTIONS SHOULD YOU RAISE?
Knowing more about the nature of the text prepares you better in
understanding the topic, following references, raising arguments, and flowing
with the discussion.

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WHAT QUESTIONS SHOULD YOU RAISE?
● What is the title?
● Does it reflect the topic?
● What details, style and arguments do you expect?
● What do you currently know about the topic?
● Are there gaps and grey areas with your current knowledge of the
topic?
● Is there any need for background reading prior to reading the
current text in order to make understanding faster and more fluid?

The information based on these questions are often reflected on the

book’s cover, preface, table of contents, and synopsis.

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WHAT QUESTIONS SHOULD YOU RAISE?

*Figure from "Chapter 1 - Critical

Reading” by Elizabeth Browning, in
"Let's Get Writing" (published by
Virginia Western Educational
Foundation, Inc.)
https://vwcceng111.pressbooks.com
/chapter/chapter-1-critical-reading/

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WHO ARE THE STAKEHOLDERS?
● Who is in concern in the issue?
● Who controls the result of the issue?
● Who are the key decision makers or key contributors in creating
and resolving the issue?
● Who is affected by the issue?

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THE AUTHOR AND THE PUBLISHER
Quipping yourself with prior knowledge before reading the text can help you
identify the biases of the authors, and possibly the unintentional errors.

What do you know about the author?

● What is the background of the author?
● What are his or her goals in writing the text?
Regarding the author’s consistency in his or her works and statements, you
need to consider some information:
● When was the text published?
● Where was it published?
● Who was the publisher?

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THE AUTHOR AND THE PUBLISHER
The place of publication may also prompt the author to slightly alter the content to fit in
the culture of the target readers in a particular area. The publisher also influences the
creative direction of the book, so the author might write things that he or she does not
fully agree with, all the sake of marketability.

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THE AUTHOR AND THE PUBLISHER

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ACADEMIC TEXT VERSUS NON-ACADEMIC TEXT
Academic Articles
● These are written by experts in a particular field. They are not self-published.
Rather, the manuscript goes through a series of editing, typesetting and
quality checking performed by other experts in a peer-review setting.
● The language used here is formal, sometimes containing jargons and other
technical stylistic choices.
● The authors are well represented in academic articles as their names,
credentials and affiliations build the text’s credibility and reputation.
● The references are also compiled to support the veracity of all information
included in the text.
● Academic articles are considered as primary sources as they have been
scientifically and systematically researched and written. They also undergo
strict peer-review process, which sometimes takes years to finish.

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ACADEMIC TEXT VERSUS NON-ACADEMIC TEXT
Non-Academic Articles
● These are written for the mass public. They are published quickly and can be written
by anyone.
● Authorship is not limited to credentials, writing ability or substance, as fame, with or
without credibility, sometimes suffices as qualification for writing non-academic
articles. There are also times when creativity is favored over credibility.
● Because these texts are non-scientific and non-systematic, references are not
required and consistency is a choice, not a requirement. Informality may be preferred
over formality since these texts normally target the masses and not the experts and
professionals.
● A reference list is optional as well. Non-academic articles are considered as
secondary sources and should never be prioritized over academic articles as
references.
● Most of your references should also come from academic articles, not non-academic
articles to uphold credibility.

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 ACADEMIC TEXT VERSUS NON-ACADEMIC TEXT

Academic Text Non-Academic Text

Writers or Authors Well-represented experts or practitioners Anyone

in a particular field

Main Qualification Credibility (credentials, affiliations, Creativity (limitless or unspecified criteria)

reputation, references)

Audience Specific in a particular field Mass public

Publishing Process Rigorous peer-review setting (series of Arbitrary setting (may skip technical steps)
editing, typesetting and quality checking)

Language Formal Informal

Style of Text Technical/Systematic Non-technical/Non-systematic

Reference (Treatment as a Source) Primary Secondary

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