DEFINITION AND STRUCTURE OF

ACADEMIC TEXTS
Prepared by:
MICHAEL U. HENSON, LPT, MAEd
 ACADEMIC TEXT
•
An academic text is a kind of text that is
commonly characterized with being formal,

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-Academic text definition - Brainly.ph

https://brainly.ph/question/685729
 FEATURES OF ACADEMIC LANGUAGE
•
Academic language has a unique set of rules:
it should be explicit, formal and factual as well

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sound complex and be diffi cult to write and

understand but that is not necessarily the
case. Instead, academic writing should be
clear and concise in order to communicate its
 FIRST FEATURE: FORMAL
•
Formal writing requires considerable effort to
construct meaningful sentences, paragraphs, and
arguments that make the text easy to
comprehend. In general this means that
conversational English should be avoided and
facts and figures should be presented in a clear
manner. Academic texts should be factual, concise
and accurate. Choose words precisely and
carefully so that the reader can accurately
understand the concepts within the text.
 FIRST FEATURE: FORMAL
•
It is important to remember that academic
texts are written with an academic audience

in mind and your writing style needs to

conform to the conventions of the field you
are studying.
 SECOND FEATURE: ANALYTICAL
•
In academic writing, the complexity of the
subject matter is acknowledged through

critical analysis. This can be done through

asking questions and examining and
evaluating evidence. Through critical analysis

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been written.
 SECOND FEATURE: ANALYTICAL
•
Treating your topic and your material in an
analytical manner should seep through in your

language. Part of being analytical in your

writing is to compare and contrast, evaluate
and consider both sides of an issue. It also

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 THIRD FEATURE: OBJECTIVE
•
Academic writing is based on research and not
on the writer ’s own opinion about a given

topic. When you write objectively you are

concerned about facts and not influenced by
personal feelings or biases. When presenting

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 THIRD FEATURE: OBJECTIVE
•
At the same time you will probably have to do
an analysis or a discussion and in that manner
express an atti tude. In order to convey
atti tude without using for example “I think”,
you may use words such as apparently,
arguably, ideally, strangely and unexpectedly.
Note that the atti tude you are expressing
should not be based on personal preferences
but rather on the evidence that you are
presenting.
 FOURTH FEATURE: EXPLICIT
•
Academic writing is explicit in several ways. First,
it means that there is a clear presentation of
ideas in the paper. The text should have a well-

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structure in your text is through the use of
signposts. Signposts are words and phrases that

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 STRUCTURE OF ACADEMIC TEXTS
•
Structure is an important feature of academic
writing. A well-structured text enables the

reader to follow the argument and navigate

the text. In academic writing a clear structure
and a logical flow are imperative to a cohesive

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 STRUCTURE OF ACADEMIC TEXTS
• Most academic texts follow established
structures. There are two common structures
in academic writing:
–
the three-part essay structure (IBC)
–
the IMRaD structure

•
Structure should be considered on all levels of
text so you will also find information on
structuring paragraphs.
 STRUCTURE OF ACADEMIC TEXTS
• The structure depends on the type of assignment,
but two common structures used in academic
writing are the three-part essay structure and the
IMRaD structure.
•
Even shorter essays that are not divided into
titled sections follow such a structure.
•
Longer texts may be further divided into
subsections. Different disciplines or
may prefer that students use a certain structure,
departments
so make sure to check with your teacher if you
are not sure what is expected of you.
 THREE-PART ESSAY STRUCTURE
•
The three-part essay structure is a basic
structure that consists of introduction, body

and conclusion. The introduction and the

conclusion should be shorter than the body of
the text. For shorter essays, one or two

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several pages long.
 IMRAD STRUCTURE
•
The sections of the IMRaD structure are
Introduction, Methods, Results, and

Discussion
 THE PARAGRAPH
•
A paragraph is a collection of sentences that
deal with one topic or idea. When a new

paragraph begins, it signals to the reader that

the focus shifts to a new idea or thought. At
the same time, all paragraphs should connect

to the main topic.

 TOPIC SENTENCES AND SUPPORTING
SENTENCES
•
Paragraphs consist of sentences. Each
paragraph should have a topic sentence that

presents the main point or theme of the

paragraph. This sentence is most often near
the beginning of the paragraph.
 TOPIC SENTENCES AND SUPPORTING
SENTENCES
•
All other sentences in the paragraph are
supporting sentences that connect back to the

topic sentence. These sentences develop the

idea that is expressed in the topic sentence.
This development may for example be a

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illustrative
 TOPIC SENTENCES AND SUPPORTING
SENTENCES
•
The last sentence of the paragraph is the
concluding sentence or transitional sentence.

It sums up the contents of the paragraph and

leads the reader to the following paragraph. It
is important to transition smoothly from one

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 TOPIC SENTENCES AND SUPPORTING
SENTENCES
• The length of each paragraph depends on its
contents. This means that the length of
paragraphs may vary. That is, you should not
begin a new paragraph simply because you
feel that now it is long enough. However, if a
paragraph is very short it could be an
indication that something needs to be
developed. If it is very long it could be an
indication that it contains more than one
central idea.
 PARAGRAPH DEVELOPMENT
•
Paragraphs can be structured in different ways.
The internal structure of each paragraph

often depends on the idea that is treated in

that specific paragraph and its relationship to
the surrounding paragraphs as well as to the

text as a whole.
 PARAGRAPH DEVELOPMENT
•
Your topic and the purpose of the paragraph
should determine its organization. For

example, if your purpose is to illustrate the

differences between two theories, your topic
sentence should tell the reader that you are

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 GUIDE QUESTIONS
•
1. How was the paragraph developed in terms
of the following features:
Language used (is it formal?)
–

–
Analysis
–
Objective
–

Explicit
JUSTIFY YOUR
ANSWERS.
• 2. Describe the following:
–
Sentence construction (thoughts, punctuation,
structure, signal words)
–
Paragraph construction (main ideas, supporting
details, the use of signal words)

3. What does the essay say to you? (Summary)

•

• 4. What does the essay mean to you?

(Interpretation)
•
5. How does the essay matter?
 INDIVIDUAL ACTIVITY
•
1. Describe the Text’s Informati on:
– Author, year, title, link/source
•
2. Show the following characteristics of the
text. Then include the evidence based
from
the text
Characteristic explanation evidence

FORMAL
EXPLICIT
ANALYTICAL
OBJECTIVE